Sage 7'11" Questions

[Rodney D.]

O.K. I have been dumping a bunch of my old conventional tackle to save up to buy a new bass stick and I am getting close to having the dough, I would like your opinions on the difference between the Sage 7'11" largemouth vs. smallmouth other than the weight difference (mainly backbone, flex, fighting ability etc.). I am leaning toward the smallmouth since I already have an 8 weight that I like to throw (the way I cast, throwing is a more appropriate term) and may want something closer to a 6 or 7 wt. I have cast them both and am having trouble detecting a huge difference between the two (once again refer to my "casting style). I do most of my fishing from a 16 foot Ocean Kayak Prowler. All your advice would really help.

[Hairstacker]

Hey Rodney, great question, as I have been pondering that very same thing for some time now. I haven't casted either one yet, but I too wonder which, if either, rod I would prefer for Delta largemouths, given my current preference for a medium-fast action, conventionally-rated 9' 7 wt. rod over-lined with an 8 wt. bass bug tapered floating fly line. Every time I thnk about it, it seems like I'm comparing apples and oranges.

On the one hand, if you look at the grain ratings for the two rods, you'll note the Smallmouth model is rated to fall within the range of a high 10 wt., while the Largemouth model is in the 11 wt. line range. So, rather than moving closer to a 6 or 7 wt. from your current 8 wt. rod, on the surface it appears you would be moving in the opposite direction with either of these rods.

On the other hand, there are folks out there who like to bass bug with, say, a 7 wt. rod overlined with an 8, 9, or even 10 wt. line. So, if your preference is to line a 7 wt. rated rod with a 10 wt. line, perhaps for you the rod should be rated as a 10 wt. My point is, perhaps the designers looked at it this way as well and that's how they assigned the grain ratings for these rods. That is, the Smallmouth model would normally have been conventionally rated as a 7 wt. despite it's grain rating that puts it in a high-10 wt. rating. I wonder if this is so because I seem to recall one of the fellas who had a hand in their design, Kevin Doran, used to prefer a 10 wt. line on his 7 wt. Sage XP rods.

I know I'm not helping but these are some of the questions that have been going through my mind when I think about these rods. Hopefully, someone with experience with these rods will pipe in and shed some light.

[Hairstacker]

Rodney, I was just reviewing a similar thread in process on Dan Blanton's board and one fella who'd been spending some time casting (but not fishing) the Smallmouth rod opined that "Its probably a 9wt with some guts." Just another opinion out there.

Another fella had the line that comes with the Largemouth model weighed and found that it is indeed the equivalent of an 11 wt. line.

And yet another fella who owns the Largemouth model notes that it tosses an 11 wt. line really well and felt that a 10 wt. line would be light for it.

Anyway, you should watch that thread as well for additional light on the subject.

[Rodney D.]

Hairstacker, thanks for the input. I think the length kinda fooled me. When I cast the smallmouth, there was a 7 weight bass taper line on it. You know how the wind gets in the Delta and I want to make sure I can still throw large Dahlberg Divers with it. Those rods did seem to have a heavy butt section with a pretty fast taper. I'll check out that other thread. Thanks.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

We are selling mostly the LMB version here in Sacramento.

It has mostly to do with how big your bass bugs are.

[Ed Wahl]

:lol: some have bigger bugs than others :lol: Ed

[Rodney D.]

Hey Ed,
With all this talk of heavy butts and big bugs I may have to start editing this thread from my kids! :lol: It sure was a lot easier when I just used to buy my fly rods at garage sales! :D

[Hogan Brown]

Rodney - If you are looking at warm water rods before you lay down the cash check out the new Scott Warm Water Rods as well. I have cast the Sage ( both models) and Scott (all 3 models) and both have somthing different to offer and both were tested and developed here in Nor Cal.

[Rodney D.]

Hey, Happy Thanksgiving everyone, just catching up on the threads with the smell of Turkey in the house...I can hardly type! Hey Hogan, thanks for the info. I'd love to hear your opinion on the Scotts. I have an A2 that I love so I'd appreciate your feedback. I'm a little concerned with the weight of the line you throw with the 711s. I've never thrown anything heavier than an 8 weight for bass. Thanks, and again, Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

[Hogan Brown]

The Scott Warm Water series comes in an 8' 6wt. 8' 8wt. and an 8' 10wt. The rods were designed by me, Chico Fernandez (FL), Jerry Darkes (mid West), and Will Turek (mid west). I fish the 6wt and 8 wt the most. The 10 wt is geared toward Pike and Musky fishing more than Largemouth. The rods in general were designed to perform best at 30-50 feet and provide a medium to fast action with very high sensitivity along with being trounament legal. These rods have been about 3-4 years in the making and are designed to address very specific fishing situations. Most serious warm water anglers fish 6-8wt rods. These rods are usually fast action rods that are designed to be cast 50+ feet. Most warm water fishing takes place to structure with in 30-40 feet where sensitivity to pick up subtle takes and accuracy are at a premium. I tested and worked these rods on a variety of types of water to create a rod that would address the warm water fishing situations I find myself in the most. Tight brush channels on the Sac, Open water at Oroville and Shasta, small creeks around chico.

The 6 wt is great for small to large bass. I have caught bass up to 7lbs on the 6wt. The 8wt is a great big bass rod and a rod that can handle bigger flies and sinking lines. Or fish that need to be pulled from structure. With any rod you have to be honest with your self about where you are going to fish and what fishing situations you want the rod to address.

I have cast the Sage bass rods and know many of the gentleman that helped design them. They are much different than the Scott rods. While I am obviously bias to the rods I helped design the Sage rods offer a different approach to a "Warm Water rod" not better or worse just different. I think they favor a more open water style of fishing and are geared more toward shooting line to fish at a distance and covering water. Again this is just my opninion and I would recomend thinking about where you will be using the rod and the situations you will find yourself in while fishing it before laying out the cash for any rod and of course go cast the rods.

[Rodney D.]

Thanks Hogan. I will definately check out the Scotts. I do a great deal of fishing in the Delta in small sloughs and ponds. I also fish some at some of the foothill lakes. The six weight sounds interesting. How does is do pulling fish around weedy cover? I catch very few fish over 4 pounds so I don't think I need anything too heavy. I will give them a shot. Thanks again!