The Redington Vapen Red represents the single greatest change in fly rod construction since the introduction of carbon fiber. Redington teamed up with Winn (of golf fame) to improve upon one piece of the fly rod that has remained virtually unchanged for 100 years – the grip. They’ve made it synthetic, and they’re the first major manufacturer to do so. But while the grip is the most noticeable part of the rod, the highlight is how it casts.
What’s the one rod you won’t find at Sage, Hardy, Loomis, or Winston? A true designed-for-saltwater rod under $600. Enter the Sage Motive. Billed as a fast action rod with a powerful taper for bigger fish, it comes in the 5 most common sizes: 9-foot, 8 through 12 weights.
This year was full of great new product introductions. Great new rods came out from Winston, Redington, Hardy, etc. But I’m always waiting to see what comes off the bench of Jerry Siem from Sage. This year boasted two new releases: the Method, which replaces the TCX, and the all-new Motive, a “low” cost saltwater rod.
A customer called into the shop and was wondering about mid-priced saltwater rods. Of course I instantly defaulted to the TFO BVK, my go-to rod for the less than $500 crowd. He was interested in something stiffer for wind and big flies, and asked about the Redington Predator – so I took it out for a test drive.
The first comprehensive and scientific fly reel test ever performed.
Throughout the years a lot has been written about fly fishing equipment. Blogs, forums, magazines, manufacturers are full of information. There have even been several head-to-head tests of fly rods. Reels, on the other hand, have been virtually ignored. Why? Fly Reels are hard to test. It requires a lot of expensive equipment, knowledge, and time. We set out to break that mold.
Winner of our 2013 8-weight Challenge! It suffices to say that we love the Hatch Finatic 7-Plus. Here’s why.
