Sage ONE
Adam Royter tunes in to the latest fly rods from Sage.
Sage’s new flagship rod, the ONE, left me stumped for words after casting it with Peter Morse at the AFTA trade show this year. It’s…umm…? Well…it’s kinda like…? No! It’s kinda like nothing. Nothing you’ve ever cast before, and trust me I know how many times that’s been said!
Shortly after the show I got my hands on a 590-4 and I was away, to get right into breaking down what it is about these new Sage ONE rods that makes them what they are.
Okay, let me tell you, this is a serious chunk of rod. When I first picked it up I thought to myself, this rod is not for everyone. But after fishing it for a while now I’d like to retract that thought.
After sharing it with a few anglers of different skill levels I realised that this rod is very ‘tuneable’!
Tuneable in the way in which its flexibility is incredible, and it suits your level of skill instead of you having to struggle with a rod that’s more precise than the Hubble telescope and more critical than open heart surgery! The Sage ONE loves what you do and how you do it, regardless of how you throw it around.
Konnetic Technology means you are going to put less in and still get more out! Sage’s head materials guy, Steve Greist, has been putting in the long hours to help create a blank that is lighter than before. This weight reduction adds huge benefits to your cast. There is much less uncontrolled blank reverberation through the casting arc, delivering a straighter rod through to the target. The loading is typically Sage-smooth but the recovery of this new graphite and its method bundling is outstanding. The thinner blank also helps to increase rod speed and when you push this rod out to its limits, it looks back at you every time and asks “is that all you’ve got!”
When pushing 60–80 ft casts, I would say to myself on the release, “that’s not going to make it” and every time it would roll over perfectly and with vigour. This nail-driving accuracy, built around recovery speed from weight reduction instead of taper, allows for a more user-friendly taper that doesn’t bite you in the butt if you make a mistake.
To hold this rod amongst others gives you an ‘airy’ sensation—a feeling of freedom and power. To put a small load on the rod by pressing it against the ceiling, you can instantly feel where the overwhelming accuracy is going to come from. When you finally get to push a line through it, you realise, as I did, that this is a very special rod indeed.
The new Sage ONE is a solid step forward in rod design. It will increase accuracy and distance while doing it with less effort than ever before. Go cast one. You’ll be happy you did