As I stood in the lot casting one of our last ever 9′ 5wt Sage Ones last month the Sage logo glinted gold in the afternoon sun and my palms ached for the loss of this beautiful tool. Luckily though, a discontinued product normally signals the introduction of the new (and hopefully improved) generation.
In this case, that new generation is the Sage X.
Anyone who has cast a rod knows that it takes skill to maneuver a line over head and then out to touch a specific spot. And anyone who has cast a Sage One understands that this rod makes that feat a lot simpler than others. The One was the fast action, lightweight, line shooting machine I dreamt of when I was first learning to fish. And it was the type of self-casting candy you had to earn with years of practicing the motions with other rods on your own. The Sage X maintains that casting caliber.
At a glance, the X isn’t much different from its predecessor. From afar, in fact, it is the same One we fell in love with. Its sleek blackish green design dresses a tight flex, fast action, line casting cannon. The cork handle is light (if not lighter in hand than the One) and the performance is just as straightforward as its predecessor–aim, fire, and let the action do the work. As Angling Editor Kirk Deeter puts it, the main difference with the X is that it loads closer to the cork, making its use “a more intimate casting experience“. And so Sage took the bones of a great rod, applied minimalist improvement on action and feel and gave us a next generation rod with the same superior performance.
If you want to get into specific improvements, here are a few:
1. Faster line speed and greater accuracy due to decreased torsional (rotational/side to side) movement in the blank.
2. The fact that Sage’s rod builders reduced the “wiggle” in the blank of the X enables anglers to achieve a more such precise presentation with each cast.
3. With a rod taper focused on accessing the lower rod sections, the action is brought closer to hand, enabling the angler to shoot line at high speeds with any X rod length.
The Sage X comes in the full array of length and weight match options, compatible with many lines. The table below is a great cheat sheet for anyone looking to outfit their new Sage X.
Sage Rod/Rio Line Recommendations Chart
| Sage X Rod | Performance Preference: line speed and tight loop emphasis |
Load Preference: active rod load as desired by caster |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5wt | RIO Gold/InTouch, Perception, Trout LT/InTouch | RIO Grand/InTouch, Extreme Indicator, Outbound, Single Hand Spey |
| 6-8wt | RIO Gold/InTouch, Grand/InTouch, General Purpose Saltwater | RIO InTouch Single Hand Spey, Coastal Quickshooter, Bonefish Quickshooter |
| 9-10wt | RIO General Purpose Saltwater, Striper 300gr, Bonefish Quickshooter | RIO Big Nasty, Redfish (Summer/Winter), Coastal Quickshooter XP |
For more Spey and Switch rod specific information, visit our Sage X Spey and Sage X Switch pages for line, reel and sink tip recommendations.
Below are some videos we made with spey guru and long time Sage Sales Rep, George Cook, on the X’s performance and function. Check them out for the inside scoop on what makes the X such a
Spey Talk with George Cook:
Casting the Sage X 6120-4 Spey:
12′ 4pc 6wt Spey paired with Rio Skagit Max 450 grain fly line
Switch Rod Recommendations & Casting the Sage X 7110-4:
11′ 4pc 7wt Switch paired with the Rio Skagit Max Short 500 grain fly line
Spey Rod Recommendations & Casting the Sage X 6120-4:
12′ 4pc 6wt Spey paired with the Rio Scandi 390 grain fly line
Still want to know more? Give us a call, shoot us an email or come on by the shop to cast the Sage X for yourself! We’d love to tell you all about it.
