John S.
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I took a group class with Travis Johnson (Oregon guide) at Spey Nation on the Salmon River several years ago. Would highly recommend it for others seeking spey instruction. At the time I was very new to spey and had taken an hour lesson here an there but just wasn’t getting the hang of it. Travis’s class was an all day seminar which started with the basics of roll casting and feeling the rod load then moving on to various casts on both sides of the river. By the end of the day I wasn’t a great caster but left with a strong enough foundation where I could now go out and fish a river effectively on my own and build upon what I’d learn.
John
I wouldn’t be surprised if Leland and other online shops drops Simms in the near future. Apparently their sales of Simms waders have dropped noticeably since Simms started selling direct.
Thanks Noah, I was looking at the 10′ 4wt S4 in particular. It seems that making a 10′ flyrod that isn’t too clubby is rather difficult to do. Since this would be a niche rod for me I was only considering it at a closeout price.
Zach, I read your post in the Radian thread. I’m going to wait to cast the 10′ 4wt Radian before buying the S4 version. If its that good maybe its worth the extra $$.
Thanks.
John S
Can anyone offer an opinion on the 10′ S4 (4, 5 or 6 wts) as high stick indicator rods?
Thanks.
John S.
As an owner of 5 G2’s, 4 S4’s, 1 S4S, 1 F and 1 F2 it’s fair to say that I’m a fan of Scott rods.
That being said I got the chance to cast a 9′ 5wt Radian this weekend and to be honest I think any talk of this being the best flyrod ever is premature. Damn good flyrod? Yep, and I will certainly be buying more than one. Best ever? Let’s not get carried away.
On one of the podcasts Bartschi drove home the point about the importance of design in flyrods. I believe he stressed that while materials change for the industry as a whole, it really came down to design in what set an individual rod apart. From my experiences Scott/Bartschi’s designs really excel on how well the rods track. The 884-G2 with a 15′ leader remains the best tracking dry fly rod I’ve ever owned. The 8wt S4 is a superior saltwater rod as it is extremely accurate at longer distances. The Sage One markets itself with its superior accuracy. Having fished the Sage One rather extensively I’ve found it to be an excellent rod but it isn’t any more accurate, maybe even less so, than the previous generation of Scott rods (G2 and S4).
Back to materials. Zach, could you confirm if Scott is now using the 3M resin in the Radian as I saw an interview with Bartschi where he mentioned that the Radian was using a new resin. I’m curious about this because I think this ties in well with design. Steve Rajeff of Loomis designs, in my opinion, exceptional saltwater flyrods. With the new resin in the NRX the bar was raised noticeably over the GLX crosscurrents in the 8 throught 12 weights. Again the new tech allowed a great designer like Rajeff to do even better what he is great at doing. Likewise I’m sure Bartschi’s design strengths will be even more amplified with the new tech.
I’m also not getting overhyped with the “fast with feel” element of the Radian. Let’s remember the S4 was marketed as “fast with feel” as well.
John S
Zach, great podcast as Lamson is my favorite reel in it’s price range. In the podcast Ryan Harrison mentioned that Waterworks/Lamson does not machine any of its reels, but instead subcontracts out the machining to several machine shops. Is this typical of most high end fly reel makers? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it frees up Ryan Harrison to focus on his strength . . . . . design.
Thanks.
John
Many times I’ve heard and read the arguments for and against lighter reels versus heavier reels that may balance a rod better.
John S or anyone else, what are your thoughts on the 3wts? Are they somewhere in middle between the 2 and 4 or do they lean more towards the light (2wt) side? Thanks
Brandon, I’ve never cast the 8’4″ 3wt G2, but own and have used extensively the 8’8″ models in 3, 4 and 5 weights.
I have the 8’4″ 2wt and use it almost exclusively on small water in the Northeast during the Trico hatches of late summer/early fall.
Not sure on how the G2 compares to the WT, but some feel that the G2’s action varies with the rod length.
The 8’4″ and 8’8″ 4wt G2’s are great and fish on the medium side of medium-fast.
I hear the Scott T3H will be available in September and go for a grand.
This board seems to have more than a few Scott fans.
With the upgraded compnents the Sage One Elite 590-4 weighs in at 3 7/16oz while the standard Sage One 590-4 weighs in a 2 3/4oz.
I’ve always been curious how much lighter the new rods was due to new blank technology (Konnectic, Nano Resin, Boron, etc.) versus a change in components.
What would an ideal weight rod be for someone is will probably never be in a boat, but only surf fishing? Am I wrong in assuming more is always better in this case. There is a chance I’ll get into tarpon or bones down the road and if this rod can handle those as well that would be great. I was thinking 10wt, anyone think differently?
Thanks in advance!
Can’t help with bones and tarpon, but have done a fair amount of NE saltwater flyfishing, almost all of it from the surf.
My advice is to start by talking to the local shops where you plan on fishing and asking them what is the bait present when you plan on fishing.
Simms and Scott Fly Rods are two of the only fly rod companies posting large growth and profits in the current economy. Scott does it by knowing its customer base and staying very close to its core.
I’m stunned that Scott is posting strong profits . . . . pleasantly stunned I might add as I own several G2, S4, F2 and S4S’s and think
Scott makes great rods . . . . . but I’ve walked into several shops the past 24 months that no longer carry Scott because they “weren’t selling.”While I continue to feel these “shootouts” don’t add much, someone else may find them helpful, so I think George Anderson / Yellowstone Angler deserves credit for doing them.
If these “shootouts” are such a gold mine to the Yellowstone angler, wouldn’t other flyshops do something similar?
