Scott Fly Rods?

afishinado

afishinado

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I taught my nephew to fly fish and he does rather well for his second season. Anyway, I’ve decided to give him my Sage 690 RPL for big water trout and small water bass. My altruism will be rewarded though, now I have to purchase a rod to replace it.

I like fast action rods – my favorite overall is a Sage XP. I should have bought one when they were being sold at a discount when being discontinued. I still may be able to locate one. I plan to look at the new Sage Z-axis and the Winston BIIx. My fly shop has both rod lines and I can cast them side by side. What about you Scott fans? I’ve never cast one. Would the S3 be equivalent to the Sage and Winston? Is it worth traveling to a shop to give it a cast?
 
I had an SA2 (alpha series) 9' 5wt 2 piece rod that I got for big water dry dly fishing a few years ago (5?) Anyway, I hated it so bad, presentation was heavy and hard. Very stiff rod. Could cast a country mile though. I used it mostly for Streamers and nymphing. Then it was stolen. To replace it I went to YBO and lined up four rods. Orvis Trident TL 9'4wt, Winston 8'6" 4wt, T&T something or other...and a Scott 9'5wt 3 piece. (just for comparison of what I had even though It was a 3 piece. )

Believe it or not, I bought the Scott. For me it cast the best of all four. I was perplexed and asked the fellow at the shop what he thought...He said "you definitely cast that one more smoothly" funny thing was it was nearly half the price of the others and less than half of one (T&T)

Al the others seemed way too soft and the although the Scott was faster it was slower, it felt, than the 2 piece I had owned.

Anyway, I have the Scott now and like it. It does drys well and still has enough it you want to put on a weighted fly or streamer and fish heavy or high water. A pretty good all round rod IMHO.

Maurice

I think Merle has the SAS 9'4wt. For drys only, I liked that one alot.
 
Maurice,

Thanks for the info. It’s amazing how one rod just turns into a magic wand when you cast it. I’ll take a look at the Scott as well as Sage and Winston. The nearest dealer to SE PA is Cabela’s, but I won’t purchase it there, I prefer to buy from a local shop if possible. The next closest is YBO. I haven’t been to YBO for a while, I recall them being a Sage / Orvis shop. Has it changed hands recently?
 
I have an S3, 8'6'', 4wt and like it a lot. It is what I would call a real fast rod. The E2 is also a fast rod but a little more foregiving than the S3, and great for large water. If you don't want to go high end price wise give the A2 a try, even though it is a medium rated rod I find it a better all around rod.
 
fish,

YBO from what I've heard has dropped Orvis. But they are a fine shop with high end and moderate priced rods. Like I said they had T&T & Winston there...but I wasn't impressed with the high dollar rods. Of course I am a cheap skate. so there ya have it. :lol:
 
I was at YBO a few weeks ago. They carry T&T, Scott, and Temple Fork Outfitters rods. I've not fished a TFO rod, but a couple of my friends have them and they like them. Very reasonably priced too.
 
I have a TFO 8 wt., and if such things were measured it would have a very high quality/cost ratio.
 
I fish a Winston BIIx and it has never let me down. I like it much better than the z-axis which I think feels heavier in my hand.
 
Scott rods are promoted by a Erie Guide who works for DB and is fishing the 2 DB leased streams in NWPA. IMHO I will not purchase Scott for their endorsement of this guide. Temple Fork is promoted by a SRC member and I will also do the same here.

Thanx :-x
 
I hear ya, CRB. Maybe you can vent your anger and maybe channel it a bit more by writing to the manufacturer's and complaining that their promoters (I guess you mean Left Kregh for TFO) are associated with a scumbag who is taking fishing away from the common man who uses their rods.
 
Sage and Loomis still make the fastest action rods. If that's what you like try the new ones out. In fact, my advise is to always encourage an angler to cast as many rods as he feels he needs to, because not all rods are the same.
whetherI'm building a rod or buying a manufactured rod I always try as many rods in the weight that I feel is necessary to find the right rod. It can be tedious, but if you go to the FF shows over the winter this is a good time to test rods.
 
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