Z-AXIS Review
I have only owned my 590-4 Z-Axis from Sage for a few weeks and I have already had mixed feelings about it. I fished it very hard last week in an all day fly fishing tournament and was extremely pleased with how it handled the nymph rig and the big fish that we got into. My overall impression of the rod was that it fished far faster than it had cast. Allow me to explain; about 1 week before the tournament I took the rod and new 2550 reel out into the grass for a quick test drive. I was not an immediate fan - It was a bit slower than I had hoped for and I was struggling to throw big casts into the wind. Eventually, I discovered that I was trying to carry too much line in the air. It seemed to cast best when I would carry less line and shoot more on the delivery. On the water however, my opinion changed greatly - this rod was a CHAMP from the get go! The Z-Axis is extremely light, responsive, and has plenty of backbone for any type of fishing situation and/or size of fish. I am very glad that I own one. OK, I confess, I actually own two...you just never know. Which brings me to my other portion of the review; durability. One of the rods broke the day of the tournament. Granted, the air temps were in the mid 20's and the rods were icing up every 10 minutes, but I have to say I was a little shocked to see it break on its first time out of the tube. The good thing is that it will be repaired or replaced in no time. Sage has always been good about repair times. Despite the breakage, I am in love with the rod to say the least. It is my new favorite 5wt, and that is saying a lot! Stay tuned for a review of the Sage 2550 reel.
Ethan Emery
