Use this link to go to ourFavorite Freshwater Outfitsfor the 3 through 8-weight rods, in our Online Store. Certainly the Aetos wins points in the price category, but the biggest reason is its performance. Performance at 60 feet: 7 points out of 10. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. The DXF was significantly better. Swing weight is on the heavier side and this hurt the performance to some degree. The accuracy was not good either. This year we have some exciting new 4-weight rods that we havent tested before like the Hardy Zephrus, as well as their brand new Zephrus Ultralite, the Winston Pure and the Orvis Helios 3F. G. LoomisLifetime warranty to original owner. You call in and incur a credit card of $100 but you get a brand new rod in 3-4 days. Connect, Follow, Share, Learn. Performance at 25 feet: 18.5 points out of 20. Alignment dots are placed at the ferrules, which is handy. We like the lower price, and you cant expect the same kind of performance as the $845 Avantt which uses a more expensive, higher modulus graphite. The nice soft tip allows me to cast off the tip of the rod with a flick of my wrist. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available. 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 top three rods were a lot better. Swing weight was light but not as good as the Zephrus or Pure. More manufacturers should use light guides like this to minimize swing weight if they arent using the more expensive nickel-titanium guides. The best rings use thin nylon spacers between them to assure a positive lock up. We can attribute this to the use of one-coat finish rather than multiple coats as seen on the T&T rods. Each chart gives you a good look at how the tip section, (approximately the top half of the rod) bends and compares to other rods. Out at long range it performed extremely well and was one of the very best, pretty much being equal to the Helios 3F and Avantt. The Recon has been one of our favorite rods, and this 4-weight version is terrific. The blank is finished in a medium brown with brown wraps that complement the blank. Logan and Francis have worked here for many years and are both great casters and anglers. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? The feel was also superb, giving me confidence in the direction of my cast. This fast action produced extremely good feel and accuracy, especially at 25 feet. (tie) TFO FINESSE TROUT 79 #4 $229.95. Part of the light swing weight can be attributed to the use of the superb REC nickel/titanium single-foot guides. As they are reviewing 5wt rods in this article they do not talk about why it is their favourite 4wt rod. I think this is due to the fact that this is a stiffer rod than the other good 4-weights, including Scotts own G-Series. For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. A counterbalance opposite the handle is used to keep the reel running smoothly when a fish is racing away from you. Feels great out long! Both feel and accuracy are poor. Now that we have dropped our Perfect 4 category, this category gives you our opinions on the best rods and how they stack up. #2. One of the things that I liked was the light feel of this rod in my hand. A flare on the bottom end of the grip accommodates the uplocking seat. The softness didnt allow me to make good hard backcasts in an effort to form tight loops. We decided it was time for another 4-weight Shootout, since a great 4-weight rod is hard to beat for the angler that loves to fish smaller dry flies. $60 handling fee. Hardy Ultralite NSX DH Fly Rod. Their choices sometimes differ from mine, but we are almost always in general agreement on the top 4-6 rods in the Shootout. The blank is olive green with matching olive wraps that are trimmed in gold on the two lower sections. Im having trouble casting off the tip well and this is hurting the accuracy. One SiC style stripping guide is used as well as a hook keeper. 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. Rods with a light swing weight are pleasant and effortless to cast. As youll shortly read, our top rated rod, the Hardy Zephrus is $679.00, nearly two hundred dollars less than the next three rods, which are each close to $850.00. We are just trying to call it like we see it, in an unbiased manner. Long distance was hopeless. The epoxy coatings are good but too heavy for my liking. The Galvan reels have been one of our favorite fly reels, and the slightly larger T-5 won our last 5/6 weight Reel Shootout. Performance at 40 feet: 18.5 points out of 20. Hardy uses a comfortable half wells, western style handle and the quality of the cork is superb. Take a look at the deflection board if you want a hint of the secret to Hardys success. Wind The wraps are also black, nicely trimmed in light gray on the butt sections. The first time I went to cast one of these rods, my local Hardy rep said hed bet $20 Id throw a tailing loop. The rings should be easy to grip and tighten. Rods with softer tips help you avoid break-offs like these. The epoxy coatings on the guides are top notch. Same consistent, smooth action and presentation. 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. A half wells cork handle is used, but the size is a little small in diameter as I noted. The handle is a western style grip, without much of a swell in the middle but a flare on the lower end to accommodate the uplocking reel seat. The Recon was much better. In general the SKY rods do cast well, and the SKY 9 foot #6 won our last 6-weight Shootout. Beautiful presentation with terrific accuracy. What is a cheap rod like this doing up here with all the far higher priced rods, many of which cost $700more? Tiny single-foot guides, very light in hand with the perfect blend of power and feel. The blank itself is a deep burgundy color, with dark gray wraps. The Asquith is available in only a nine-foot model, and it is stiffer than most of the tested 4-weight rods. 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. LoopLifetime warranty to original owner. Im convinced that the key to catching more trout, (and especially larger trout), is casting accuracy. (tie) Scott G SERIES 84 #4 $845.00. Our reasoning in this Shootout was to pick what we felt were theBEST4-weight rods, regardless of length, and there no question in our minds that the 8 foot Pure is Winstons best 4-weight rod. The Clearwater is heavy in overall weight andvery heavyin swing weight, making it a chore to cast. Anglers used to high line speed, laser-tight loops, and the hiss of line shooting through your guides wont get that experience from the Zephrus Ultralite. The reel seat is an uplocking black anodized skeleton seat with a dark gray graphite insert, (pretty plain looking but it works well). I did not find that to be the case. If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help. Tippet materials are getting stronger every year, and today we end up fishing 6x, 6.5X, and 7x fluorocarbon a lot of the time, trying to get that perfect drift to entice a big fish to sip in a fly. These rods are designed in Sweden, but built in Korea in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy rods. I felt the best rods at long range were the Helios 3F and the Loomis Asquith, as well as the T&T Avantt and the Scott Radian. Features Sintrix 440 Blank construction REC Black pearl recoil guides Fuji Titanium stripper guides Nice tight loops and good control. And once youve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. Here the lack of butt power hurts a bit but it was better than the Shadow out long and matched the Scott G-Series. item 8 Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly Rod 13'6' #7/8 4 Pieces +Warranty Hardy Zephrus Double Handed DH Sintrix AWS Fly . It was hard for me to get any feel or accuracy with such a stiff rod and a light line. The reel seat is a gray anodized double uplocking skeleton seat with sliding band and darker wood insert. The casting scores were only fair to good, and in my notes I say that I am getting very little feel or accuracy in close compared to the best rods. To improve on the previous Zenith, which won our original 4-weight Shootout, Howard gave the Zephrus a slightly stronger butt and mid section as well as a softer tip. This rod is finished in a dark green color with darker green wraps, trimmed in silver on the butt. 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. In this Shootout, we again used the Scientific Anglers lines, which we have found to cast better and last longer than other brands. Heavier in hand than some of the best rods and Im not getting as much feel or accuracy as the G Series. The best part? Douglas Lifetime warranty. Moreover, if you want to fish with a 4-weight we consider to be the optimal choice, you dont have to spend $850, $900, or $1000, but only $679 for the Hardy Zephrus. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. First, the Zephrus Ultralite's blank is surprisingly strong, stiff and stable given its weight. The color of the blank is an olive green that Orvis calls shadow green. The wraps are brown and the epoxy coatings are OK but a little heavy and not nearly as well done as on the 3F. But is that high priced rod really $400-$600 better? scott radian. #23. Performance at 25 feet: 18.0 points out of 20. Only out long did I feel at a disadvantage to the best rods and I think part of this was due to the lighter Trout line. This had a negative effect on its scores, trying to compete with the best 8 foot and 86 rods. This makes for a very comfortable grip that improves casting at longer distances. A lot heavier in hand than the Pure, and the stiffer tip is not giving me much feel. Here is a new rod that has not appeared in any of our previous Shootouts. This is a medium action rod, and slower action rods like this SS have never performed well for us. The Expeditor policy on the IMX Pro is $85.00. I was getting decent feel in close but accuracy was not that great. For $699.95 you can get the 9 5wt Zephrus Ultralite with Hardys lifetime warranty, superior build quality, and all the incredible performance attributes mentioned above. The other reason is that this 9 #4 SKY is just too stiff for a 4-weight. $495.00 - $595.00. The F Series, concentrates more on finesse, without sacrificing too much power. The epoxy coatings over the wraps are nicely done, and I especially like the fact that they inscribe the rod length and weight on the bottom wrap of each section. Remember that it will cost you an additional $15 or more to send your rod in unless you are using the G. Loomis Expeditor program. Good reserve power in the wind, perfect blend of power and feel for a 4-weight rod. When you read everyones comments on the Zephrus, you will see that we all agreed that this is a very special rod, for a variety of reasons. It was a little better than the Avantt here, but not as good as the H3F. Thomas and Thomas $55 repair charges for the original owner, includes shipping. Better as I get more line in the air, but still not nearly as good as the NRX LP or the DXF. Click on any of the charts above to see more charts. The guides are one hook keeper; a single SiC stripper and then all the rest are hard chrome snake guides that are durable but heavy. Hell, I landed a 20-inch whitefish on the 99 2wt and even on that light tackle I got the fish to hand in a reasonable amount of time. A sliding band and one easy to grip locking ring are used. Hardy Zane Rod. Here it feels as good as the Scott rods and the Helios 3F.Performance at 60 feet: 9.0 points out of 10. For 4-weight rods, when you are fishing at shorter distances, (most of the time), it is particularly important that leaders turn over well. The idea here is to measure the swing weight at the middle of where your palm is likely to sit on the grip. A little better here but the DXF still puts it to shame. This is a very pleasant rod to cast, and I was especially impressed at what nice tight loops I was getting at long range, where it proved to be better than any other rod tested, even the powerful Asquith. The wraps are done in a dark brown with some silver trim on the butt section as well as in the center of each guide foot wrap, that look nice. This rod is so soft that I just dont have the power in the butt and mid sections to get good tight back cast loops, or the line speed I need to get the job done. Hardy Ultralite LL Fly Rod. A few casts later Id slowed my stroke down and found the rod loading and unloading line with a firm, predictable cadence. Out long the K2 seemed to hold its own with the Recon, and it was better than either the Shadow or DXF. A contrasting dark composite cork ring is used at the top of the grip. Winston NIMBUS 86 #4 $650.00. This is a comfortable grip and the quality of the cork is superb. 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. R.L. The Zephrus makes me a more accurate and efficient caster. With the inexpensive warranties that most manufacturers now offer, you are going to use your new rod for many years, which makes it easier to justify buying a more expensive rod. Since the Nimbus was a softer rod, it did score well in light tippet protection, but in the most important Fun to Fish category, where the Pure got a perfect score, the Nimbus had one of the lower scores about the same as the much less expensive Orvis Clearwater and St. Croix Imperial. They use a stack of thin diameter cork rings and the quality of the cork was good. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were surprisingly good for a one-coat finish. Of the two TFO Finesse rods, I like this 79 rod as a 4-weight a whole lot better than the longer 89 model. Shop Now. And a look at the deflection chart confirms this. The ability of this rod to track precisely combined with its ability to form beautiful tight loops allowed it to perform almost as well as the best rods at long range. With your new rod they include a FedEx call tag so that it does not cost you anything to return your broken rod. The quality of epoxy coatings on the guide wraps was excellent and almost the equal of the T&T rods. 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. The locking ring was fairly large and easy to grip and tighten but didnt have a plastic ring like some that allow them to lock up more securely. We have found that the Asquith rods are terrific rods in the heavier line sizes from 6-weight right up through 12-weight. This rod uses the more conventional slip over ferrule design as on all but one of the other rods in our Shootout. This 86#4, however, is just too heavy and too stiff to perform well as a 4-weight. Will they make you a better angler? Feel is good and the rod is very light in hand. One thing that killed its performance scores was the very heavy swing weight. When you read everyones comments on the Zephrus, you will see that we all agreed that this is a very special rod, for a variety of reasons. This is a soft rod, with a slower action than the Pure. 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. Personally, Im used to that sort of line speed, but most anglers arent. Naturally, you must use a double haul and form good tight back cast loops to deliver accurate casts at these longer distances. To improve on the previous Zenith, which won our original 4-weight Shootout, Howard gave the Zephrus a slightly stronger butt and mid section as well as a softer tip. Rods are either replaced with a new rod or the broken section is replaced. Performance at 40 feet 20 points available. Rods are repaired or replaced. Its also nice to look down at your rod and appreciate the craftsmanship as well as its performance. 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. Nothing beats this rod at 40 feet. Only you can make that decision. The cork handle is a half wells design and the quality of the cork is not nearly as good as the best rods and a lot of filler is used. The best Korean built rods now rival what is produced here in the US. The 79 rod has a nice medium fast action, while this 8 9 model is far slower much more of a medium action rod. When you pick up this rod, youll first notice how light it is in swing weight. But when I need to reach out and make casts at 60-70 feet, as I often do fishing bigger rivers like the Missouri, the Zephrus has tons of power on tap to get the job done. R.L. By having all the rods set up in an identical manner, it is easy to take a few casts with one rod, at say 40 feet, then pick up another rod and do the same without having to strip the line off one rod and take the time to load up another. 2. The 4-weight Asquith was one of the stiffer rods in our Shootout and this hurt its scores at the shortest distance of 25 feet. A beautiful birdseye maple insert is used. Here youll find our recommendations in three price ranges: The Ultimate Outfit, Mid Priced Outfit and Best Buy Outfit. The Helios 3D and Sage X lead the pack in that regard. The reel seat is a double uplocking skeleton seat in anodized gold, with a pretty wood burl insert using green and brown highlights to complement the blank. 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. The shorter rod is nice and light, and faster in action than its longer brother. The 8-weight Asquith won our recent 2018, 8-weight Shootout, putting in a marvelous performance. The DXF and Imperial were much better. This is still a very good casting rod overall, but it just doesnt come close to matching the scores turned in by the top rods in this Shootout. Both the newWinston PUREandOrvis HELIOS 3F put in impressive performances, securing podium finishes. Guides start with a hook keeper, then a single titanium SiC stripping guide, followed with our favorite nickel/titanium snake guides that are flexible but unbreakable. Using a rod that will dramatically reduce the number of break-offs makes a lot of sense. I thought the Zephrus steamrolled the other rods in terms of being the bestall-around4-weight. hardy zenith. Scott claims that this gives their rods better strength and we cannot argue with this as we see very few Scott rods broken. The swing weight was fairly light, but not quite as good as either the Hardy rods or the Orvis rods. Stiff, slower action rods are NOT what you are looking for in a 4-weight, where accurate, delicate presentations are the keys to success. Craftsmanship is second to none, and is what we have now come to expect from T&T. The color of this rod is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown. Some people might consider high priced rods status symbols. #6. Only the Zephrus and Pure were better at mid-distance. It also has a relatively stiff tip when compared to the winners. It has a larger swell than most rods, and the swell is set closer to the top of the grip, than most rods well forward of the center of the grip. But superior craftsmanship commands a much higher price! We make a note of which was the best line with the write up on each rod. . The lock rings were a little harder than most to grip and tighten. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. Wow It is super light in hand, and 2. Hardy Aydon Single Handed Fly Rod. Im getting nice loops and good control, but at mid-range the 3F and Scott Radian were better. 4. Take tricky undulating currents, and then add in a little wind, and getting a fly right in the fishs window with that drag-free drift becomes quite the challenging task. I dont have the feel I can place the fly just where I want it, as I can with the Zephrus. The length and model on each rod section is inscribed as on the K2. Performance at 25 feet 20 points available. Both the feel and accuracy were outstanding. Now I can really feel the heavy swing weight. Better now, with more line in the air, but the G series was still a little better in both feel and accuracy. As I put more line in the air, it tracked beautifully and was just a delightful rod to cast at 40 feet. Casting against the Scott G series it felt about equal, and better than the Asquith. Here, any rods that rate 9.5 -10 are superb, and would be at the top of a Perfect 4 category. The spacer is not fancy burl or birdseye maple, but laminated wood as often seen on inexpensive rods. Our advice is that if you feel one of the top rated, expensive rods works best for you, go for it. With comments by the Yellowstone Angler staff. Howard is a great angler and knew just what he wanted for the perfect 4-weight. A sliding band and wide locking ring is used that is easy to grip and seemed to lock up well. The Recon is a very pleasant rod to cast wonderfully light in hand, and responsive.
