If you haven’t already heard, Sage released an entirely new collection of rods earlier this year. We both heard mutterings of a new collection coming, and casted these rods far before their release date, and keeping the secret wasn’t easy. Despite our excitement with these new rods, we wanted to really put the new Arrow to the test before releasing any sort of longwinded review. This review mainly focuses of the 9′ 5wt or 590-4 offering from our friends at Sage. It is a fantastic rod that preforms well in the hand of a beginner and expert, alike.
Right out of the tube, the Arrow is a gorgeous rod. It features a deep colored blank that Sage calls “Flint Black”, and sports classic Sage tan marking reminiscent of the RPL and other heritage Sage rods. Each rod from 3-5wt without a fighting butt has a deep walnut reel seat that, in my opinion, is a small feature that adds a lot of character to a rod. These lighter rods feature a gorgeous shaped half-wells cork grip. Rods with fighting butts trade their walnut inserts for a fully anodized bronze colored aluminum reel seat that matches the rear hardware. All Arrow models with fighting butts and any rod 7+ features a full wells cork grip. Sage nailed the aesthetics of this rod, and its performance matches just how good it looks.
Feel & Technology
Today’s world moves faster than it did 30 years ago. The same holds true for the action of modern fly rods. As someone who objectively can appreciate the technological advancements that fast-action rods showcase, I also recognize that if a rod is too fast, it sacrifices feel. This delicate balance of power, flex, recovery time, and ultimately the amount of tactile feedback the angler receives is carves out a rod’s feel and capabilities.
Sage absolutely nailed the delicate balance of these attributes with the Arrow. Some ultra fast action rods lack the tactile feedback which most advanced anglers look for in a rod. This is where you hear the term “broomstick” thrown around. When an angler cannot feel what the rod is doing, the rod and angler aren’t on the same page. The 590 Arrow does a fantastic job of keeping the angler informed in a tactile manner, allowing them to make micro adjustments as late as when they are shooting line.
The Arrow’s feel does not undermine its power. Some rods that are too soft, and have too much feel have blanks that flex deep and lack power. The Arrow has a quick recovery time and has enough power in its blank to throw cumbersome nymph rigs, dry dropper setups with large buoyant dry flies, and even small streamers. The feedback anglers get from the rod allows it function as a delicate dry fly rod and gracefully lay down a #16-18 BWO or a #20-22 Trico. The rod designers at Sage created a wonderfully balanced, adaptable instrument will do exactly what you want it to in a variety of situations.
The Arrow features the new KonneticHD technology from Sage. This breakthrough in graphite technology allows for rods that are more powerful and lighter than previous iterations. KonneticHD blanks have more feel and allow the angler to be more in touch with their instrument. These more powerful rods recover quicker and are a powerful tool when wielded by an experienced angler. The beauty of faster rods is that they can also help newer anglers cast further by recovering faster and aiding a more powerful cast and tighter loop.
Lines & Setup
I primarily fished the 590 Arrow with the 5 wt Elite Technical Trout. This is a fantastic delicate dry fly line which, is a great pairing with the 5wt Arrow. It really unlocks the rod’s power while keeping it in check enough to lie down flies gently. This was especially crucial when I was fishing dries on one of Oregon’s premier stillwater venues: East Lake. More on that below. The line was capable on our larger rivers, the McKenzie and Willamette, offering seemingly endless reach when needed. I also took this rod up several freestone tributaries and headwater sections of our local rivers, and the Arrow and Elite Technical Trout combo performed at closer range too.
There are endless ways to setup a 590 Arrow line wise. The Elite Technical Trout listed above is a fantastic option for anglers wanting a serious dry fly stick. For anglers throwing more cumbersome rigs or want unmatched versatility consider the lines below.
First off, the Rio Elite Gold is your go to for unlocking more versatility with a 590 Arrow. This true to size line makes turning over medium dries, modest dry dropper setups, and reasonable nymph rigs much easier. Its head is front loaded allowing you to load the rod at short distances and it has a longer rear taper for mending at distance. The innate power that the Arrow has really shines when paired with the Gold series of lines, making it a more adaptable tool.
The Rio Elite Gold XP is the line that you want if you often fish big dry dropper rigs and nymph often. It is 1/2 weight heavy and really allows the Arrow to charge and turn over more cumbersome rigs. It also would allow the Arrow to function more effectively as a light streamer rod. Its drawback being 1/2 a size heavy is that to will be much splashier when presenting teeny dries. This likely isn’t the line for your Arrow if you spend a lot of time fishing venues that require more stealth like spring creeks and high lakes.
Lastly, the Rio Elite Gold Max is the biggest and baddest line in the gold series that really unlocks all of the power within the new Arrow rods while keeping the setup in the “all around” realm. This line is 1 size heavy, and excels at throwing large dries, extra heavy dry dropper setups, modest streamers, and bigger nymph rigs. If you have Deschutes Salmonflies on the mind, this would be a fantastic line. If you want to turn your Arrow into a dry-dropper beast running big foam chubbies with 5/32/3.8mm Tungsten jigs on the Mckenzie, then this is the way you’d want to setup your rod. Again, this line’s power has a drawback, which is making presentations splashier. If you frequently fish size 18 and smaller on technical water, try one of Rio’s dedicated dry fly lines like the Rio Elite Technical Trout.
Stillwater Test
I spent two days with, friend of the shop and stillwater guide for Caddis, Adison Rook on one of the Pacific Northwest’s most renowned stillwater venues: East Lake. I don’t know much about stillwater angling compared to rivers, but Adison did, and he told me to bring a dry fly stick. I figured it was early for callibaetis, terrestrials, and things, but figured I’d bring the Arrow along to test.
Among other techniques, we spent the next two days fishing small terrestrials to rising trout on downwind banks. The Arrow with the Elite Technical Trout delicately presented size 12-16 ants and beetles consistently fooling large, fickle stillwater trout. We used a trolling motor to work the shelf off of the bank. The innate feel that the Arrow has gives fantastic feedback and allowed me to reach mend into our drift and prolong the presentation. This is a technique Adison showed me on other stillwater venues, and I was pleased at the Arrow’s ability for adjustment. The rod was responsive enough to stop long powerful casts short and flutter dries down onto the surface when needed.
A large Blackwater Strain Rainbow from East Lake that decided to have a #16 Hippie stomper for lunch
There were several situations where we spotted fish that were cruising the bank feeding. The 590 Arrow quickly picked up significant amounts of fly line with an impressive degree of stealth, which is important on lakes, and redirected the line quickly in a different direction. We also spotted fish that were holding a specific territory and intermittently feeding in the same zone. Some of these fish were large like the toothy Blackwater Strain rainbow seen above that was holding off of a large rock just off the bank. Adison spotted the fish feeding and the Arrow performed well under pressure, delicately presenting my dry in the fish’s feeding zone.
I am pleased with the 590 Arrow’s ability to delicately present flies when needed. I love fishing spring creeks, and although at the time of writing this, I haven’t taken it for a spin on a spring creek, I have fished enough rods to know this would be a phenomenal rod working such technical water. Fishing small dries to stillwater trout has showed me that the 590 Arrow when paired with the Elite Technical Trout makes an impressive dry fly rod that will excel on lakes, spring creeks, and highly pressured waters.
Working the bank of East Lake with the 590 Arrow
River & Stream Test
I fished the 590 Arrow on a variety of rivers and small tributaries in the Western Cascades. I started testing the rod right as the dry fly fishing got really good and had a blast every time I took it out. The first day I had it out was fishing a mix of March Browns and Grannom Caddis. The rod turned over a tandem rig of a parachute March Brown with a Cripple as the trailer extremely well. I was working an eroded bank with large rainbows holding in root wads periodically rising. The rod had enough power to reach the far seam and enough control to mend line at distance. Towards the end of the day I swung some caddis pupa and picked up a few other fish.
I fished this rod searching on some smaller tributaries and the headwaters of our larger rivers with a small Snowshoe Grannom Caddis that I tie. The rod was able to both present the caddis well, but also animate it over small riffles and in likely holding water. The power embedded within the KonneticHD blank of the Arrow makes it a fantastic rod for line control in technical water. Many of our local tributaries have complex currents with concurrent seams and small micro-eddies. The rod is powerful enough to mend in technical water, but delicate enough in the tip to make adjustments without dragging your fly.
I did fish this as a smaller Gold Stone dry dropper rig on a separate tributary and found a plethora of willing juvenile rainbows and coastal cutthroat. I would’ve preferred a more powerful line from Rio’s Gold Series, but I was having too much fun watching young, eager trout smash both my dry and dropper to care. For someone looking to upgrade their arsenal, the Arrow makes a phenomenal all around stick that will leave you giddy after finding a pod of cooperative fish.
What young wild trout lack in size, they make up for in their gorgeous parr markings
Models
Sage has an impressive battalion of 14 rods within the Arrow family. These rods range from 3-8 wt and range in length from 7’6″ to 10′. Many of the heavier wt rods do come in a fighting butt option for those interested. For sake of conciseness, I will not delve into every rod that Sage offers within the Arrow family. I will outline the heaviest hitters based on type of angling that people like to do. As many of you know the 590 is the Swiss army knife of fly rods for trout, and is the #1 recommendation from this family of rods.
For those of you who like to tromp your way up a small stream the 8″6″ 4 wt Arrow would make a fantastic small stream rod. It would be capable of everything from throwing dries, smaller dry dropper rigs, and light nymph rigs. It has enough power to be an adaptable small stream rod, with enough give to still be fun on small water.
The 9’6″ 6wt Arrow is a great streamer rod in the Western US. The extra 6 inches will aid in turning over heavy sinking lines and sink tips. My previous streamer rod was the 696 Sonic, which the 696 Arrow replaced. The additional power and feel that the Arrow brings to the table makes it a more capable rod. The 696 Sonic was a great streamer rod for trout and bass, but the added feel of the Arrow helps anglers fish at a higher level being more in tune with what is on the end of their line.
The 10′ 7 wt Arrow is a versatile heavier rod with many uses. This would be a fantastic winter steelhead rod for working small to medium water with a floating line, and possibly sink tips. The extra reach makes it a deadly rod in terms of line control. The 7100 Arrow would make a phenomenal Pyramid Lake rod for Lahontan Cutthroat. It would excel at a variety of methods including indicator nymphing and stripping beetles on sinking lines. The rod could also be used for other applications like bull trout on the Metolious, large and smallmouth bass, or Surf Perch & Rockfish on the coast in a pinch.
Any of these Arrow rods pair well with the new Shift or Shift LT reels from Sage. The Shift is the base model, and the Shift LT is the lighter option with more porting. Longer rods may balance better with the Shift or a sized up Shift LT. Not matter which the 14 Arrow models you decide on, you are getting an exceptional fly rod hand crafted right here in the USA.
The Arrow is a testament to Sage’s ability to constantly innovate and improve seemingly perfect rods. It is a fantastic mid-priced rod that is made here in the US. The rod is versatile, responsive, powerful, and looks great. If you’re local and you want to check one out, swing by the shop and see for yourself. If you are online and have any questions, contact us and our friendly staff are happy to help guide you to the Arrow model that best fits your needs.
