Hardy Zenith - One Beautiful Rod

salmo-trutta

salmo-trutta

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Joined
Mar 17, 2015
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98
Okay, the mailman just dropped off my new rod, a Hardy Zenith, 9ft, 6wt 4pc with the wood reel seat. The mailman and I have a special bond. I think it is safe to say that I have bought more fly rods than the average fly fisherman over the years. In fact, it may be a bit of an obsession for me. Reels too. I started out, thirty-some years ago buying Orvis rods, back when that was the only rod to buy if you fished in the Northeastern US. Then I started buying Sage rods, and I have purchased the RPG’s the XP’s, the SP’s and then the Z-Axis rod, which is perhaps my favorite rod to date…or at least I thought it was. Then, I had to start replacing all of my two piece rods with four piece rods as I go out west now every year. I started fishing for steelhead years ago, so I had to buy bigger rods. Then I started fishing for strippers in the Chesapeake and now, for the last two years I have fished in Florida in the gulf. It just never ends. The last two rods I bought are Winstons, and the new Boron rods are sweet! I bought a Beulah 9ft 6wt, after reading good things about it, and turned around and sold it on eBay for a $100.00 less than I paid for it after fishing it two or three times. It was very sloppy to cast and lacked power.

But I digress…. As I said, the mailman just left and I went into my office to open the big shipping tube. And I have to say, this is, without a doubt the nicest looking, nicest presentation fly rod I have ever owned. I have not casted the rod yet, and that is obviously the most important thing. I read all of the reviews from the Yellowstone Angler’s 2015 5 weight shoot-out and bought this rod without first casting it. (If you’re not familiar with Yellowstone Angler’s web site and their rod shoot-outs, check it out). I paid $428.00 for the rod which is a lot less than I pay for Sage and Winston rods. It comes with a cloth sack over top of the aluminum tube with a beautiful House of Hardy label sewn on it. The brass screw-off top of the tube is engraved with the House of Hardy emblem, again, beautiful. Open the tube and there is a beautiful black cloth sack with the Hardy logo sewn on the sack and three ribbons to tie the rod together. The reel seat wood is a beautiful Maple burl. It has single foot titanium guides, beautiful anodized reel seat fitting, and there are what looks like machined anodized aluminum plugs in the female ends of each ferrule, just like the top quality bamboo rods came with. Small white dots to line up the ferrules…nice touch.

Like I said, I have not casted this rod yet, but the rod looks incredible. If it fishes as well as it looks, it’s going to be a lot of fun to fish with. I think I will be heading up to fish the upper Delaware this weekend. I have one of the new Hardy Ultralite CLS cassette Fly Reel, with three cassettes for 5, 6 and 7 wt, which is also a beautiful reel and works really well, so I am all set

I understand this rod is discontinued. It was not Hardy's most expensive rod and I think Hardy realized they are selling the rod too cheaply and it outsells their higher end rod. I would not be surprised if Hardy renames the Zenith and sells the exact same rod for several hundred more.

AND, the customer service at Mayfly Outfitters in Holland MI, where I purchased the rod on eBay is second to none. Instant contact when there was a question regarding shipping, and they had it in the mail the morning after I purchased it. I would have purchased the rod from Yellowstone Outfitters, but they were out of the 9ft 6wt and they were selling the rod for $649.00. My gain!
 
This is not a knock on your rod, but the reason it is priced lower than sage and winston is because it's made in Korea. Hopefully it fishes as good as it looks. Hardy definitely has classy cases and ferrule plugs. Good luck on the upper de.
 
I'm a Winston WT guy, but I fooled with a Zenith (either 8' or 8'6" 4wt) at Great Feathers in MD, and I was very impressed. In fact, if I had been searching for an all-around rod at the time, i would've pulled the trigger on it. But I wanted a midge/spring creek rod. They may still have some on the rack.
 
moon1284 wrote:
This is not a knock on your rod, but the reason it is priced lower than sage and winston is because it's made in Korea. Hopefully it fishes as good as it looks. Hardy definitely has classy cases and ferrule plugs. Good luck on the upper de.
Click to expand...

This post made this thread comical to me.
 
I agree on the Winston Rods as well. I have the Winston 8 1/2 ft 3 weight Boron III X which I fish on Clark's Creek, near my home and other small streams and I really love the rod. And that rod really puts out a line.

Steve
 
salmo-trutta wrote:
Then I started fishing for strippers in the Chesapeake
Click to expand...

:-o Would you be willing to share some of your favorite spots and what you use to catch them?
 
Mcsneek, I'll help you out. My favorite spot for strippers is State College.

You want flashy flies, that way it makes them look at your fly.
 
So, do you think this amazing new rod will catch you more fish than your 30yr old Orvis?
 
RCFetter wrote:
The rod tied for 3rd place (in a field of 20) in the Yellowstone Angler 2015 5wt shootout.

comparison of the year’s best five-weight fly rods
Click to expand...

I really hate the way they compare these rods as it would only take one line change to boost a rod from the bottom to the top of the list.
There's a lot of different line configurations out there.
Just cutting off a welded loop and nail knotting a leader can drastically effect a way a rod/caster/line match performs.
I bet if you put a bunch of retirees out there to test the rods with a Rio Trout LT, you'd get a whole different story on which rods are the best.
I say this based on the fact that I had the opportunity to play around with many of the rods listed.
 
The YA Shootout is always good for a laugh. I can't imagine too many situations where I'm concerned with a 4wt's performance at 60ft hahaha
 
Count me as one of those who think the YA "shootouts" are rubbish. All the rods seem to get high scores regardless of the written reviews.

The whole "shooutout" can be summed up in a couple sentences:

"Here are a bunch of new rods. Buy one."
 
Agreed with the posts above. There are so many factors involved in choosing a rod that works well for you...and the one greatest factor is the fly caster. A rod that may be great for one is terrible for another.

Also, matching the rod to the type of fishing and the places one fishes is another factor.

Further, things like the type of line used as well as over or under lining must be weighed in.

I guess the shootout can be used as a starting point to choosing a rod, but it is certainly not the be-all, end-all for spending a lot of money for a rod you plan to keep for a long time.

There are a lot of great rods out there. You really have to try them out to find the ones that work well for you and your fishing.
 
If you're after 'strippers' on the Chesapeake, I'd try closer to Baltimore. Any time after 11:00 PM.

Syl
 
While most of you poke fun at the 5 weight shootout, I do think it does provide some useful information. If someone's in the market and can't run all over the planet to look at / cast different rods, it can help them narrow down their search. I also think that the deflection / bend profile may help a shopper in picking which rods they may go cast. If you like 'brand A, model X' and there's 3 rods on the test with almost the same bend profile, you'll probably like them as well.

"The wow factor" or whatever they use to grade rods..... just silly. Judging the performance of the rod is quite subjective. Ask 100 people and you might get 100 opinions. The weight and quality of finish are much easier to grade and that part can be helpful.

The last thing that I like to see is how they include the price in the performance rankings which shows the public that some rods costing $800 don't perform as well as some costing $200. You don't have to spend a bundle to get a great performing rod.

After my TCX disappointment, I've continued to look for a rod that would be basically used for casting 50' and up. I have a z-axis and legend elite that I can throw considerable distances but am always looking for the perfect rod / line combo that will make it easier and more accurate. I did spend a day fishing the H2 tip flex and thought.... if I were going to spend the money, that's what I'd get. After looking at the YA shootout and talking to some guides that have owned both, the Zenith seems to be the better rod for distance. It's not as light and may not have as quality a finish but at 65-70', the fish can't see the quality of the guide wraps. :)

Steven,
I pretty much work across the street from where you live. I think you've passed me on Linglestown Rd several times with your toon on the vehicle. And now that I put 2 and 2 together, you've stayed 2 rooms from me at the Capra on several occasions (I think). Your a pretty big dude, white Toyota ?? At any rate, if you would permit 3 minutes of lawn casting, I'd like to look at that Zenith. Think it might me a good stick for my needs.
 
I just snatched one of these up for $389 including shipping. As mentioned above, the cast is quite nice. I'd never cast one, held one or seen one in person. It came today and I put her together and tossed around some line while the neighbors cat stalked the line leader connection as I pulled it through the grass.

I basically dumped a bunch of line on the ground and figured I'd give it a one good toss before the daylight was gone. The rod felt softer than expected but still had plenty of backbone. The cast measured 78'-79' and would have gone further if it wasn't for my poor casting mechanics. With the expert distance line Cathy G sent, was able to throw it that distance with not much shooting involved. If I get my yardwork done early, I'll try it with Rio Gold, Sharkskin and GPX. Curious how it will feel and cast with the other lines. One of them will stand out I'm sure.

Nice case, good finish / components and performs. I think I'll end up really liking this stick. This rod is worth a look.
 
My mom always said "pretty is as pretty does". I hope the rod performs like you want it to.
 
Krayfish2,
Which Hardy Zenith did you get?
Every line wt and model that I have had the privilege to cast and fish has been a good experience and seems to get better with every each time.
I like the 1 pc models the best, the 4 wt is particularly one sweet rod. It has become my favourite rod for most trout fishing.
There are a lot of great rods available to us these days and regardless of cost, these guys at Hardy got it right with these rods. Compare them with any rods made. They are truly, as my fishing buddy Ken says, "that good".
Enjoy the fishing.
 
I got the 590-4. Probably won't see daylight til spring. It apappears to be a keeper though. I'll test 4 lines on it the first time out and see which gives me the best performance.
 
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