Sage Gear Rods.....Whould You?

Buy one.... or if you did, whould you do it again?

I've had my CR 290F for 2 seasons now its a great rod & hella stout, sure it will outlast all my old style IMX's & most of my lami CP's.

I'm pretty tough on my gear when I'm fishing, they tend to get tossed around in the boat when the action is fast, I'm not much of a high sticker but I whould fearlessly put more of a arc in this Sage than any of my other rods. I really don't think I could bust it on a fish.

On the other hand to me, when fishing my IMX 1025c then switching right off to the 290 it feels Sage sacrificed a bit of sensitivity for durability.

But to me, if not overdone thats not a bad thing......

Your thoughts??

C/22

Hey Brad, I have the Loomis 1084c imx and just LOVE it. Personally I would not spend the extra 200.00 for the Sage. I have fondled them at Three Rivers and their sweet though!

Ron, that IMX 1084c is one of the best rods Loomis ever put out. I have seen some guys use them year after year flat bending them into a capital "C" fighting kings in the 23-35 lb class. & they keep coming back for more. On the other hand my IMX 1082s blew-up on me running 10 lb. mono to a hot steelie, and each time I get a good fish on the 1025 I'm thinking shes gonna blow. In the back of my mind I'm thinking "its a brittle, brittle stick don't over-flex, go easy..."

C/22

I hear ya..the key is Babying them and they will last. Any little flaw can turn into an explosion. I'm on my second in 13 years :>)

i could see building a sage for a rod that only gets used in the holiest of places, but i'd never spend $300 on a loomis, much less $500 for a finished sage. a blank will run you around $240 the last i checked. figure in $60-100 in components and the rest is just sweat on my brow.

i like to ask the question...is sensitivity REALLY all that important? the only reason i spend more than 100 bucks on a rod is mainly for lightness in the hand, or the joy of fishing with a nice piece of equipment. i'm gonna build a glass rod and drift fish it this winter for steelhead, doubt it'll make any impact in my numbers.

I don't think I would want a glass rod for Drift fishing but pulling plugs or plunking would be nice.

I don't know why I don't get it. The light graphite casting rod on the closeout rack for $49 is lighter and nimbler and more fun than my 1970 Eagle Claw yellow fiberglass rod - with the cold metal reel seat. And when they eventually blow up, I just shop the closeout racks again. I just can't find my way to the brands priced in the hundreds of $$.

Gilly uses them on his charter boat and they are very nice. Are they worth what they retail for? Probably not. I am a loomis guy and I agree with Chum man to a certain point. I dont know how much more sensitive than the GLX or IMX you can get. I am sure Lamiglas has their equalls in sensitivity as well.- Good Luck- TBJ

Im a little miffed right now seeing as I picked up a brand new Z-axis that was my buddies and blew it up on a hook set after landing a fish 5 mins earlier.

I had a 290 built last winter and have no regrets.

I've been a Loomis guy since the mid-80's and still use their stuff for plug rods and summer run rods but I was looking for something different in a new winter-run drift rod, did a little research and chose the Sage. It has an ever-so-slightly heavier feel than the Loomis rods but we're talking a "miniscule" difference. The craftsmanship is superb, action and feel is very good and, in my opinion, is more durable than the Loomis rods.

The retail price is ridiculus but I was able to save almost $150.00 having it built so I went for it.

So far, it's been a great marriage.

I don't get why you would pay more for a Sage when a IMX is lighter and more sensitive.

it's not made by shimano

Shimano, Rainshadow, Eagle Claw I don't care. Give me the lightest most sensitive stick and I'm happy.

take a look at the rainshadow XST blanks then...they're parker approved, and we all know how much of a rod nazi he is.

He''s only using a Rainshadow because Superfly is pimping them now or at least he was.

Rainshadow makes a very good blank!!!

First, I didn't pay but about $30 more for the Sage because it was custom built and second, as I said above, I think the Sage is more durable. The need for sensitivity only goes so far and I think alot of guys carry that argument to the extreme. Not doubting at all the sensitivity and feel of an IMX but I've had too many friends explode them under conditions where they really shouldn't have broken, enough so that I wanted to go a different direction........Sage.

Only 30 more, Wow I thought they were 200 more. I must have been looking at an expensive shop.

Hell if they made a 1264 IMX I would buy it just for the weight. I hate holding a float rod for 8-16 hours.

RETAIL they are about $200 more. That's why I went custom built....the rod builder set his own price and was substantially lower than retail so that made it pretty attractive.

I went into this Sage thing thinking I'd get a blank (the 390) have a guy whip one up for me & away I'd go happy as a clam.

Had the blank shipped to Ted's, contacted a rod builder & went to pick it up. Oh NO!! There was the Sage factory rods all lined up, while the guy went back to grab my Sage blank you know what.......

I went & picked-up a finished 390, well I didn't like it at all, it was to much stick. Picked-up that sexy little 290 and got to thinking.....

Blank.............. $240
Trick Guides......$70
Cork...............??
Reel seat..........??
Have it wrapped..??

All of a sudden that crazy high price tag starting looking OK to me. Once you factor in that slick hard Sage rod tube & sock and the lifetime no questions asked return, it was really looking good!!


Before this gomer could say shazzam!! my visa card was out & I was out the door.


Doh......

C/22

I love my IMX 1025c.

I love my TH Sage 290.

3rd place is the TH RX8 1025c. It's an OK rod. I don't endorse or care too much for Rainshadow blanks. TV's craftmanship and quality components make that rod nice.

I did not care for my IMX 1084c. I sold it.

I'd get another Sage 290 in a heartbeat.

Ok, I'm in a bar typing this on my iPhone. I'm outta here.

easy for me to wrap my own -- your mileage may vary. i don't think that spending $100 on fancy guides is all it's cracked up to be, especially if you're just running mono like me.

i have so much fun with fishing rods i craft myself, that i'm considering selling off my factory ones(like my cherished lami esprit, no longer in production) just so i have a better excuse to build some more.

I got my 290 for $350, and it included a Chronarch. I believe it was built by TH. If I could get another deal like that, I'd have a pair. Caught everything from steelhead, silvers, kings, chum, ling cod, sea bass, and halibut (not on purpose). Nice rod.

Parker, I can't imagine anyone drift fishing would dislike the 1084 imx. What was it you didn't like?

lmao
times have sure changed from when i was hanging out at bars

I used a Berkley Buccaneer with a missing guide through the 80's and 90's catching kings on the Kenai so I was was hard pressed to spend the cash on a Sage. Then my wife bought me a 286 with the help of M_Ray and I swear I can feel a steelhead fart if there is one in the hole I'm drifting. The problem with that is then I had to go buy a 386. Both were built for around $350.

I have a 290 that I don't like, Its a custom. My belief is that the rod builder over guided the blank.

He used titiaum guides, but they are over sized. My belief is that the over sized guides have taken some of the sensititivity away.

JY

I love my older sage rods 190,290and 490 that were in 2-300.00 range. I blow alot bucks on gear but the new line of sage Rods are a bit out of line starting at 550.00. A Loomis IMX in the 3-400.00 range blows the doors off of em as far as value. If anyone has an older sage 286, 290, 386 or 390 blank or rod I would like to buy one or two or???

You can no longer use the words Loomis and Craftsmanship in the same sentence, That all went away a while ago. Sage has excellent craftsmanship and if you look at a IMX crosseyed it will blow up on your ass like and IED.

Just me 2 cents worth.

Peace
Fly

Achewter , I know of a guy that has a old school factory made Sage 286 with the amber colored blank. He bought it to fish the Babine up in BC, & did so for quite a few years. I don't think he fishes it anymore. I'm not sure he whould want to sell it though, he is pretty proud of it .

C/22

I may have a line on some old blanks. I will see if they are still available.

JY

The 1084 is a great small river drift rod. It's ideal for the summer time, low flows, and most steelhead you will catch.

Most of the fishing I tend to do is on bigger rivers, heavier flows, and I like a rod that is good for salmon and steelhead. Hence, the 1025.

The 1084 was just too specific for me. I rarely, if ever, just do drift fishing on small creeks, or in the summer time.

Don't get me wrong, the 1084 was a great rod - just not one that fit my style of fishing.

Both the 1025 and the 290 are heavier rods with more backbone and versatility when it comes to salmon and steelhead. They are a great pair of rods.

Fly - that was a funny post. Yeah, I love the IMX blank, but my kids could craft up a better looking rod than a current IMX model! I didn't buy that rod for the looks....which is too bad.

All I can say is that I'm glad I didn't pay full retail for any of my Loomis rods.

Gotta Love the Loomis Haters.-TBJ

I am with Parker, Not a hater just glad that I didn't pay RETAIL.

Not sure of the quality now, both of mine have been pre-Shimano

How do you tell if they're "pre-Shimano"? I picked up a nice IMX 1085C a couple years ago. So far so good. Just curious as how to tell.

I have fished post shimano GLX's hard the last few winters and have had nothing but good experiences. I have a 1084 IMX that is post Shimano as well and it has been a great rod as well. To answer you question I think that you could call Loomis and match up the serial numbers with te pre and post shimano numbers. It is funny how loyal and particular some of us get to a rod manufacturer. I guess it depends on what you consider important in your gear.-TBJ

What? were are the serial numbers??

OOPS,I guess there arent any

I am sure all rod manufacturers have a "bad batch" of every so often. I have had many rods break rite out of the tubes. That is the best, "hey you gotta try out this new rod" as the rod snaps in half on the first cast. It is going to happen. I have a medium action 9' Abu Garcia rod that continues to fish. I use most of the Sage Gear rods. I really like CT and SA 2106 as well as the CT 396, for Saltwater fishing, I have fished these rods for 3 years in my charter boat and had only one break. The SP 196 is a great side drifting rod, with a little extra power for handling the big fish.

TBJ, lets go get some of them blackmouth.

Matt

I built a 286 and 290 from the previous Sage line (GIIISH) and both are nice to fish with. They handle larger fish surprisingly well for their size and have fast twitchy tips.
Has anyone built a rod on the new CT series blanks?

My 290 is the CT series......very happy with it. I would have preferred they stay with the older rootbeer color but the current green hue they use is cool when the light hits it right. The workmanship that went into the blank is topnotch.

Funny I was just going to ask if any of the guides that stop by this forum run the Sage 196 spinning rods for their side-drifters. Seems to me a better choice than the Imx or even the Glx 1141s. Man, I just hate those whippy 1141 sticks, I know some guides over on the Clearwater in Idaho. run the Imx 1082s, that I could take......



BD, I'm sure TH has whipped-up some green CR blanks & he should be chiming in soon as rod related post get his attention. I know some other rod wrappers have done some new Sage blanks up, not sure if they frequent this site though

C/22

stop it guys...you're only making me want to build myself a 290 to replace 3 of my current steelhead rods with(lami EC86MC, lami X86MTC, st. croix 3C90MF2)...

i could have one tossed together to my own specs for $300 or so, it's just hard to take that price hit from selling $450 of my own sticks for pennies on the dollar...

I'm sure the... see the thing is... one time, at band camp...

2-290s from the 80s
1-390
1-311lb pin rod
1-2106LB pin rod
2-4106LLB used for side drifting
3 fly rods
I have broken 1 fly rod 3 times and sent it back each time to Sage, they replaced the broken piece each time.
I think that Sage rods are more durable then the other rods I own.