Only the Zephrus and Pure were better at mid-distance. Overall weight is certainly a factor, lighter being better, but swing weight is far more important. For an 86 rod, the Zephrus packs a punch and can deliver casts out to 60 feet as easily as it can at 25 or 40. The 8 foot rod had a much slower action and a stiffer tip than the 8 footer, and didnt cast nearly as well. . Feels equal to the Avantt and Recon at mid distances. As you have seen, the best rods in this 4-weight Shootout are medium fast or fast action rods with softer tips. Performance at 40 feet: 20 points out of 20. Just about any rod can turn over a 9-foot leader, but only the best casting rods can turn over a 12 footer at short distances. There are not many situations when youll be fishing this far with your 4-weight, but Ive certainly had many situations, especially fishing dry flies on larger rivers, like the Missouri, where Ive had to throw it this long yet still get good accuracy and a delicate presentation in order to catch a nice fish. We make a note of which was the best line with the write up on each rod. When you pick up this rod, youll first notice how light it is in swing weight. Id like to see Howard Croston re-design this rod with a softer tip. The heavy swing weight and stiffness made it impossible for the JXP to compete with the best mid-priced rods like the Orvis Recon, or Hardy Shadow. Rods that are light in overall weight and swing weight, and ones that have softer tips, eliminate a lot of break offs caused by an inadvertent heavy-handed hook set. First, it is very light in swing weight and the fast action is a lot like the Zephrus in that it has a stronger butt and much softer tip than most of the other rods. It performed better than any of the sub $300 rods, including the Orvis Clearwater. One of the reasons is that the SKY is available only as a nine footer, while the DXF is 86. The cork is a stack of thin rings, and the quality of the cork is excellent. The cork is excellent, and Douglas uses darker contrasting composite cork rings at both the top and bottom of the grip. These rods are designed in Sweden, but built in Korea in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy rods. The epoxy coatings on the wraps were excellent. We also kept on hand, and compared, what we felt was the very best rod the Hardy Zephrus. $759.00 0 bids 6d 8h +$19.99 shipping. The best Korean built rods now rival what is produced here in the US. First, it is very light in swing weight and the fast action is a lot like the Zephrus in that it has a stronger butt and much softer tip than most of the other rods. TheHardy SHADOWat $349.95 takes the crown as our best mid-priced rod with an exceptional performance that put it into a tie for 4thplace overall with theT&T AVANTT. Shop Now. Dont make this mistake. Distance The color of the blank is a natural graphite gray, and only lightly sanded so you can still see the tape marks, much like the Scott rods. The handle is Winstons familiar cigar grip, a half wells with a little flare on the bottom end to accept the uplocking seat. It had the power to hit 60 feet easily enough but my accuracy was not very good. Im impressed with the guide set up, starting with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripping guide, followed with the best nickel/titanium and flexible single-foot guides as on the Zephrus and Sky. It has a butt and mid-section that is stiffer than most rods tested. As I have grown older, I derive a lot of pleasure from stalking and catching rising fish, where the keys to success are casting accuracy and making delicate presentations. The added weight and relative stiffness over the other best rods hurt many of its scores. Non-original owner $150 per section. Now it tracks perfectly and Im getting nice tight loops. The stiff tip didnt allow me much feel but the accuracy was decent. But then rather than a beautiful piece of burled wood insert as on the Avant, there is a plain piece of blue colored graphite that also shows the tape marks. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. Wind scott radian. A half wells cork handle is used, but the size is a little small in diameter as I noted. Howard is a great angler and knew just what he wanted for the perfect 4-weight. Casting against the Scott G series it felt about equal, and better than the Asquith. I do like the 8 foot rods over the 9 footers as they are lighter and the shorter length allows me to strike more quickly, and they often provide better light tippet protection than the longer rods. and comes complete with the original Orvis tube and bag. Nice tight loops and good control. #28. The Zephrus Ultralite has a gorgeous dark green finish that glistens in the sunlight, along with some really intricate cross-wraps from the winding check up to the end of the rod inscriptions. First, the Zephrus Ultralite's blank is surprisingly strong, stiff and stable given its weight. The guides start with a hook keeper on the butt, then a single SiC stripping guide, followed with hard chrome single foot guides that seem sturdy enough, but are not nearly as good (or as light) as the nickel/titanium single foot guides used on the NRX LP. Our answer is a definite yes. Nickel silver is used for the winding check and rear grip check as well as the hardware on the reel seat, which is a sliding band and one wide locking ring. To read their comments, simply click on their photo above at the beginning of our Shootout. It really sings in the 15-45-foot range, though you won't be disappointed if you have to push your flies a bit further. To my credit, I didnt throw a tailing loop, but my first cast wasnt exactly pretty. The action of these two rods is very different. The Sage X is light in overall weight, butfarheavier the most in swing weight. Fly selection is far less important. #26. It was even a little sloppy on the tip sections. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. The best rods are not always the most expensive ones. Does the tip of the rod load well enough in close to give you the feel and accuracy you need with little line or only the leader out of the guides? Rods that were very light in swing weight like the Zephrus, Avantt and Helios 3F blew the X away in both feel and performance. One thing I like is that there is a serial number on each rod section. Mystic Lifetime warranty to original owner. #24. Rods that have good power and backbone help me fire my cast accurately. For this 4-weight Shootout, we decided to make the short distance 25 feet, the mid-distance 40 feet, and the longest distance 60 feet. (tie) TFO FINESSE TROUT 79 #4 $229.95. The heavy swing weight hurt, and I wasnt getting the kind of feel or accuracy I got with the G Series Scott or the Orvis Helios 3F. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? Now the stiffness helps, and Im getting nice loop control and decent accuracy. Accuracy is good, just not great. In terms of performance, the Recon was actually better at mid to long range. (tie) St. Croix IMPERIAL 86 #4 $270.00. Scott uses a stack of thinner cork rings on this handle and the quality was excellent. I dont know how Orvis pulls this off, but we like the results. The Pure puts in an impressive performance, especially at the shorter distances, and finishes in 2ndplace in both the overall and performance results. As I put more line in the air, it tracked beautifully and was just a delightful rod to cast at 40 feet. At 60 feet the Zephrus was still performing extremely well. Alignment dots are placed at the ferrules, which is handy. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers offer, your new rod is one that will last you for many years. The shorter rod is nice and light, and faster in action than its longer brother. There are lots of ways to break a fish off on light tippet, but the rods that score high in this category are going to give you a far better chance of landing a big fish. Perhaps surprisingly to some, where a blank is rolled or a rod is assembled doesnt impact its performance or quality. When I put this rod in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than a 4-weight! Next, holding the rod in a horizontally, we position the grip over the foam pellet so that the pellet is centered under the exact spot where you will most likely hold the rod with your hand. It is trimmed top and bottom with contrasting, composite cork rings. So many aspects go into blank performance that its hard to single out one of them. This rod has a stiffer tip than many of the best rods, and I felt this hurt both feel and accuracy at the two shorter distances. Not so good in close. With more line in the air Im getting nice loops and good accuracy. The softer tip on this rod gave me good feel and decent accuracy at close range and the amount of butt and mid-section power seems about right for a 4-weight rod. Nothing to write home about. Scott feels that this gives the rod a smoother one-piece type action, and I agree as this is a very smooth casting rod that gives me a lot of feel at short to mid distances. Now that we have dropped our Perfect 4 category, this category gives you our opinions on the best rods and how they stack up. Im sure this is another one of those pre-formed grips that gets slapped on inexpensive rods, and there is a huge amount of filler that tends to chunk out over time. It was a little heavier than the best rods in both overall weight and swing weight but part of this can be attributed to it being a 9 foot rod, while most other rods in our 4-weight Shootout are 6 inches to a foot shorter. And if there was any wind, I couldnt make good enough back cast loops to hit the distance. Weight However, if all rods are measured on the same day, the relative numbers will be consistent. I have the utmost confidence in using this rod with very light tippets to fool large spring creek trout. I could hit this distance easily enough, but I had much better feel and accuracy with the faster, lighter rods. The rod weighs 2 5/8 oz. The nice soft tip allows me to cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. The cork handle is a half wells western style grip, with a contrasting darker composite cork at the bottom end, over the flare for the reel seat. I just dont think the 3Fd is nearly as good looking as some of the more traditional looking rods, in our Shootout like the Scott, Winston, T&T, and Hardy. Orvis CLEARWATER 86 #4 $198.00. Heres a mid-priced rod that put in a good performance across the board. Also, the Galvan Torque reels are basically maintenance free, using a rulon bushing that requires no lubrication. $25 handling fee. ROD HANDLE TYPE: RHW. For those anglers that like fast action rods with more power, (for fishing at longer distances or in windy conditions), the G. Loomis Asquith, the T&T Avantt, and the Scott Radian are good choices. Then we progressed to the mid-priced rods and finally the least expensive rods. We have learned that we cannot trust manufacturers stated rod weights. I normally prefer an 8 foot rod in a 4-weight but when we cast the two rods heads up, and put them on the deflection board, it was obvious that these rods had two different actions. Year after year the Zephrus manages to maintain its top position. The Zephrus has an even stiffer butt and midsection with a softer tip than the Zenith. Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 15'1'' # 10/11 - 4 Pieces Brand New $1,202.36 fishingonline4 (18,829) 100% Buy It Now Free shipping from Australia 5 watchers Sponsored Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 12'6'' #7/8 4 Piece +Warranty Brand New $1,055.99 fishingonline4 (18,829) 100% Buy It Now Free shipping My advice has always been if you can afford it, buy the best performing rod you can find. Very little feel or accuracy. In general, the Zephrus was very popular as Hardy's all purpose fast action rod. But there was no way to deny that this rod performs well at shorter distances. This is a good-looking rod finished in a matte gray color. Scott Lifetime warranty to original owner, $50 handling fee. T&T also uses a stack of thinner cork rings and the quality of the cork is as close to perfect as you can get. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. For reels, we again decided to use one of our all-time favorites, the Galvan Torque (T-4), loaded with 100 yards of 20 lb. Every high-end rod (which I classify as $650+) handles average wind just fine. Still, I felt it could be our 4-weight winner until I finished casting the Ultralite heads up with the winner, the Zephrus. Standard corks are used and the quality is excellent. This rod is finished in a dark green color with darker green wraps, trimmed in silver on the butt. Much of the time Im able to play smaller trout by just stripping line in, but when I hook a big fish that runs hard I want to play it off the reel. A 12-foot leader also gives you a stealthier presentation. Rods are either replaced with a new rod or the broken section is replaced. The Pure is unquestionably one of the best looking rods in our Shootout, with some of the best craftsmanship. Ive fished with Howard here, on our Montana Spring Creeks, and better understand how and why he came up with these designs. The locking ring is easy to grip, but Id prefer a double ring seat as this one looks like it will loosen up more easily than most. The quality of the cork was surprisingly good for a less expensive rod. No loss of accuracy, power or feel here. You can read about these warranty policies later in our Shootout. WinstonLifetime warranty to original owner. The Ultralite did get perfect scores for overall weight, swing weight and light tippet protection and these all helped to boost its final scores in both the overall and performance results. The top three rods were a lot better. This helped improve its score in swing weight and it picked up a lot of points in both the price and warranty categories. Spencer Durrant is a fly fishing writer, outdoors columnist, and novelist from Utah. This is a good-looking rod, finished in a non-glare flat black. Performance at 40 feet: 19.2 points out of 20. The wraps are darker green and the epoxy coatings were nicely done. But this also means they have a heavy swing weight. Winston PURE 8 #4 $850.00. Then the dark green finish just sparkles. We have liked the Mystic Reaper that has done well in some of our early 5-weight Shootouts. We were all especially anxious to see how the Orvis Helios 3F and the new Winston Pure would fare, compared to our favorite 4-weight, the Hardy Zephrus. Anyone whos fished recent Hardy rods knows theyre on the faster end of the spectrum, and thats what I expected when I threw my first lawn casts. Since this is a softer rod than the Zephrus, we settled on using the lighter Trout line but this rod had the power to handle the heavier Infinity nearly as well. The 79 TFO Finesse was far better. But the accuracy was still not as good as the best rods. Not much feel with all that swing weight, and the accuracy was pretty crappy too. The Recon has been one of our favorite rods, and this 4-weight version is terrific. This is a classy reel seat, which is much better looking than some of the anodized aluminum insert seats. So if you like what we are doing, the best way to thank us is to buy a rod, reel, or outfit from the Yellowstone Angler. Ive fished this Zephrus myself for the past two years, and it has been my go-to rod when Im fishing small dries, emergers and spinners in the surface film. The skeleton reel seat is a gray anodized double uplocking with a dark gray laminated wood insert. The epoxy coatings are good but too heavy for my liking. But this power and the stiffer tip hurt the performance in close, where it is similar to the Avantt but not nearly as good as the Zephrus, Pure or Helios 3F. We can attribute this to the use of one-coat finish rather than multiple coats as seen on the T&T rods. As the name implies, the new Zephrus Ultralite is light. (tie) Scott G SERIES 84 #4 $845.00. In fishing to wary trout, I often set my false casts up short and to the side of the fish, and then shoot a little line in on that last cast. A stack of thin diameter corks is used and the quality is good. The stiffer clear Maxima butt sections on our leaders achieve this. We like the looks of this new Mystic rod and the craftsmanship is better than we found on the Reaper X, but the price is a lot higher also. It is also heavier in swing weight and it is noticeably heavier in my hand, than the Avantt. Broken sections are replaced. The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. With 4-weight rods, performing well at the two shorter distances is the key to determining the best rods. Performance at 25 feet: 19.0 points out of 20. I loved the punch and power I was getting with the Shadow and only at long range did it suffer. The rest of the guides are the excellent nickel/titanium one-foot guides in a silver color. As part of the Expeditor policy, Loomis includes a FedEx call tag so that you dont have to spend any money to send the broken rod back. For others, seeing how a rod performs in an expert casters hands, convinces them it would make them great anglers as well, or at least take them to the next level. The DXF has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but there was no denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better. The JXP was also better. The Zephrus feels great to cast at 40 feet. Heads up, the Sage X and Recon were both better. The heavier swing weight makes casting at longer distances a workout. Ive fished with Howard here, on our Montana Spring Creeks, and better understand how and why he came up with these designs. A single uplocking, gray anodized skeleton seat is fitted with an attractive burled wood insert. The JXP is also very stiff. There is no question that the Shadow is our best Mid Priced 4-weight rod. Heads up the Recon and Shadow were far better. In order to do this, we set each rod up with the same reel, line, amount of backing and leader, length of tippet and the same size yarn indicator. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. Nice and smooth. The cork grip is soft, supple, and smoothand that cork continues into the reel seat. For guides, there is a hook keeper just above the handle, and then one SiC stripping guide followed by hard chrome snake guides. Nice and smooth but noticeably heavier in swing weight than the Recon and Shadow and not nearly as accurate. The 8'6 4wt Sky G is accurate at all the important trout distances. No handling fee. #28. $595.00. I started out years ago with 5wts for my trout endeavors and currently use a Hardy Zephrus and an older St Croix Legend Ultra. #15. GUIDE TYPE: FUJI TITANIUM REC RECOIL. I like a lot of things about this rod. Guides start with a hook keeper on the butt, and then two SiC stripping guides, followed with hard chrome snake guides that are large in diameter but thankfully use smaller diameter wire. Tracks beautifully with nice tight loops that are giving me great accuracy. I like the action, which is medium fast. Keep in mind that what you will read here are only our opinions. If Fenwick determines that there was a defect, the rod will be repaired or replaced at no charge. Some people might consider high priced rods status symbols. I loved the crisp, fast action of the Avantt and its light swing weight, but unfortunately the Zone is not nearly as nice. This is one of the best rods at long range. Our hand tied leaders, using stiffer clear Maxima for the butt and midsections, turn over better and more accurately than any of the knotless leaders on the market. A hook keeper is used along with a single chrome SiC stripping guide. If broken from neglect or any other cause, you must use the Expeditor service. Better than the Sky but cant match the Shadow. The cork handle is that same snub nose, half wells found on the X and feels very comfortable to me. Good, just not nearly as solid or as accurate as the 3F or Radian at long range. Performance at 40 feet: 17.5 points out of 20. The cork handle is a western style grip with a comfortable swell in the middle and a nice taper forward. A hook keeper is used just above the handle, and the one black SiC style stripping guide is followed with silver hard chrome snake guides, that are small and light out on the tip. An attractive X-pattern graphite wrap is used behind the logo, just above the cork handle. I still had to give the edge to the Zephrus and Pure. Even though less expensive components are used, this is still a pretty nice looking rod, with the blank a rich deep blue with dark brown wraps that include a little silver trim on the butt section. The Hardy Zephrus series of fly rods features our award winning Sintrix material . In the performance distance categories it was better at 60 feet than at the closer distances, but the overall weight and swing weight made it a workout to cast. Annette McLean, Winstons long time rod designer did a great job with the Pure, giving us a rod that is Pure fun to cast and fish. I realized last week just how spoiled I am to have the South Fork of the Snake River in my backyard. Awesome! At long range no rod has more power. A nice piece of dark hardwood is used for the spacer. It is a very smooth rod to cast and was excellent at short and mid-distances, but at the longest distance the Radian, Helios 3F, and Avantt were much better. The reel seat is a gray anodized skeleton seat with a band and large single ring that is easy to grip and tighten securely. Like the Zephrus, casting off the tip of the rod was easy and fun and I was getting very delicate, precise presentations. Starting at under $700 and offered in weights 2-5, the Zephrus Ultralite provides performance equal to or exceeding other rods priced much closer to the $1,000-mark. The DXF was better and the Shadow was far better. From $689.00. Good, just not great. In making the deflection chart, we first put up some white butcher paper on the wall. Overall a very good performance. The ability of this rod to form and maintain very tight loops helped it give me slightly more accuracy than the Helios 3F or Scott G series at mid-range. The Shadow and Pure were far better. Better at the longest distances, much like the stiff IMX Pro. I think the stiffer tip hurt here. It tracks well and I was getting very nice loops and good control, especially at mid to longer distances. Rods are replaced. Part of the light swing weight can be attributed to the use of the superb REC nickel/titanium single-foot guides. In addition to being a test caster and editor, hes responsible for some of the photos and putting all of this on line. The swing weight was fairly light, but not quite as good as either the Hardy rods or the Orvis rods. G. LoomisLifetime warranty to original owner. The epoxy coatings on the guides were good for the most part but a little too heavy on some guides. The softer tip is giving me a good amount of feel and the accuracy was better than the Zone or Nimbus. The Hardy Ultralite is a slimmed down version of the Zephrus made for small water fishing and delicate presentations. The first time I went to cast one of these rods, my local Hardy rep said hed bet $20 Id throw a tailing loop. It is refreshing to see such a nice rod, at such a low price that is made here in the US, in Park Falls, Wisconsin. If you are a Scott fan and want a rod for fishing at short to medium distances, youll likely prefer this rod over the Radian. Heres a category that we used in our last 4-weight Shootout, that we deemed important when you are trying to judge the best 4-weight rods, that will often be used with very light 5x, 6x, and 7x tippets. But that nice soft tip produces great feel and exceptional accuracy. The insert is a gorgeous piece of bamboo, sourced from the same company that uses it for Lexus steering wheels. Cheaper rods often utilize pre-formed grips that use a lot of filler in the cork that will chunk out or erode with hard use. These stiffer 4-weight rods require lines that are slightly heavier than a standard AFTMA 4-weight line. Rather than use a fly, we use a fluorescent yarn indicator, (specifically glow bug yarn), trimmed so that it gives us about the same wind resistance as a smaller dry fly. Id even go so far as to say the Zephrus Ultralite deserves to be in the conversation for best fly rod on the planet, alongside rods like the Sage X, Orvis Helios 3, Loomis Asquith and NRX-LP, Scott Radian, and Winston Boron IIIx. If you look at the deflection chart, youll see that the Zehprus has one of the stiffest butt and midsections, yet then it progresses to a nice soft tip. Perfect. Just not enough butt power to get the job done. In close, I could not cast off the tip of the Ultralite nearly as well as with the Zephrus. About as good as the Imperial, but the Recon and Shadow were noticeably better. This 8 foot Pure is somewhat like the Zephrus in acti0n with a fairly strong butt and mid section and then a nice soft flexible tip. If you buy this rod, you need to put a WF-5-F line on it. (tie) Sage X 86 #4 $900.00. The soft, slow action produces a delivery I noted as mushy. The blank color is a non-glare, graphite gray with slightly darker gray wraps and alignment dots. hardy fly rod. We have found that the only good way to pin down these subtle differences is to have at least a half dozen of the contending rods with the line stripped out and sitting there in front of you on the lawn, so that you can take a few casts with one rod, lay it down and pick up another rod, and make a few casts at the same distance, make some notes and then move on to another rod or the next distance. hardy zane. While not quite as light as the Douglas Sky G, it is one of the lightest all-around 5wts on the market. The light swing weight made casting effortless, and Im getting excellent accuracy combined with delicate presentations.