Further information ...

04/08/11

fly fishing hawaii:

rain... the sage xi3 and the smallmouth rod.

 

not much to report except, you guessed it, rain.  yet another bout with some squirrely weather has kept me pretty stuck to my tying bench.  i did poke my head out a couple of times.  i spent an afternoon/evening session on the lake with sean.  another day i went out to the lake but turned around before even launching the boat because of pounding rain and some pretty impressive lightning hitting the ground (had to try though, you never know unless you go).  reports of the early morning bite have still been good and it appears that the rising water has not affected it too much.  we will have to wait and see how much havoc the rise in water level from this last blast of rain wreaks. stay tuned.

 

the evening that sean and i were out on the water was pretty lacking in the busting category, but fish were definitely schooling and we did get some deep and managed a few on top as well.  took sean’s sage xi3 5wt and abel super 5n out on it’s maiden voyage.  lots of power in that one.  the rod easily generates high line speeds and super tight loops.  not quite the fast with feel that is this old goat's cat's meow, but the perfect tool for the younger power casting crowd that seems to be leading the way now.  it does throw a ridiculous long line (as all rods in this class will) and has the power to conquer anything in the 5wt realm and probably well beyond.  the abel super 5n reel is yet another elegant, supremely functional work of art produced by the dudes and dudettes down in camarillo.  the narrow “n” series has a nice balance of  spool diameter to width ratio (something i personally think many large arbor reel producing companies, including abel, have had some trouble dialing in over the years).  the reels are also significantly lighter than similar older models.  i’ve never had a problem with the weights of the older abels but i guess in this day and age where light is right they are just keeping pace with the joneses.

 

the other set up we used (and this, i think is a must have) is the sage smallmouth bass rod.  i've blabbed... i mean blogged about this popper chucker before.  there just is no other rod out on the market that i’ve seen that is like it.  we’ve been using this rod for chucking small bangers and peacock pencils at the lake as well as launching crease flies at papio and cudas in the bay and on the ala wai.  i’ve also used it with sinking shooting heads at times and it rocks.  this rod is very forgiving and likes big loops making it easy for even beginners to launch bombs.  the rod does all of this yet plays like a 5 or 6 weight when fighting fish.  it is perfect for peacocks in the lake and the smallish trevally and barracuda which, let’s face it, is the size of papios and cudas that most of us run into in our daily lives.  the sage smallmouth comes with it’s own line and at a little over four bills, there’s no excuse for any hawaii fly guy not to have one.  my only complaint about this rod is that the line it comes with is only eighty feet long and i often run out of line a little prematurely.  sean may have a few other complaints but you’ll have to ask him about that.  with the performance you get from what you pay, it’s hard to complain about anything.

 

well hopefully this rain will clear up soon and we can all put big smiles on our faces and get back on the water, i'll see you there!

 

the guy who makes nwff and all of our hawaii fly fishing dreams a reality.  sean gets the stink off his new toy.  abel aqua... pretty shweet.

 

deep schooling bass.

 

clay hand gestures how the busting fish is "supposed to be".

 

photo of the gaggle for sean's mom... hi sean's mom.

 

i'm only going to say it one more time so listen good... sage smallmouth bass rod.  good times.

 

clay.


Top of page

"Nervous Water Fly Fishers- your guide to fly fishing in Hawaii"