Sage 99

[krott243]

Thinking about a Sage 99, 5wt, for bigger trout streams. I like to tight line and indicator nymph. Whos got one and how do you like it. Can it throw the occasional dry and streamer if needed.

 

[SBecker]

What is your budget? How big are the streams? How big are the fish in these streams? Will this basically be a nymphing rod that you might have to throw a dry with?

I know a few guys that have or had the 99. They say it is not the greatest nymphing rod. However, I have cast it and it is pretty sweet.

 

[krott243]

Mainly be used on Penns, Little J and Oil, so 10"-20" fish average. Budget is not a big deal. Mainly a nymphing rod.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

I have the 4wt and love it. Got the 4wt b/c of a good deal. While I was waiting for a sale on 4wt lines I decided to fish my rio indicator 5wt line. I really like the pair and will stick with this. Unlike the other specialty nymph rods, which have tips that are whimpy and too soft IMO, its more stout. This makes actually casting rigs easier and line pick ups MUCH easier. As advertised it allows open loops when fishing indicator rigs with minimal changes in a normal stroke. I've casted streamers too no problems. It does an acceptable job on dries. I actually use this rod more than others. I fish the J and bald eagle most often. Excellent for these streams.
Light for its size, but like all long rods its hard to balance with light fly reels.

with a rod like this it is important to fish it. casting on a lawn will not allow you to see how it shines.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

I had a 4wt Sage 99. It was actually one of the first production models made, if not THE first one. I won it on flyanglersonline, and it was sent out directly from Sage, months before they appeared in fly shops.

It threw dries exceptionally well, and had no trouble with some pretty hefty streamers.

The action was a bit odd. It had a really stiff tip, and a softer mid section. This series was designed for heavy indicator rigs, and wasn't the best tool for fishing Euro style. The stiff tip resulted in a lot of "bounced" fish - especially the smaller ones. The tip was just too powerful to provide a lot of shock absorption.

It really excelled at throwing heavy indicator rigs, and the soft(ish) mid section made throwing more open loops easy.

All that said, I really liked fishing it. It was great for switching up between different fishing methods if you only carried one rod.

The stiff tip and softer mid section that hindered landing small fish did far better at landing big fish. With heavier tippet, you could really put the lumber to 'em.

This is one of those rods you either love, or hate. I liked it but it wasn't the best tool for the type of fishing I was looking to do with it (Euro-nymphing). If you're looking to throw heavy indicator rigs, this may be the best rod ever for that - it was designed for it.

YMMV...

 

[SBecker]

10ft 4wt or 10ft 3wt will be your ideal rod for those streams. If you want to be able to toss buggers once and a while, the 4wt will be a better fit.

I have a TFO BVK 10ft 4wt that is really nice nymphing rod. They are priced reasonable. I also have a 10ft 3wt Sage Esn. I wouldn't go throwing buggers with it, but it has landed 24inch camaloop rainbows in Georgia with no real problems. The price is higher then the Bvk, but it is an amazing rod and real quality. It is my favorite rod at this moment.

Your other option would be a Greys Streamflex. A lot of my friends use these rods and swear by them. I have only used the 11ft 3wt and I loved it for what my technique was. I know guys that use the 11ft 2wt for all their nymphing. I have witnessed kids use that rod to land 25inchers on 6x and 7x under a minute, pretty remarkable. I wouldn't recommend you trying that, but the 10ft 3wt and 4wt are great rods at a reasonable price.

All these rods can toss drys with no problems. I would stay away from the 11ft rods if you want to toss dries, they are more of a specialized rod.

A 10ft 5wt is going to be overkill to nymph with. It will be heavy, you will bounce smaller fish, and miss many takes do to sensitivity. Those rods are mainly used on lakes to toss tandom strwamers.

If you want to indicator fish a 4wt will probably be best. The Sage 99 will probably fit the bill. The rods I have mentioned are more for high sticking. They will toss a thingamabobber with no problems, but are generally geared to high sticking.

Lastly, check out the new Echo nymphing rod being released later this month. It might be exactly what you are looking for.

 

[dano]

Paul,
Steve might have a 99 lying around in his basement that he might let you play with.
I like the idea of that new echo nymphing stick that SBecker mentions, especially if they fish anything like my Echo 11'9" 4wt. that I use with a modified line. The only worry I would have is those add-on sections loosening while fishing.
Here's Steve Rajeff on the new stick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-lw5HUYkOdY#t=140

 

[MrMustard]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I suppose this is in the same vein/ another option: have any of you guys fished/heard reviews for the Hardy Zenith 10ft 4wt? I'm also looking for what will be primarily a nymphing rod, but I haven't been able to cast one of these yet. These rods seem to have been getting great reviews, but i haven't seen much in the way of nymphing.

The TFO BVK in the same size is high on my list as well, but I have seen some very good deals on the Zenith lately.

 

[SBecker]

I know a few guys that really like the Zenith. I have never fished one, but I do like my Bvk that you mentioned.

Again, it all depends on the size of stream and fish for what weight you should get. I lean towards a 3wt almost all of the time.