Fly Rod Thoughts: Swift Epic, Redington Butter Stick, and Sage ONE

The hand makes things clearer

Disclaimer

To quote our current POTUS: "Let me be clear: ..."  This is not a product review of any kind.  These are the observations, musing, and otherwise random thoughts of a guy with a progressive neuromuscular disease who knows very little about casting a fly rod.

Entropy®

Six weeks ago, we started our sequence of six consecutive camping weekends in the Mobile Hotel®.  That first Saturday morning, my daughter and I set out for a few hours with two fly rods: my St. Croix Imperial ( 7 foot, 3 weight) and the rod now known as Mellow Yellow, a 7 foot, 6 inch Redington Butter Stick in 4 weight.  I started out with the Butter Stick, but switched over to the Imperial to "demonstrate" some basic tight-quarters sidearm casting.  With all apologies, the very short Imperial felt cold and lifeless.  I grabbed Mellow Yellow back and felt communication: loading and unloading.  So, I spent the next couple of weekends fishing with yellow fiberglass, learning to slow down and feel.  This rod is paired with a Rio Trout LT WF4F, with a long front taper.  I could feel the rod load with even short amounts (3 to 5 feet) of fly line.  I even, on occasion, managed to roll cast out 20 feet.  Streamers were a complete no-go, and dual nymphs with indicator were an aerial disaster.

Pure custom, including inscription!
(click to enlarge)

While this exercise was going on, I had my Father's Day present on order: a custom built rod.  Following my time with a Epic 686 FastGlass® rod on the Missouri River, I decided I wanted one.  The idea was to have something that would help me wrestle some of those wonderful 20" to 24" Missouri Rive trout (hence, fighting butt) and toss streamers, but perhaps also toss size 18 mayflies on Driftless spring creeks.  I was referred to Bill Hickey at W. Jude Fly Rod Company.  He's a custom build partner for Swift Fly Fishing.  I wanted a Swift 686 in the glowing "So Blue" color, and then worked with Bill to design the rest of the 6 weight rod.  More on this in the future.  I was giddy when it arrived 2 weeks early, and I'm still smiling.  I sidelined Mellow Yellow, christened the Epic 686 with the title "Monday" and hit the brookie run.  W. Jude's "mascot" is a brook trout, so it was only fitting that my first catch was a 6-inch brookie.  As expected with a 6-weight rod, I could reach 20 feet and beyond with much less effort.  On the short-range side, I could also make fairly delicate presentations with light casts.  Trials with dual nymphs and a streamer were acceptable, though I need much help casting those with ANY rod.  For now, I've paired it with a WF6F Rio InTouch Gold line on my Sage 3850 CF spare spool.  I like the "SureFire" color scheme, with the first and second 20 feet of line each colored differently.  I have not had a chance to compare the new Epic with Zed (see Glossary) but am worried that it might replace him as lead dog in the Armoury.

[Update - October 14, 2016: I finally got around to sharing more thoughts on the Epic 686.  See Four Months with My Epic 686, Plus Backstory.]

Yoda warned of the Sage ONE:
"Once you start down the Dark Path,
forever will it dominate your destiny..."

Then, just for fun, I assembled Mrs. FA's Sage ONE.  This is a dark, intimidating 9 foot specimen, labeled as a "5 weight."  After casting it for a while back in January, I started wondering... Well, wonder no more!  I attached the spooled-up Rio Gold 6 weight to the ONE and took it for a spin on my last outing Sunday evening.  Do you recall the Mars lander that NASA scientists managed to pile-drive into the surface of the planet?  That's what was happening to a size 16 elk hair caddis: the fly was smashing into the surface.  On the plus side, it repeatedly went EXACTLY where I wanted it to go, just too freakin' fast!  I tried softening my stroke and aiming for a point above the bank.  Even then, the line speed was still causing causing temporal distortions in the fabric of spacetime when it approached the Universal Speed Limit.  This "overlined" combo needs only one word: laser. Accuracy requires no effort with this combo.  It's not for canopy-covered spring creeks, but will be a royal hoot on bigger waters.  Where's my kayak?  Point me to some bass!

Summary Thoughts

The muscle stiffness that comes with Parkinson's Disease causes many problems, such as pain, weakness, and loss of coordination.  Over the past six weekends I have learned one thing for certain: a heavy line weight makes casting easier for me.  Much of the time, I didn't have to think about casting with my new Epic 686.  It was usually an intuitive experience, as long as I relaxed & let the rod do the work. And I had to do almost nothing to generate impressive line speed with Mrs. FA's 5-weight Sage ONE overlined with a 6-weight Rio Gold.  I think I'll call this combo "Rod 156."  Perhaps "Darth Sage"?  One other little note:  when I hooked that last 9-inch brown trout Sunday evening, I felt every little twitch, shake, roll, and tug.  I honestly thought I'd hooked something closer to 14 inches from the feel of it.  The fish wasn't foul-hooked, so it was a legitimate fight.  The ONE communicated every fishy movement with sensitively I don't recall from any other rod, almost amplified.  Such a sexy thing, all dark and shiny.  I'm drawn to it like The One Ring in Tolkien's novels.  The Precious. My Precious... Snap out of it, man!  Thou shalt not covet thy wife's fly rod.

What does this mean for Mellow Yellow?  I mentioned to my wife on Sunday that I was considering selling this Redington Butter Stick 476.  (Easy now, Howard!  I said "considering"...)  The thoughts and feelings here are conflicted.  I want to like this rod.  Given the newfound wisdom that a 6-weight seems to be a better fit for a guy with Parkinson's, should I let it go?  Perhaps the Rio Trout LT, with it's long front taper, isn't working for me... Would a different line help? A Rio Gold, or a WF4F from 406 Fly Lines?  So many variables in the Calculus of Fly Angling.  Some of the other Little Voices® whisper about trying the Butter Stick 580 (5 weight, 8 foot), or maybe an Echo Glass (except the thing is just so ugly...)   I'm stuck.

The Sage 3850CF reel looks terrible on that beautiful custom Epic rod.  The "So Blue" blank color paired  with titanium chrome hardware is begging for something else in shiny titanium.  My wife is partial to the Orvis Access reels in titanium, but that Sage reel has taught me the value of a large arbor, especially on the Missouri River when the big boys like to run into your backing on occasion.  Then again, I'd love to have a nice, American-made Lamson Litespeed.

My hopes that the Epic 686 would work as an all-around rod have not been deflated.  I can toss small dry flies on these SE Minnesota spring creeks, and I had fun throwing a big skwala pattern on the Missouri River back in April with a test rod.  Time will tell if it's a good fit for streamers, too.

This was far too much rambling for a single blog post, but I had to get this info out of my head.  Perhaps now, the Little Voices® will give me some peace.  

Yeah, right.  

Hush, I'm writing.