8
Weight Shoot Out!
By
George
Anderson
...With
Sidebar Comments by
Doug McKnight and James Anderson
photos by James Anderson
Albright
A/5 | Albright
XX | G.Loomis Cross
Current GLX | G.Loomis Native
Run GLX | Orvis T-3 | Orvis
Zero Gravity | Redington
CPS | Sage
TCR | Sage Xi2 | Sage
Z-axis | Scott s3s | Scott
x2s | St. Croix Legend Elite
| Temple Fork TiCrX | Thomas
& Thomas HII | Winston
BIIx
The 5-Weight Shootout
that we worked up for our Christmas Newsletter was a huge hit from all
the e-mail we have been getting from both here in the US and all over
the world! E-mails poured in from avid fly fisherman in England
and all over Europe, Japan and even South America - Argentina, Chile and
Brazil. Nearly all the e-mails were very positive and
over 90% of the people that responded, agreed with our findings.
You aren’t going to see rod comparisons like this in the fly-fishing magazines. Here at the Yellowstone Angler we have been trying to give our customers honest answers for the past twenty-five years so we aren’t going to pull any punches now. We’re calling it like we see it. Over the years the rod manufacturers have given us some good information, but they have also bombarded the angling public with a lot of propaganda.
Although there are several categories
that are objective and easily measured, there are also several that are
subjective. What you’ll read here is definitely going to be
controversial. You may not agree with our conclusions, but we have done
the best we can to give you some straight answers to the relative merit
of these 8 line rods.
We have included a sidebar with
two more opinions on each rod. Both James Anderson and Doug McKnight
are great casters as well as top-notch anglers. I think you will
enjoy their counter point comments.
Sixteen Top rods battle it
out
For this 8-Weight Shootout we
gathered sixteen of the best 8-Weight rods we could find and rated these
rods in ten different categories. We felt that most important categories
are the performance categories, so we doubled the points for these. I
felt that the “"Fun to Fish, Got to Have" category needed
more weight also, so we doubled the points here as well. Maybe we should
have called this The Lust Factor.
Like the last time in our 5-Weight Shootout, we have organized this much the same as an automobile shootout in Car and Driver Magazine. We’ll tally all the points in the ten categories, and there will be winners, losers and a lot that fall in-between. You’ll get to see how your favorite rods rate in a variety of different categories. Then, hopefully you’ll be better informed so that when you get that itch to add a good 8-Weight rod to your collection, you’ll have a better idea of what’s good and what’s not.
One big addition in our 8-Weight
Shootout is charting all the rods on a deflection graph, which shows not
only the relative overall power of these rods, but also the flex characteristics
of the tip section. The flex of the tip portion of the rod has a dramatic
effect on how the rod will perform, especially at shorter distances.
After our 5-Weight Shootout, several engineers e-mailed us looking for
more detailed info, so here it is guys- there are lots of interesting
things to learn here and many comparisons to be made. To give everyone
a feel for just how powerful many of these 8-Weight rods are, we added
deflection patterns of the G. Loomis CrossCurrent GLX 7 weight, 9 weight
and also 10 weight rods.
Remember, what you read here
are our opinions.
If you do or don’t agree with our conclusions, we would love
to hear from you. Please e-mail us at staff@yellowstoneangler.com
and we’ll try to publish your comments on our web site, both the
good and the bad. Also, if you like our shootouts and comparison tests,
e-mail us about what products you would like us to compare NEXT...
Why believe us?
Now, that’s a great question. Many of you know that George Anderson has a stellar reputation as a great fly caster and angler in both fresh and saltwater. His back-to-back wins at the Jackson Hole One-Fly in ’89 and ’90 helped to solidify his reputation as one of the top nymph and dry fly fisherman. But you may not know that over the last twenty years, rod manufacturers like Sage, G. Loomis and Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, have asked for George’s help in designing a variety of fly rods. Rods like the Sage LL 389 and LL490. George joined Steve Rajeff of G. Loomis to help design the Loomis StreamDance GLX Presentation series of trout rods as well as fine tune the prototypes for both the StreamDance Presentation and High Line Speed GLX rods. In addition, George helped Tom Morgan with final prototype designs of the highly acclaimed Tom Morgan Rodsmiths graphite rods.
In some of the Internet forums
after the 5-Weight Shootout appeared, there were accusations that George
was on the payroll or on the pro staff with some of these companies, and
this had influenced his opinions. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Yes, George has spent a lot of his time helping
several fly-fishing companies over the years, but he has never received
any monetary compensation other than for some of his travel expenses.
Here at the Yellowstone Angler you have our word that we’ll always approach these comparisons with an open mind. We don’t have any axe to grind, but we won’t hesitate to give your our candid opinion on what we really think of these products.
Chokoloskee, Snook, and the 8-Weight Shootout
Winter in Montana can be long and cold, so the thought of joining some friends in the Florida Everglades to do some snook fishing in late January became irresistible. It was also easy for me to justify this to the family since we were thinking of doing an 8-Weight rod shootout, and what better place to do it, but on location in Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands and the Everglades.
photo:
Capt. Bill Blanton
A Captain friend of mine informed me that on Jan. 19th and 20th there was a gathering of fly anglers planned in Chokoloskee, a quiet little fishing village marking the gateway to the saltwater Everglades on Florida’s west coast. My presence was requested, being one of the original Snook Tango participants a few years ago. The event – the Snook Tango – is not a competition of any sort but just an excuse for a bunch of enthusiastic saltwater fly fisherman with a serious case of cabin fever to get together for a few days of fishing for snook and redfish. Of course there would be ample opportunity for everyone to tell their stories and lies over dinners at the local island eateries, where they still practice “you catch ‘em, we cook ‘em”.
Finding snook proved to be more
difficult than usual, due to unseasonably warm weather. They
weren’t in their normal hidey-holes in the back country of the Everglades.
It seemed that everyone except myself caught snook. Even the
guys I had fishing with me in my flats skiff caught snook. But all
I managed to catch in two days were palm sized Jack Crevalle, twelve-inch
long ladyfish, mangrove snappers and several grotesque lizardfish.
So after a couple of snookless
days, I was ready to get down to business and spend a day testing and
casting a pile of 8-Weight fly rods. My plan was to narrow the field
down to the top four rods and then take the finalists with me and try
them out over a period of four days of fishing for snook and redfish deep
in the Everglades in Whitewater Bay.
Shootout
at the Everglades City Motel
The lawn alongside the Everglades
City Motel proved to be an ideal spot to conduct the performance testing.
I wheeled my hard sided golf club travel case outside alongside the flats
skiff and popped it open. Rather than the usual golf clubs, I had it filled
with sixteen 8-Weight four-piece fly rods, a half dozen Tibor Everglades
reels and a bunch of saltwater fly lines from both RIO and Scientific
Anglers.
The weather was a balmy seventy-two
degrees. I had forgotten all about those sub zero temperatures I left
in Montana. A light wind blowing- just enough to sway the coconut palms.
I set out the casting targets I had picked up at a Wall Mart - some
brightly colored hula-hoops. They would prove to be ideal
targets on both the lawn and on the water, where I anchored them with
a few bass sinkers and monofilament.
Nine Foot 8-Weight rods are
the perfect tools for a variety of saltwater species like bonefish, snook
and redfish. They are also the rods of choice when many of us seek
out Steelhead, big Alaska Rainbows and even bass. They are
also terrific rods for chucking streamers on our big Western Rivers.
8-weight rods are more powerful than most of the trout rods we fish, and
need to be capable of casting at longer distances much of the time.
Sure they need to be accurate at close range for casting to wary bonefish,
but where they really shine is in that sixty to one hundred foot range
– distances that we rarely cast while fishing for trout.
So with this in mind, I felt that the performance distances tested needed to be longer than the 25, 45, and 70 feet we selected in the 5-Weight Shootout. For the 8-Weight Shootout, it seemed logical to stretch it out to 35, 60 and 100 feet. Longer distances, in the wind, really separate the players from the wanna-be’s. The hula hoops would help me gauge accuracy at these distances. At 35 feet the hoop I used was 24 inches in diameter, while at 60 and 100 feet, the hula-hoops were 36 inches in diameter. I set out the hula-hoops in the short grass along the palms beside the motel, which meant that I’d be casting into a quartering headwind of about 5- 8 mph off my right shoulder. That was good. I’d get whacked a few times but no sense making it too easy. In saltwater fly-fishing, it seems that you always have plenty of wind to contend with, and now I’d get to see which rods could rip it way out there and do it accurately.
Our
Testing Procedures
Tests that any angler can duplicate
Our testing procedures may not
seem too sophisticated to our engineer and college professor buddies,
but we have wanted to give you tests that any angler can easily duplicate.
The bottom line is to find a way to differentiate one rod (or other product)
from another and come up with some real world tests, not something that
can only be done in a sophisticated laboratory.
Keeping it Apples to Apples
In an effort to eliminate any
unwanted variables, I felt it was important to utilize reels and fly lines
that I’ve had a lot of experience with myself. I wanted to
use the best lines and reels the market to match up with the best 8-line
rods out there. My goal was to find the ultimate 8 -weight fly rod, suited
to the average expert angler. In my experience, the best casting
rods for expert casters also prove to be the the best for beginners.
Reels:
Click here for more information on Tibor Reels
For reels, I picked my favorite #8 line reel, a Tibor Everglades. I’ve used these reels since their introduction by Ted Juracsik ten years ago. They have been superb in every way for both saltwater and freshwater use. The Everglades is a mid-arbor reel but has enough capacity to hold a WF-8-F floating fly line and 200 yd. of twenty-pound saltwater Micron backing. They utilize three ball bearings and have perhaps the best drag ever designed on a saltwater fly reel. The drag has a wide range of adjustment, a good detent system to keep the adjustment knob from turning too easily, and enough power to stop a taxi-cab. To my way of thinking there is nothing that sounds as sweet as a Tibor at full song with a bonefish peeling off a hundred yards of backing along with your fly line. Three ball bearing detents in the cork drag plate make this sweet music. With a nominal amount of care, these reels are totally bulletproof.
Lines:
Scientific Anglers and RIO make some of the finest saltwater fly lines I’ve used. Both use stiffer cores and coatings than their freshwater cousins, to cope with the tropical heat that is normally in the 80’s, and even hotter on the deck of a flats skiff in bright sun. Although the RIO powerflex core lines shoot better, they also have a problem with tangles, both while casting and when you are clearing line. The Scientific Anglers Mastery Bonefish Taper lines, with their braided monofilament cores and AST technology are better casting lines for most anglers, and rarely end up in bird’s nests, so this is what I used for the on-land casting performance tests.
Out on the water during the Snook Tango, I was impressed at how some of the new RIO lines performed, especially their new Topical Outbound line. If you want to "go yard" this is your baby. These lines have a very small solid monofilament Powerflex core that shoots like crazy, and they are 120 feet long. Casting all 120 feet seemed like no more work than throwing 100 with the SA Bonefish Taper.
Although some of the rods tested, like the Albright XX might have been happier with a #9 line, we used only WF-8-F lines in our tests.
Leaders:
The best casting saltwater leaders I’ve ever used are hand tied leaders. We have our Bonefish leaders tied with Mason’s Hard Nylon for the butt and mid-sections of the leader and then use Seaguar GrandMax Fluorocarbon for the tippet sections. I've designed these 12 foot leaders with stiff butt and mid-sections and short tapers. They will cast better into a hard wind than any 9 foot knotless leaders on the market.
For the shootout, we utilized our bonefish leaders for all the performance casting tests. For a practice fly, I cut down some old Enrico Puglisi 2/0 snook patterns, chopping off the bend and barb of the hooks. The weight ended up being about what you might have with a heavier bonefish fly.
If you are interested in tying
your own and need a leader for the pattern, or just want a few for your
next trip, e-mail us. We sell these hand tied Bonefish and Permit
leaders for $6.95 each
Setting up multiple rods and
reels for our performance testing.
In the 5-Weight Shootout, we found that setting up several identical reels, lines and leaders made it far easier to compare rods. We kept what we felt were the benchmark rods (the Loomis CrossCurrent GLX and the Sage Xi2) loaded up so that we could simply lay down the rod we were casting and grab one of the benchmark rods for a quick comparison at the various distances tested. Then subtle differences in performance and accuracy became readily apparent.
Even so, casting all sixteen rods and comparing them at 35, 60 and 100 feet ended up being an all day event. Several Everglades City natives and visitors pulled up alongside, in their cars, during the testing process. They wondered #1 – if I had lost my mind, and #2 if I was catching any fish out on the lawn. Most just slowed down and looked at me like I might be a serial killer.
Performance categories awarded
double points
As in the past, in this rod
comparison we felt that the most important factor in determining the best
#8 line rod is how well it performs. Sure, craftsmanship, price, and all
the other factors enter into the equation, but the four performance categories
are really the meat of this shootout, and this demanded that we give them
extra weight. I might add that the the minimal scores here
were 15 points out of 20. This kept the overall scores a bit
closer together. It might have been more realistic to rate
the poorly performing rods closer to 10 points (or even lower).
Some other observations
(click to enlarge)
The rod deflection chart
For this shootout, I felt that it
would make sense to build a deflection chart that would show the flex
characteristics of all the rods tested. We accomplished this
by placing the handle of each rod in a jig we made up with some 2x6’s
and a couple of 3/8 inch maple dowels. The idea here is to hold
the rod solidly and putting the fulcrum about where your thumb would sit
on the handle in casting.
(click to enlarge)
*+
This was accomplished by placing
one of the dowels underneath the grip, about 3/4 of the way up.
Then the butt of the rod was held down by a dowel placed just above the
permanent extension butt on the reel seat. We made sure that
each rod was positioned so that dowel contacted the reel seat about 1
3/4 inches from the butt of the rod. Generally this was just ahead
of the permanent extension butt. We set up the jig so
that the dowels were positioned to hold the rod at an upwards angle of
approx. 45 degrees. Next we built the chart on butcher paper, using a
graph with divisions that measured two inches.
Now we were ready to chart the
flex of each rod, but how much flex? To figure this out, we hung
a weight from the tip of the rod in order to put approximately the same
kind of bend in the rod as you might if you picked up the rod in a fly
shop and flexed it moderately from side to side to see how the rod flexes
throughout the mid section and tip.
Now, this may not seem very scientific to our engineer friends, but we just tried a few different amounts of weight until we thought that the deflection pattern looked about right. The weight we settled on was 6.4 Oz. – a pair of Ross Pescador 7.5 saltwater pliers! Then we stuck with the same system while carefully tracing the deflection pattern of each rod. Once the rod stabilized, Doug would hold the tip in place on the graph against the wall while I traced the bend in the rod with first a pencil. Then we went over this pencil line with various colored sharpie markers to make it easier to differentiate each rod, since there were so many flex patterns packed together on the chart.
I’ll apologize
now for putting all of you through the mind numbing process of analyzing
the deflection chart. There are some very interesting facts revealed
here though, and these support my impressions from casting the rods.
Look at my casting and performance notes and then check out the deflection
chart for each rod and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking
about when I say that this rod had a tip that was too stiff, or that the
overall stiffness of the rod was too great (or too weak) to work
well as an 8-weight.
To give everyone a reference
on stiffness, I also charted the flex characteristics of three other Loomis
CrossCurrent GLX rods, their 9 foot #7 as well as their 9 foot #9 and
9 foot #10. And of course their 9 foot #8 our overall winner,
is also in the mess if you can find it. It’s one of those
traced in blue.
(click to enlarge)
There are also close-up photos
that show the differences in deflection of all the rods at two specific
points on the rods. The first being just below the mid -point on each
rod, just below the middle ferrule. The second is right at the point
where the top ferrule joins the 3rd section and the tip section of the
rod.
(click
to enlarge)
The mid-point deflection will
tell you a lot about the relative power and stiffness of each rod in the
butt and mid-section. The upper ferrule deflection also
gives one a measure of the stiffness in the tip of the rod. But
you also have to take a good look at where the tip top ended up on the
chart to fully judge the flexibility of the rod’s tip section.
As a general rule, the best casting rods have strong butt and mid-sections
and a softer (but not wimpy) tip.
(click to enlarge)
One very interesting observation
we had after charting the Orvis Zero Gravity Tip Flex rod, was that it’s
flex pattern was nearly identical to that of the Sage Xi2.
I won’t even attempt to speculate on that, but as we saw from the
performance casting sessions, these two rods were vastly different in
the way they performed. The Xi2 ended up near the top of the heap,
while the Zero G was closer to the bottom. Just goes to show you
that the materials you put into the rod, as well as the scrim and adhesives
used, have a dramatic affect on how these rods perform.
As you’ll see in the specs, the Orvis Zero G was not only heavier
in overall weight than the Xi2, but it was also heavier in the all important
swing weight category. In addition, the available power to swing
rate ratio was also in Sage’s favor, where it rated an 18, one of
the best scores.
Lighter is better
In this day of extremely high modulus graphite, boron and other new rod building materials, new and stronger resin systems, new graphite scrim and innovative manufacturing techniques, the key to success is building lighter weight rods that have the same amount of power. Lighter is better, all else being equal. We’ve seen some amazing advances in all phases of rod building and just when you think that the current crop of high performance rods has hit perfection, another new material, resin system or unseen innovation allows for more improvement. Of course, anglers are the beneficiary of all this costly R & D so don’t get too upset with the fact that the price of the premium 8-Weight rods, made in the USA, is well over $600.00 and as much as $775.00.
Great rods are not always expensive
You don’t have to spend upwards of $600 to get a great fly rod. Yes, the best are going to set you back that much, but there are some surprisingly good rods out there that sell for one-third to one-half as much! Witness the Redington CPS, the Albright and TFO rods. Don’t think that these import rods are going to be second-rate in terms of craftsmanship or finish. You might have to lower your expectations about the quality of the cork grip or some of the components, but otherwise the quality of the wraps, the finish coat on the wraps and the finish of the blank itself are generally excellent.
Great rods are designed by great anglers
One thing that has become very apparent to me over thirty years of working with the world’s best rod designers is that the finest rods in existence have all been designed by fellows that are great anglers themselves. Head rod designers like Steve Rajeff at G. Loomis, Jerry Siem at Sage, and Tom Morgan (Previous owner and rod designer for R.L. Winston) who has given us the Tom Morgan Rodsmith line are good examples. These guys and many other great anglers like them gave us the great rods we have today. Good anglers have the knowledge of what each rod needs to do, and know how to design and tweak the rods to achieve the desired results.
Categories
Explained
Price $ - 10 points available
This is easy – the least expensive rods get the highest points. As the price increases the points drop accordingly. This is why the relatively inexpensive Albright A-5 and the TFO TiCr-X get a 10, and the costly Sage TCR picks up a lowly 6.
X-Factor - 10 points
This is a combination of things, all of which add up to a positive factor of some degree for each rod. Most rods have a “lifetime warranty” but the companies charge different amounts, a min. of $20 up to $65 for repair or replacement. To our way of thinking, G.Loomis trumps them all by getting a brand new rod (not fixing your old rod) to you by reg. UPS for $50 or 2 day air for $65. No waiting a month or more and you get a brand new rod to boot. In addition, the Loomis rods are the only rods in this comparison that use the more expensive but unbreakable nickel-titanium guides as well as unbreakable stripping guides. These factors easily get them the 10 points. The Sage TCR and Z-Axis rods got knocked down for having far smaller snake guides than their Xi2. Fishing for big fish, it’s nice to have guides large enough that minor line tangles will pass through. Hard Rod Cases are normally a given, but for some reason Temple Fork figures that for their low price, you can go buy a case. This knocks them down a couple of points.
Craftsmanship - 10 points
This one is a combination of factors too, like the quality of the cork they use in the grip and if the grip is laid up by hand and then turned on a lathe or if pre-shaped cork handles (generally not nearly as good) are used. Is the reel seat well designed, fully anodized for saltwater use and have a good locking system so that your reel doesn’t fall off while you are battling that twenty-five pound permit of a lifetime? How good are the wraps on the guides, and how good are the coatings over the guides. Most manufacturers use a one-coat finish that can be applied too heavily, adding weight to the rod and looking sloppy. Thomas and Thomas did the best job with their multiple coatings, as usual – near perfection. The St. Croix got downgraded one point here for coatings over the wraps that were far too heavy.
Overall Weight - 10 points
This is an easy category to judge, but we don’t take the manufacturer’s word for how much these rods weigh. They often stretch the truth. We use our own certified Yellowstone Angler digital postage scale. Accurate to .00001 oz! To make things simple though, we’ll round it up to a tenth of an ounce. Check our table on statistics to get all this dope. The overall weight doesn’t tell the real story however. The telling factor is the swing weight.
Swing Weight - 10 points
You’ve heard this term
if you are a golfer. The pro shop has a simple scale that
measures swing weight – the weight of the head in relationship to
the shaft when you waggle the club. Seeing that all
the golf pro shops are closed around here in Montana in the winter, we
had to figure out our own way to measure the swing weight of a fly rod.
You’ll see an explanation of how we arrived at these figures on
the table with our objective observations. Rods
with a low swing weight are a joy to cast and fish. Rods with a
high swing weight are noticeably less enjoyable and will extract their
payment in arm pump and fatigue by the end of the day. You’ll
feel like you’ve just finished a long motocross race rather than
having a pleasant day on the flats. The Redington CPS was
a surprise winner in this category.
Swing Weight VS Power- 20 points
Here is the first “performance” category where we double the points. The winners in this category are rods that feel the lightest in your hand, yet deliver the most usable power. It’s easy for a heavy rod to develop good power, but it feels like a club! When you pick up one of the top rods in this category, you are thinking, “Wow, I wish I was fishing something like this!” Of course swing weight vs. power alone don’t make a great casting rod. The way the rod flexes to deliver this power tells the rest of the story. Check out the deflection chart and take a close look at the Loomis CrossCurrent GLX rods. You’ll see a progressive bend in the tip that is very different than any of the other rods.
Without going out on our lawn to cast a rod, I can tell a lot about how the rod will perform by just holding it in my hand to gauge the swing weight, then flexing it to feel the power and how the rod flexes – what kind of action does it have – medium, medium fast or fast.
We didn’t rate the actions
of these 8-Weight rods but most have fast actions. Some however
are medium fast, having stiffer tips. The very fastest action rods have
very powerful butt and mid sections and more flexible tips.
Performance at 35 feet - 20 points
Most people pick up a fly rod and gauge it’s merit on how far they can throw the line. But the best 8-Weight rods have good feel and excellent accuracy at closer distances too. The top point getters in this category are rods that are superbly accurate at 35 feet and effortless to cast off the tip of the rod using your wrist to power the tip through the stroke. At short distance, casting accuracy is the number one factor I used in rating these rods. Regardless of whether you are fishing in fresh or saltwater, the key to catching lots of fish and big fish is casting accuracy. Rods that are very stiff and perform well at long range usually trade off feel and accuracy at short range. The best rods that we tested here had soft enough tips to give them excellent feel and accuracy at short range yet plenty of power to throw long. We all felt that the St. Croix Legend Elite had an exceptionally sweet feel and terrific accuracy in close, and that’s why it wins this category. In the deflection chart you’ll see why – it has a nice soft tip compared to most of the other rods.
Performance at 60 feet - 20 points
Now we’re really getting
into the meat of this shootout. The rods that rate highly in this
category can really drill them in there at sixty feet, even in a hard
breeze. This meant putting five casts out of five into that
36” hoop, time after time. Also, a good 8-Weight rod should
have the power to do this without a double haul or shooting any line.
You need to be able to just rip a good back cast and fire it in there
on the forward stroke. Rods with a wimpy butt and mid-section need
not apply. On the water this translates into putting a heavy bonefish
fly on the money into a 20 knot wind or slamming a wind resistant 2/0
snook fly way back under those mangrove branches with a tight loop that
will turn over a long leader. The rods in this shootout that can do all
this with surprising ease are made by G. Loomis. Everyone else fought
it out for second place.
Performance at 100 feet- 20 points
Most people will say that testing
rods at 100 feet is crazy. But both Scientific Anglers and RIO make
their Bonefish lines 100 feet long. Then I'll add a 12-foot leader,
so casting over 100 feet without pulling out any backing is no problem.
With RIO’s new long distance champ, the Tropical Outbound, which
is 120 feet long, some of these rods like the Loomis CrossCurrent GLX,
and the Sage TCR can smoke it out there 120 and even 130 feet.
I can hear it now. People will say you are never fishing at those distances, but I beg to differ on that. I don’t know how many times I’ve been in the situation where our guide had poled the flats skiff so far up on the mud that it wouldn’t go any farther, and those tailing bones were still just over 100 feet away. Getting out of the skiff to wade was hopeless, as you would sink up to your waist in the marl. It was either throw it 100 feet or go fishless. Man, I wish that I had one of those RIO Outbound lines back then! We could have really done some damage to those huge bonefish that were working their way up onto the flat with their backs half out of water.
It’s times like these
when I appreciate the explosive reserve power of the Loomis Cross Current
GLX. Not only will this rod throw it farther than the rest of the
crowd, it will do it with exceptional accuracy.
Fun to fish/Got to have - 20 points
In Car and Driver shootouts, this is fun to drive/got to have factor. We are giving this category 20 points in this shootout. If the rod looks like a million bucks and casts like it too, then any normal fly fisherman will lust for this rod, even if the price is high. For some it might be just a status symbol. For others, they see how this rod performs in their guide’s hands and feel that it can take them to that next level. Often they are right. Great rods don’t make great casters but they will sure help an average caster get a lot better. For expert anglers that spend a lot of time on the water, doesn’t it make sense to go for the best, especially when you might use this rod for 10 years or more? $650 isn’t much for the best when you amortize it over ten
years.
Objective Observations
(Click
to enlarge)
*Overall
weight:
We used our trusty Yellowstone Angler
digital postage scale to get these weights. We balanced the
rods horizontally on the scale and read off the weight to the nearest
tenth of an ounce. Since the pressure on the scale was quite constant,
we just did three measurements and then took the average.
**Swing
Weight:
The swing
weight is the weight you feel out ahead of your hand when the rod is held
in a horizontal position. Lighter is better for most anglers.
Some rods may have identical overall weights but the rod having a lighter
swing weight is going to be far more pleasant to cast. I came up
with my own test to give anglers an easy way to determine swing weights. First,
I needed to find something to use as a fulcrum to place on top of the
digital scale. A simple packing foam peanut worked in the past,
but this time I used a cylindrical soft foam earplug. This weighed
almost nothing, like the packing foam pellet. I placed the
foam earplug (on its side) in the center of the digital scale. Then I
set the rod handle on the earplug, making sure that the fulcrum was placed
in the middle of the handle with the rod in a horizontal position. Now
comes the tricky part. To keep the rod horizontal while I read off
the weight, I held the back of the reel seat down using a ball point pen
with a rubber grip positioned exactly 1 1/2 inches up from the end of
the extension butt of the rod. The key here is to be consistent. Holding
he rod as steadily as possible I then read off the weight in oz.
I took five measurements on each rod and then averaged the results.
Final Results
(Click to
enlarge)
George Anderson’s
comments on each rod, and the way they performed...
Please
click on each rod image below to take you to more photos of each rod.
Frankly, I was disappointed
at the performance of both Scott rods that we tested. I would have
never guessed that their S3S would be at the bottom of this pack.
Both Scott rods suffer from a hinge like feel and lack of good power transfer
in casting. Their actions are slower than the other rods in
this test, as you can see by looking at the deflection chart. I
think the tips on these rods are too stiff, and this handicaps their performance,
especially at closer distances.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 15 points out of 20
This rod has a heavy, stiff tip reminiscent of parabolic actions of the past. The slower action, heavy swing weight and stiffer tip made close distance casting unpleasant. Accuracy was only fair at best
60 foot performance – 15 points out of 20
I had only three words written down : heavy-slow-Yuk! That about sums it up. Accuracy was fair at best.
100 foot performance- 15 points out of 20
Start pumping iron and you’ll
be able to cast this rod 100 feet, but it will wear you down if you are
doing this all day. Accuracy was only poor to fair.
In casting both the T-3 and he Zero-G my initial impression was that these rods had a heavier swing weight than most of the other rods tested, and they just felt heavy in my hand. The performance of the T-3 was better at short distance than long. Exactly the opposite numbers of what we got for the Zero-G scores. This is a nicely built rod, with typical Orvis high quality components. The blue/gray color might appeal to an accountant, but not me. This has to rate as one of the least desirable rods we tested.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 17 points out of 20
Surprisingly good accuracy but the gargantuan weight of this rod bogs it down when doing a lot of casting in close.
60 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
OK, but nothing special. The overall weight is annoying, especially after casing the lighter rods. Accuracy suffered and was only fair. Another one of those heavy rods that will prompt you to re-up your membership at Gold’s Gym.
100 foot performance- 15 points out of 20
Most people are never going to see 100 feet with this rod unless they get a good tailwind. Even when I got it out there, the accuracy was not good.
About the only good thing I can say for the TiCr-X is that it placed first in the price category. Although finishing in a tie for 12th shows you that maybe you do get what you pay for. We downgraded TFO to 6 in the X-Factor since they don’t see any reason to give you a hard case with this rod, just a cloth bag. No other manufacturer is this shortsighted.
Here are my performance
notes
35 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
Only fair accuracy, and this rod feels butt heavy. The butt is so strong that it overpowers the tip, making it hard to get a good smooth transfer of power throughout the cast.
60 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
The overall weight of this rod (the heaviest we tested) makes it a chore to cast. More arm pump! Accuracy was good but not great. A definite lack of smooth power transition made for a hinge like feel.
100 foot performance- 17 points out of 20
Feels a lot better at 100 feet, but certainly no Loomis or Sage. NOW, FINALLY, the butt begins to flex. Good power to throw long...
Like the S3S, the X2S seems
to have a tip section that is too stiff and this slows down the action,
making the rod feel heavier and more tiring to cast than most of the other
rods we tested. I did like this rod better than the S3S however.
The overall weight of this rod was good but the swing weight was disappointing.
An excessive amount of graphite in the tip is to blame here.
Neither of these Scott rods are pleasant to cast when compared to the
best rods we tested.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
The stiff tip of this rod leads
to slower cast rhythm and less line speed than other rods. Accuracy
is only fair, with little feel at close range.
60 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
Definitely better than the S3S,
but again, neither rod is very impressive at this distance.
Accuracy still only fair and I had to work harder physically to get the
job done.
100 foot performance- 16 points out of 20
Hitting 100 feet, even with
a little in the breeze at my back, was a real chore. Accuracy was only
fair.
This rod has nearly the same
flex characteristics as the Sage Xi2, so I thought it would perform well,
especially after hearing from others that this was a pretty good rod.
Well, the bottom line is that this rod is not too pleasant to cast at
any distance! For one thing it has a very heavy swing weight so
even though it has decent power, the weight you have to overcome kills
the deal. This rod is definitely better than the T-3, but
only at longer distances. On a positive note, I loved the
color, a beautiful candy apple red. The Star Wars reel seat
seems to lock up well but just looks goofy- and heavy.
Here are my performance
notes
35 foot performance – 15 points out of 20
The tip on this rod felt too
stiff even though it flexed exactly like the Xi2. Very strange.
The Xi2 cast far, far better at this range. Little or no feel
in close and accuracy was just fair.
60 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
It’s a real workout to
cast this rod a medium distances. The rod just feels extremely heavy
in my hand, undoubtedly due to the high swing weight.
100 foot performance- 17 points out of 20
Plenty of power to get the job
done here, but again the overall weight I’m have to sling around
is not making this a lot of fun. Casting long for a couple of hours
could lead to a case of tendonitis.
Two initial impressions –#1
this is a beautiful rod with very good craftsmanship and build quality.
#2 This baby ain’t no 8-Weight – think about using a
#9 line on this rod unless you are one of those Eastern striper guys in
the surf up to your waist, launching 100 foot plus casts all day long.
This is by far the stiffest 8-line rod in our Shootout. Check it
out on the deflection chart – its way up there all by itself.
Jim Murphy partnered up with Eastern saltwater Guru Lou Tabory to come
up with these powerful rods designed to throw long with sinking lines
and shooting heads. With their power, they should be fish
fighting machines too. The color is a deep blue/black to match the
water for which they were designed. I’d forget about using
“light”class tippet with this rod. Go right for the 10 KG,
and you'll be kicking ass and taking names.
Here are my performance
notes
35 foot performance – 15 points out of 20
Reminiscent of casting a broomstick
with guides taped on it. No feel at all and accuracy suffers accordingly.
This rod ties for the lowest score in this category.
60 foot performance – 18 points out of 20
Now I’m getting surprisingly
good accuracy once this rod gets loaded. Good at this distance
as long as you can live with a rod that has about the same swing weight
as a railroad tie.
100 foot performance- 18 points out of 20
Now we’re talkin’.
Power to burn at this distance. Casting long all day will be fun
but only if you have forearms like the Governor of California. For
the rest of us more time at the gym is indicated.
The A-5 rods from Albright have
been a pleasant surprise. Their 9 foot #5 performed admirably in
our 5-Weight Shootout and we’ve set up many happy customers with
this rod, that is less than half as expensive as the top rods in our comparison.
These are well made rods with nice actions. These are 5-piece
rods utilizing a good slipover ferrule design. They are also very
light in weight, making them a pleasure to fish all day.
The 8-Weight we tested was on the soft side of the spectrum and performed
better at shorter distances. I still think this is an excellent
rod for beginners that don’t want to spend a lot for their first
8-weight rod. One beef: our test rod had a huge cork grip that only
Albert Pujols could love.
Here are my performance
notes
35 foot performance – 16 points out of 20
Loads well, with good accuracy
but it felt somewhat vague at this distance. Doesn’t want
to cast off the tip smoothly. Accuracy is only fair to good.
60 foot performance – 17 points out of 20
Very good accuracy at this range
but I notice that it was just a lot more work casting at this distance
than with either the Sage Xi2 or the Loomis GLX we had rigged for comparison.
The action seems to be too moderate and more butt and mid-section power
is needed.
100 foot performance- 17 points out of 20
This rod is definitely better
suited to closer ranges. Accuracy is still fair to good though.
The slower action meant lower line speeds making it tougher to hit the
100-foot mark.
The Boron IIx rods have proven to be winners in #5,6 and 7 line sizes but this 9 foot #8 is simply too soft to keep up with the real players in this class. Take a look at the deflection chart and you’ll see that the Loomis CrossCurrent GLX 7-weight rod was considerably more powerful. I’m hesitant to use the word wimpy here, as the Winston forum guys will want to tar and feather me but I’ll do it anyway. Another thing that bugs me is the small size of the handle. It’s both too short and too small in diameter. A good size perhaps for a lady but most hard-core saltwater anglers will not like it. Craftsmanship is excellent though and that emerald green color looks gorgeous out in the sunlight.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
This is a very light rod and fun to
fish at this distance. With a soft, light tip, the accuracy was
excellent, but not equal to the St. Croix. The tip feels too soft.
60 foot performance – 17 points out of 20
OK, but not great. Loads almost
too heavily without utilizing a double-haul. Feels like a #7 line
would work a lot better on this rod, especially at longer distances.
Simply not enough power.
100 foot performance- 16 points out of 20
Runs out of gas at this distance.
This rod seemed to max out at about 90 feet with a 10 mph side wind.
It sure won’t run with the big dogs.
I liked this rod a lot.
It was very pleasant to cast, especially at close to medium distances.
One drawback was the huge handle. It was both long and large in
diameter. They must have some big guys working in that place!
A smaller handle would have certainly allowed for better feel and accuracy
at all distances. The build quality was total perfection.
No one seems to be able to coat the wraps as beautifully as T &
T, but that is probably because they use thinner, multiple coats to get
the result. They get a 10 for sure in the Craftsmanship category.
This is one of the best casting mid-power rods in the 8-weight class.
It didn’t have nearly as much power as the stiffer rods though,
like Sage and Loomis. This limited the performance slightly at longer
distances.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Excellent accuracy when casting
in close off the tip of the rod. Has a very nice feel, almost as
good as the St. Croix. Would be even better with a smaller diameter
handle.
60 foot performance – 18 points out of 20
Good accuracy but I had to push
the rod harder to put the fly where it needed to go. Swing weight
definitely heavier than the top rods, making casting at this distance
more of a chore.
100 foot performance- 17 points out of 20
This rod can throw long but
only with a lot more effort than I was using with the other top rods.
Accuracy was only fair to good at this range.
Initially I didn’t intend
to test this rod since the #5 and #6 line TCR’s that I’ve
cast were so incredibly stiff. On those lighter line TCR rods I’ve
usually gone up one line size, much like the old XP. The 8-Weight
TCR seemed fine though with a #8 line, and absolutely terrific at longer
distances. It has a wonderfully light swing weight versus power
ratio. Good casters will get the most out of this rod. Less
capable casters would be well advised to pick a more forgiving rod. The
washed out cherry color doesn’t do much for me. The Xi2 is
a much more handsome rod with its deep sapphire blue color. One
thing that cost the TCR in the X-factor category is the small guides.
Much smaller than the Xi2. No tangles are going through these smaller
guides so expect to blow off a few bonefish.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 17 points out of 20
Not much feel since this rod is so
very stiff at this distance. Better than the Albright XX but not by a
lot. Tough to load but surprisingly good accuracy.
60 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Nice and light. At this
distance the TCR definitely casts with less effort than the Xi2.
Very good to excellent accuracy but casting it heads up with the Loomis
CrossCurrent it just couldn’t match the GLX for punch or accuracy.
100 foot performance- 19 points out of 20
Great power at longer distances,
and plenty of pop when you really load the rod heavily. This one
isn’t going to fold up if you really lean on it. Then
just for fun I loaded up the RIO Outbound line, and put the pedal to the
metal, casting both the TCR and the CrossCurrent GLX side by side.
The GLX left the TCR in its rearview mirror. 130 feet was
no problem for the GLX.
Those of you that read our 9
foot #5 shootout know that the new Z-Axis won by a nose over the Loomis
StreamDance GLX. The Z-Axis is a superb rod in all aspects
and this 8-weight is no different. Earlier this fall I took this
exact rod to Alaska and fished it hard for a week, catching 7-10 pound
rainbows. I gave the rod an incredible amount of abuse. I would
have broken most other rods with the kind of bend I was putting in the
Z-Axis but it handled everything I could dish out without a whimper.
The Z-Axis cast like a dream, even chucking huge streamers, and had good
butt power for playing big fish. Good power but just not enough
to run with the big dogs at long range or in the wind. Like the
TCR, I knocked it down a couple of points for the small guides.
This was OK for freshwater but a definite handicap in the salt where far
more tangles occur.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 18 points out of 20
Good but not great would sum
it up. Good accuracy but the Xi2 was better in close.
I noted a lack of loop control.
60 foot performance – 18 points out of 20
I’d have to give the edge
to the Xi2 at 60 feet also. The Xi2 simply overpowers the Z-Axis here.
The rod loads well, but won’t be pushed into carrying tight loops
like you can get with the Xi2. Line speed was also lower than either
the Xi2 or the GLX.
100 foot performance- 18 points out of 20
Just not enough power to rip
it long into the wind and get good accuracy like you will with the Xi2.
Here’s hands down the best inexpensive rod you can buy if you’re in the market for an 8-Weight that can do it all. We were all impressed at how well this rod cast. It clobbered everyone in the important Swing weight category and also had a very good score of 18 in the swing weight VS Power category. These rods are built in the orient but the quality control seems to be excellent. They are good looking rods too, finished in a rich dark green. The actions were right on the money and the rods performed well enough to put a lot of big names in their rearview mirror. With a price of $299 these are a real bargain. We don’t have a category for “best buy” like Consumer Reports, but if we did, this rod would win handily. This rod didn’t have the overall power needed to displace any of the top rods but it was close.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Superb accuracy with a very
nice feel. Definitely one of the best tested at this distance.
60
foot performance – 18 points out of 20
Good accuracy but feel was a
little vague, probably due to the lack of power that the best rods exhibit.
Still the performance at this distance was very, very good.
100
foot performance- 17 points out of 20
A little weak at long distances. You can milk it
and get 100 feet no problem, but accuracy suffers. Definitely not
as much power as the Xi2 or the Loomis GLX rods.
This is Sage’s premier saltwater rod and the whole line-up is super.
They have great power and are tough as nails. Their 9 foot #11
is one of my favorite tarpon rods and is superbly accurate at shorter
distances. This is also true of the 8-Weight Xi2.
These are also one of the best looking rods on the market, dressed up
in a deep sapphire blue coat of epoxy with black wraps and silver trim.
Classy is the only word for it. Oversize guides help you clear
all those birds nests better than most other rods. Sage has
always built the best cork handles on big rods, and this one is no exception.
The full wells grip is just the right size and shape. The cork is the
best you’ll find on a production rod. Other manufacturers
should take note. Just copy these handles and everyone will
be happy. Sage’s warranty service has gotten faster
over the past few years and is now one of the best.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Unbelievable accuracy at 35 feet.
This rod casts beautifully off the tip with very tight loops. Only
the St. Croix was better at this distance.
60 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
The accuracy was not quite as good
as it was at 35 feet, but this rod delivers the goods with a lot more
authority than the Z-Axis. Good punch into a 10 mph wind. Swing
weight is a bit heavier than the GLX rods though, and you’ll work
harder to cast 60 feet.
100 foot performance- 18 points out of 20
Now that heavier feeling seems to
catch up with the Xi2. It has the power to throw long but the loops are
just not as tight as either of the Loomis GLX rods. Accuracy is
good but not great.
3rd Place
When we envisioned doing this
8-Weight Shootout, we all figured that Loomis and Sage would probably
come out on top, but having St. Croix barge up on the podium in third
place was a real surprise. This rod is not as strong as the GLX
rods or Sage’s Xi2 or TCR and won’t challenge them at long
range but what it does do is cast with unparalleled smoothness and accuracy
at short and medium distances. We were all impressed.
Anyone would be delighted to be dropped off on a bonefish flat with this
rod. This rod has the perfect amount of power for most anglers.
Beginning anglers will love it as it loads perfectly with an 8 line.
The only beef we had was on craftsmanship. The coatings on the wraps
were too thick and the reel seat seemed a little chinsy compared to the
other top contenders.
Here are my performance
notes
35 foot performance – 20 points out of 20
Fantastic accuracy and feel.
The soft tip on this rod allows it to cast better at 35 feet than any
other rod in the shootout. Perfectly balanced in all respects.
60 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Exceptional accuracy here too,
with a great feel in my hand. It has a very light swing weight that
helps contribute to the outstanding performance. Loads fully at this distance-
perfect for beginning anglers.
100 foot performance- 18 points out of 20
Can do, but this rod must work
a lot harder than the Loomis GLX at long range. The rod feels
slightly overloaded at this distance, carrying a lot of line in the air
but it won’t fold up when you pore the coals to it, and the accuracy
is still very good.
2nd Place
You won’t recognize this old black GLX in its new suit of clothes,
but the performance is still there and now the rod is pretty handsome
in metallic olive with complementary olive wraps. The brown
anodized seat is only a single lock, but it seems to work very well with
an easy to grip ring. Like the CrossCurrent GLX, lightweight
and unbreakable nickel titanium guides are used. The Native Run
uses the single foot version. Unbreakable recoil stripping
guides are also used. These are expensive guides so none of
the other manufacturers use them but I think they add a lot of value to
the rods. I’ve squashed my share of snake guides or
have one foot break off. That won’t happen with these guides.
Loomis also has the best warranty policy going. They charge your
credit card and send you a brand new rod in just a few days. For
$65 you can get it next day air. That can salvage a fishing
trip.
We felt that this might be the perfect 8-Weight rod for most anglers since it does everything so well. It’s wonderfully light yet has great power on tap to really reach out to the longer distances with ease. A slightly softer rod than the CrossCurrent GLX, this rod has less butt power but has a better feel and better accuracy in close at 35 feet. To me, the more standard full wells grip on the Native Run feels a lot more comfortable than the grip on the CrossCurrent, which is larger at the top and much smaller below the palm swell. This rod is similar in action to the Cross Current GLX, just a tad softer. It still has that explosive Loomis power on tap though when you need it.
Here are my performance
notes:
35 foot performance – 19 points out of 20
Throwing at the 24-inch hula hoop,
this rod could really drill them into the dead center. I was a perfect
10 out of 10 at this distance. Very smooth and very pleasant to
cast off the tip of the rod. Great feel.
60 foot performance – 20 points out of 20
Works harder than the CrossCurrent
GLX, but casting sixty feet without any double-haul is easy. Excellent
accuracy and good feel combine to make this rod a delight to cast.
100 foot performance- 19 points out of 20
No problem. This rod won’t
fold up, no matter how hard you press it. It seemed to come alive as I
applied more pressure while double hauling. Not quite as much power
as the CrossCurrent GLX though, and not as easy to cast these extreme
distances.
1st
Place
In the end, it wasn’t
as close as our totals indicate. The two Loomis GLX rods really
ran roughshod over the rest of the pack. The CrossCurrent GLX is
designed specifically for saltwater use, but I’ve had a great time
with mine in Alaska, fishing for big rainbows. When you need power,
this rod has it in spades. There is simply nothing
out there to match it in the performance department.
Well yes, it didn’t cast quite as well in close as the St. Croix
and the Native Run GLX, but at the longer distances it blew their doors
off. In a mini ultimate long distance shootout with the Sage TCR,
it had the power to send the TCR packing. This rod utilizes very
light and unbreakable nickel-titanium snake guides as well as unbreakable
recoil stripping guides. These have proven to be terrific. The
only complaint I've had, using these rods hard over the last few years
is that when I'm playing a good fish and have the bend of the rod way
back into the butt, these recoil stripping guides sing a weird song that
can be annoying. Sometimes I'll hear these same harmonics on a hard backcast
, but fortunately it doesn't often happen.
Another personal dislike, is
the somewhat odd Steve Rajeff handle design. It’s hard to
argue with a guy that has won a couple of dozen world championship fly
casting events over the past twenty years, but I’d just as soon
have the standard full wells handle that comes on the Native Run GLX.
Rajeff’s casting experiences over the past twenty-five years and
his world-wide fly fishing experience in both fresh and saltwater have
undoubtedly helped him become one of the world's best rod designers. He
knows exactly how to tweak these rod designs to get the maximum performance
out of every rod. He's convinced that this handle design will help
flycasters of all levels get the most out of these CrossCurrent rods.
The CrossCurrent GLX rods are
a lovely dark olive color with contrasting brown wraps. The reel
seats are an interesting and good-looking design with a larger diameter
barrel than most and have a very secure double locking ring system.
The seats are anodized in olive to compliment the rod and wrap colors.
All the Loomis rods have a slipover
ferrule design and are extremely strong despite their small diameter tips. one
thing that sets these rods apart from others is the explosive power on
tap. The harder you power the rod in the casting stroke the quicker
it seems to react. Casting long distances is effortless.
They also have great butt and mid-section power for playing large fish.
Here are my performance
notes:
35
foot performance – 18 points out of 20
Superb accuracy, 10 out of 10
into that 24 inch hula hoop. The progressively soft tip helps here,
as this is a very stiff rod. The angler has to work harder than
with the Native run at this range though.
60 foot performance – 20 points out of 20
Absolutely wonderful accuracy
at sixty feet. The rod had enough power I could actually cast off
the tip at 60 feet! Unbelievable. Nothing approached the CrossCurrent
in putting the fly dead center into that 36-inch hula-hoop at sixty feet.
On one string of casts I stuck 10 out of 10 into the hoop. The rest
of the time it seemed that 8 out of 10 was about average. This rod feels
very light and nicely balanced with the perfect transition of power.
100 foot performance- 20 points out of 20
The Cross Current reaches this
distance with ease even in a strong crosswind. Unreal power and
the ability to form extremely tight loops with great accuracy, even at
100 feet. Putting the fly inside the 36-inch hula-hoop on
nearly half the casts was amazing.
Final Results
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