luckydude
08-10-2012, 09:37 PM
I just got back from a trip down the flathead, I took the Hardy because the Sage was busted.
I fished the Hardy a bunch but also fished a different Sage, a Vantage 3wt 8.5 foot.
When I got home, the Z-axis was waiting for me so I took it out to the pasture to cast it.
Short summary: it's underlined, the 5wt should be fished with a 6wt line (and there is a guy here that I have to look up that told me that, he was absolutely right.).
Longer summary is that with the Hardy, while it is a fast rod, it has a soft tip and whatever it has, it communicates back to you where the line is. At short, mid, and long line lengths. But the Z-axis is so stiff, you really don't feel anything until you have 45-50 feet of line out.
On the other hand, if you are willing to give up on the feedback, what I found is that the Z-axis loved making nice tight loops for me if I did my part. Which was paying way more attention to what was going on and looking back so I could time things properly.
The Hardy is pretty special in that whether you are short or long, the rod tells you when it is time to do your forward cast, you just feel it in your hand, it's pretty amazing. I've described it as the rod and the line are one thing, they just flow together, it's really neat.
The Hardy also feels lighter to swing, the Z-axis feels like you have to work. But if you do, wow, it punches the line. If I were casting into headwinds, Z-axis all the way. If not, Hardy. That Hardy is a pretty sweet rod.
I'd like to hear what other people think, I've heard that Sage One is so-so, heard that Helios 2 is fantastic, I dunno. I'll be keeping both those 5wts, good rods. Either one is dramatically better than what I could buy 20 years ago and both are fun to fish.
I fished the Hardy a bunch but also fished a different Sage, a Vantage 3wt 8.5 foot.
When I got home, the Z-axis was waiting for me so I took it out to the pasture to cast it.
Short summary: it's underlined, the 5wt should be fished with a 6wt line (and there is a guy here that I have to look up that told me that, he was absolutely right.).
Longer summary is that with the Hardy, while it is a fast rod, it has a soft tip and whatever it has, it communicates back to you where the line is. At short, mid, and long line lengths. But the Z-axis is so stiff, you really don't feel anything until you have 45-50 feet of line out.
On the other hand, if you are willing to give up on the feedback, what I found is that the Z-axis loved making nice tight loops for me if I did my part. Which was paying way more attention to what was going on and looking back so I could time things properly.
The Hardy is pretty special in that whether you are short or long, the rod tells you when it is time to do your forward cast, you just feel it in your hand, it's pretty amazing. I've described it as the rod and the line are one thing, they just flow together, it's really neat.
The Hardy also feels lighter to swing, the Z-axis feels like you have to work. But if you do, wow, it punches the line. If I were casting into headwinds, Z-axis all the way. If not, Hardy. That Hardy is a pretty sweet rod.
I'd like to hear what other people think, I've heard that Sage One is so-so, heard that Helios 2 is fantastic, I dunno. I'll be keeping both those 5wts, good rods. Either one is dramatically better than what I could buy 20 years ago and both are fun to fish.