Sage R8 Classic Review

It was a few months ago when the Sage R8 Classic came through the shop. All of us in the shop had the opportunity to cast it and right off the bat we all were impressed. This rod is Sage’s take on a medium action dry fly specific trout rod and they certainly delivered. The beloved Trout LL has taken a back seat and has been replaced by a newer dry fly rod, the Classic R8. Chocked full of Sage’s newest Revolution 8 technology, this rod is a wonderful compliment to the R8 family.

Sage’s entire marketing campaign for this rod is centered around slowing down. This is precisely what the blank designers over at Sage did too. This rod has a modern moderate action with a softer tip and more mid-flex than the R8. This means it can more delicately present a fly, it has more tactile feed back down the spine and into your hand, and it is more capable of throwing slack mends and feeding line downstream. When fishing technical dry fly water, this is exactly what you want a high end dry fly rod to do. The veteran fly angler will likely enjoy the feel of this rod. In recent years, rods have undoubtedly gotten faster and, as a result, sacrificed feel. For many seasoned anglers that grew up with bamboo, glass, or any slower rods, this will be a nice return to something more familiar. The rod is also incredibly light which really helps you to slow down and use it delicately as it was intended. The rods appearance pays homage to many classic Sage rods. The rod sports the iconic brown Sage blank and is decorated with beige and chestnut guide wraps. It comes in a caramel rod sock, packed into a classic off-white/cream vintage looking Sage rod tube.

You will see this rod really marketed as a dry fly specific rod. While I certainly agree that it is especially attractive to the dry fly angler, I believe this rod has a wider range of applications than some will admit. Like I said this rod has all of the ingredients to make a fantastic dry fly rod. Its action and feel really caters to casting small to medium sized dries. It preforms well up close, and holds its own at distance as well while casting a single dry. Its modern technology really allows this and for it to be a versatile rod in your quiver. Many individuals associate a rods action with its power. Meaning, a slow rod will lack power, vice versa. The Classic R8 is a pleasant surprise in hand; due to Sage’s groundbreaking graphite technology, this rod is able to maintain a medium action, while having a surprising amount of power considering its feel. As a result, this rod is capable of swinging soft hackles, throwing small dry dropper setups, light nymph rigs, as well as throwing small streamers. You may have to slow down your cast a tad, but this is what the Classic R8 is all about: slowing down, observing whats around you, making changes, feeling connected not only to your rod, but the river you find yourself in. Sometimes that means slowing down and changing your approach, and this rod allows for that.

The lineup gives you a variety of options from 3-6wt. Starting at the bottom the 3wt rods come in two lengths: 8ft and 8ft 6in. The 4wt rods come in 8ft 6in and 9ft. The 5wts come in 8ft 6in and 9ft. Finally the 6wt only comes in a 9 footer.

• Starting with the 380 or 8 foot 3wt, this rod is your blue liners dream. For anglers chasing small fish on small tributaries this is an awesome option.
• For anglers on larger tributaries than your blueline trickles, the 386 is a better option. This is my go to rod if I’m going to be spending lots of time exploring the valley tribs, or up on the creeks on the pass. This or the 486 are the rod I’d bring to the Driftless, or another area with small spring creeks.
• Next up the 486 is another fantastic option for our valley tributaries where you may bump into larger trout. It also has more backbone to turn fish away from debris than the 386. Anything shorter than a 9 footer is great because it allows you to keep away from the trees.
• The 490 is your technical dry fly rod. The full length makes it very delicate at laying a fly out to the pickiest of trout. This is a great rod for spring creeks or lakes with great dry fly fishing because it is so delicate.
• The 586 is a great option for places with brush on smaller creeks, or especially windy places. The shorter rod is a little snappier and will punch through the wind well. This means it also will handle wind better.
• The 590 is your do it all. This is also the rod that likely will sell the most. here is where we get into not only a fantastic dry fly rod, but one that can start to throw flies other than dries. This is the type of 590 that a long time fly angler has been missing the feel of. We’d love this rod both out of a drift boat or fishing on foot on the Mckenzie or upper Willamette.
• The last rod in the lineup is the 690 and it is your lower Deschutes salmonfly stick. It also is a fantastic rod for places with high densities of large trout like Montana and New Zealand.

Choosing lines for rods can be overwhelming to many anglers, especially new ones. Even seasoned anglers may ask: What pairs best with this new rod? There is one very important answer to this with all of the new Classic R8 sizes … DO NOT OVER-LINE IT! If you do, you will ruin a perfect rod. The rod was made to be used with a line that is true to size, and a line of the like is what it should be paired with. In our casting demo, we used a Rio Elite Technical trout WF5F. This line really brought out the best in the rod and allowed it to preform both at close range, and far. Another great option would be the Scientific Angler Amplitude Textured Trout Wf5F. This rod also comes in a smooth option, but the texture allows this rod to shoot line like no ones business. I fish on foot often and having the ability to feed line downstream is crucial for me. This is not only a great upstream dry fly line, but it also preforms fantastically for downstream presentations. The last suggestion we have is the new Rio Elite Gold line. Rio has updated their Rio Gold taper to more closely reflect a true to weight line. This would be another fantastic line for the rod. Putting a half size heavy or a short size, more powerful head would do a disservice to this rod.

In our casting video, we paired the rod with a Flint colored Sage Click in a size 4,5,6. This really paired with the rod nicely with how light the rod is. A Sage Trout reel has a more classic ported look and a great drag; it would also make a gorgeous pairing with this rod. If you like click and pawl reels, you may like a Hardy Lightweight or a smaller Marquis or Bougle. A Galvan Brookie would be great clicker for the smaller rods. I personally love clickers and feel that a classic looking reel from Sage or Hardy would compliment the rod nicely. A clicker reel will really compliment the feel of this rod. Another two especially lightweight options would be a Nautilus XM or a Sage Spectrum Lt. A Bauer Rx 1-3 or Galvin Torque or Rush Lt would be other American made options that would pair nicely.

There are plenty of Pros and far fewer Cons with this rod which is what any rod designer would love to hear. The most obvious is it is a fantastic dry fly rod. Another plus is that it comes in several sizes, so there is a Classic R8 for just about any fishery. A major plus is, for those long time anglers that do not like the feel of faster rods, that this will be a refreshing rod to use. It is a nice blend of a more classic feel packed with modern technology. Lastly, the rod is also versatile, it can hold its own effectively switching between disciplines as long as you keep it relatively light. Some cons are that the rod really doesn’t have the backbone to throw real heavy rigs. This means you streamer junkies, or guys throwing big double nymph rigs will have trouble getting this rod to do that. Putting a sinking line on this rod will be a miserable experience, and should land you in jail. Another con is that faster rods have helped correct many anglers mistakes. This rod requires more precise timing to get the most out of it than its faster counterparts. Some individuals casting style really caters to faster action rods, so if this is you this rod may not work perfectly for you the first time you pick it up. That does not mean it wont, you may have to work at retiming your cast to get the most out of this rod.

The Classic R8 is a refreshing step back to the constant barrage of fast action rods that saturate the industry today. That seems to be exactly what Sage intended with this rod, they want this to be a relaxing, slow, meditative, refreshing rod to use. I think in todays world we all could afford to slow down, the ethos of the R8 is just that. I hope, while using your new R8 Classic, you can slow down this upcoming season and be present on the body of water most sacred to you.

We’d love for you to swing by the shop and check them out. If you live out of state, please give us a ring (541) 342-7005 or email us: Support@caddisflyshop.com and pick our brain. We’d love to discuss what type of fishing you do, in what type or drainage, and find a Classic R8 that fits you the best.

-Simon