For sure, one of the worst in our Shootout. The H3F rated slightly higher over all, but the Asquith had a lot more butt and mid-section power to blast out long casts. Doing this with 6X or 7X tippet demands a good smooth drag with just the right amount of drag adjustment. 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. Performance at 60 feet: 6.5 points out of 10. Only the Zephrus and Pure were better at mid-distance. At long range, the lack of power now becomes evident. The uplocking skeleton reel seat is silver anodized aluminum, with one good-sized locking ring and sliding band, similar to the Avantt. Rods are repaired, not replaced except for broken sections. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. Head to head, the Radian and Avantt were better. Then the dark green finish just sparkles. The best rods in our Shootout can handle this distance with ease, and are actually capable of casting much farther in an expert casters hands. Good butt power also helps me land fish in a minimal amount of time. $895.00. Nothing to write home about. But the accuracy was still not as good as the best rods. Build quality and reel seat Performance at 40 feet: 18.0 points out of 20. For an 86 rod, the Zephrus packs a punch and can deliver casts out to 60 feet as easily as it can at 25 or 40. and comes complete with the original Orvis tube and bag. Marc Barnwell replied on Sat, 01/12/2019 - 20:06 Permalink. For those of you wondering if the Hardy Zephrus is different from its predecessor, the Hardy Zenith: It is. The clear winner in this years Shootout, the Zephrus brought power, feel, and accuracy to the table and left no detail untouched. The Ultralite did get perfect scores for overall weight, swing weight and light tippet protection and these all helped to boost its final scores in both the overall and performance results. Our hand tied leaders, using stiffer clear Maxima for the butt and midsections, turn over better and more accurately than any of the knotless leaders on the market. Fly selection is far less important. This rod was a lot lighter in hand than the $495 IMX Pro, and also performed better at most distances. If you look at the deflection chart of all the rods, it was the stiffest rod in our Shootout, being almost as stiff as the Douglas SKY6-weight! One thing I like is that there is a serial number on each rod section. This can be a huge help if you have multiple rods and the sections get mixed up. I love the handle design it tapers outward allowing you to quickly get and maintain a good grip on the handle. This is a test that anyone can duplicate. Here is a brand new rod from Loop that we liked better than their stiffer, more expensive Cross rods. #16. The stiffness and slower action hurt its scores in a lot of categories. It really sings in the 15-45-foot range, though you won't be disappointed if you have to push your flies a bit further. It is the relationship of the club head weight to the shaft when you wiggle the club in your hands. Armstrong Spring Creek on the OHair Ranch. Keep in mind thatfastaction rods are not necessarilystiffrods as many people assume. A little better here but the DXF still puts it to shame. The wraps are a slightly lighter blue, trimmed with white on the butt section. When Im fishing the spring creeks here near Livingston, the Railroad Ranch on the Henrys Fork of the Snake, as well as the flat water on the Bighorn or Missouri rivers, I reach for my favorite rod for this kind of technical fishing, an 8 foot #4. Opens in a new window or tab. I also liked the 12-inch mark on the butt but I wish they had also given us one at 18 or 20 inches. Below the final results charts we give you the exact repair charges for each manufacturer. Hardy ZEPHRUS 8'6" #4 $679.00 George's Comments: Hardy has given us another magical rod that produced an absolutely stunning performance to blow away all the contenders. As part of the Expeditor policy, Loomis includes a FedEx call tag so that you dont have to spend any money to send the broken rod back. The accuracy is only fair. The color of this rod is an attractive olive, with the guides wrapped in dark brown. The IMX Pro is one of Loomis newest rods and we have liked it in the larger line sizes, like their 5 and 6 weight rods. This rod gives me the confidence that I can place the fly just where I want it, and do it with a delicate presentation. Just keep in mind that all these measurements must be made the same day with the same room temperature. #15. Hardys Zenith rods, discontinued when the Wraith and Zephrus lines were introduced a few years ago, are among some of the most-loved sticks in recent memory. $75 on recent rods within 10 years, $125 on classic olderrods. We set out three sets of paper plates as targets, with plenty of distance between each casting line so that no one was getting tangled up. Hardy ZEPHRUS ULTRALITE 89 #4 $679.95. With the Ultralite at hand, your shoulder will be thanking you after a long day on the water. The rest of the guides start with a single wire recoil stripper like G. Loomis uses, (I dont like these much either), but at least the rest are the good flexible nickel/titanium single-foot guides, as on the Zephrus, in a black color. Many of the best rods are built in one factory in Korea. 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. The craftsmanship was very good, but not good enough to give it a perfect score like the Pure. Both the mid-price DXF and Imperial were better. This rod has the gusto to launch it out to 60 and then some! Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. St. Croix Lifetime warranty to original owner, $85 handling fee. A hook keeper is used along with a single chrome SiC stripping guide. A black anodized double uplocking skeleton seat is used with an unusual x-pattern design and a laminated wood insert. item 7 Hardy Ultralite SINTRIX NSX 4WT 8' Fly Rod!! Performance at 60 feet 10 points available. These are very light, and will flex but never break. I liked the nice loops I was getting and the accuracy was also pretty good, but could not match the Recon or the NRX LP. 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. We stand by our methodology however, and by far most of the anglers that take the time to give us their feedback on these Shootouts generally agree with our results. In general, the Zephrus was very popular as Hardy's all purpose fast action rod. The lock rings were a little harder than most to grip and tighten. Images: Tim Romano and Jeremy Roberts. Part of the light swing weight can be attributed to the use of the superb REC nickel/titanium single-foot guides. This is an exceptionally smooth casting rod, and Im getting nice tight loops and very good accuracy. The epoxy coatings over the wraps were surprisingly good for a one-coat finish. Quality of the cork was excellent with a stack of thinner rings. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. I liked the full wells cork handle better than the odd grip on the Reaper X. Perfect. Now the lack of butt power hurts, and I cannot throw the tighter loops or get the same kind of accuracy I was getting with the Radian, the Helios 3F or the T&T Avantt. And thats saying something, given that the past half-decade or so has seen most rod makers touting the light weight of their blanks. I have the utmost confidence in using this rod with very light tippets to fool large spring creek trout. A real let down after the terrific performance I was getting with the Pure. 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. Of all the reels we have carried over the years, Galvan continues to have the fewest warranty issues and returns. Connect with him on Twitter/Instagram, @Spencer_Durrant. 9 ft, 6 weight tip appears to have been re-wrapped- Thanks for looking at my auction. If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. Click on any of the charts above to see more charts. 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. Our answer is a definite yes. Overall a very good performance. As the name implies, the new Zephrus Ultralite is light. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. The reel seat is an unusual, triangular shaped silver anodized seat with no spacer. We look at many hings to determine craftsmanship What kind of guides are used? Nice and light in hand and pretty good feel, but the accuracy is not as good as I was getting with the Aetos. Better than the Sky but cant match the Shadow. In all the rods of any manufacture weve sold with these guides, we have yet to see one break! Mystic Reaper X 86 #4 $299.00. Certainly the Hardy Zephrus is a bargain as our choice for as the number one 4-weight rod. Rods are repaired or sections replaced. Performance at 40 feet: 20 points out of 20. He wanted another 4-weight that was very accurate and delicate, yet one that had more power in the butt and mid-section. We didnt award any points for this category but we know that for many people this is a factor in a decision to purchase a rod, so we wanted to list this in our Objective Observations table and also in our Final Results table. The cork handle is Winstons cigar grip, like the Pure, with the center swell a little forward of the center of the grip and a flare on the bottom end. Howard is a great angler and knew just what he wanted for the perfect 4-weight. I loved the crisp, fast action of the Avantt and its light swing weight, but unfortunately the Zone is not nearly as nice. 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. They use a stack of thin diameter cork rings and the quality of the cork was good. TheHardy SHADOWat $349.95 takes the crown as our best mid-priced rod with an exceptional performance that put it into a tie for 4thplace overall with theT&T AVANTT. With your support we can continue to give you more Shootouts and head to head comparisons on tackle and equipment in the future. The medium fast action seems just right and Im getting both good feel and good accuracy at the shorter distances. The action seems about right and Im getting nice loops. The reel seat is a gray anodized double uplocking skeleton seat with sliding band and darker wood insert. When I put this rod in my hand it feels more like a 5-weight than a 4-weight! Stiff, slower action rods are NOT what you are looking for in a 4-weight, where accurate, delicate presentations are the keys to success. They are light but very durable. To read each staff members casting notes and performance finishing order, please click on their photo above. 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. The 8-weight Asquith won our recent 2018, 8-weight Shootout, putting in a marvelous performance. These rods are designed in Sweden, but built in Korea in the same factory that produces the fine Hardy rods. From 25 to the 40-foot mark, these lines were just magical, and stretching the distance out to 60 feet was easier than with a standard belly line. Another stiff rod, the Avantt, was slightly better. Click on any rod to see the full write up. The Clearwater is finished in a dark gray color with dark olive guide wraps. The epoxy coatings are fairly good, but a little heavy. This rod is insanely lightweight and maneuverable; in fact, it has the lightest swing weight of any rod we've tested here at Trident. Hardy uses a comfortable half wells, western style handle and the quality of the cork is superb. Good, just not great. A sliding band and wide locking ring is used that is easy to grip and seemed to lock up well. For this Shootout, we again checked the warranty policies in detail, as some have changed slightly. The swing weight is light but it cant match the Zephrus or Pure. The guides start with a single SiC stripping guide followed with fairly large diameter but thin wire hard chrome snake guides. $75 handling fee. GUIDE TYPE: FUJI TITANIUM REC RECOIL. Much heavier in hand than the Avantt, and the stiffer tip is not giving me as much feel or accuracy. 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. It was even a little sloppy on the tip sections. Feels great out long! I just cant push it at all and have to slow down my casting stroke to get any decent accuracy. Starting at under $700 and offered in weights 2-5, the Zephrus Ultralite provides performance equal to or exceeding other rods priced much closer to the $1,000-mark. 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. $50 handing fee. The skeleton uplocking seat is one of the most unusual Ive seen. It also lost a huge number of points in the price and warranty categories that it couldnt pick up in the casting distance performance categories. The 9' 5wt weighs in at 3.03 ounces and has a swing weight of 61.2 gm^2. Like the K2, the Q is only available as a 9-foot rod in a 4-weight. The DXF has been one of our top mid-priced rods, but there was no denying the Hardy Shadow and Orvis Recon were better. The blank is finished in a dark olive green with dark green wraps, that include a little light green trim on the butt. A 12-foot leader also gives you a stealthier presentation. This rod has a stiffer tip than many of the best rods, and I felt this hurt both feel and accuracy at the two shorter distances. If a rod looks like a million bucks and casts like it too, fly fishermen are going to lust for it. Guides start with a hook keeper, then one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. This rod has a slower action than the fast action NRX LP, as well as a stiffer tip. The guides start out with a small hook keeper, then a single SiC stripper, followed with black, hard chrome single-foot guides. There is no question that the Shadow is our best Mid Priced 4-weight rod. Accuracy is pretty good, heads up matching the Zone and NRX LP. Vintage Hardy C C de France Bamboo Fly Rod Circa 1939 2 Piece Hardy C C de France Vintage Bamboo Fly Rod Great eye appeal for this vintage rod and rod bag serial number E50405 dates the rod manufacture to circa1939 2 piece rod. Guides start with a hook keeper, and then one SiC stripping guide, followed with black hard chrome snake guides. HardyLifetime warranty to original owner. The stiff tip and heavy swing weight both contributed to a lack of feel and accuracy in close. Taylor Lifetime warranty to original owner. The accuracy was good but not as good as the DXF or all of the best rods. Ive always liked the smooth lines, as they dont make so much noise running through the guides. The serial number of the rod is inscribed on the ferrule of each section a nice touch. Now Im getting nice tight loops, and the rod tracks very well with better feel and accuracy. 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. We can attribute this to the use of one-coat finish rather than multiple coats as seen on the T&T rods. The cork is a stack of thin rings, and the quality of the cork is excellent. Beautiful presentation with terrific accuracy. (tie) Sage X 86 #4 $900.00. Very nice feel with excellent accuracy at short distances. The handle is a half wells western style grip with contrasting dark composite cork rings at both the bottom and top. The quality of cork is pretty good, but not in the same class as Avantt. The reel seat is an uplocking black anodized skeleton seat with a dark gray graphite insert, (pretty plain looking but it works well). Still, I felt it could be our 4-weight winner until I finished casting the Ultralite heads up with the winner, the Zephrus. Price is always a major factor when buying a rod and as you will see in this Shootout, the best rod was not the most expensive. and they examine it. At that price there may not be a better rod on the market. Also right up at the top are the Scott rods, like the Raidan and G series as well as the Orvis Helios 3F. The Helios 3F is a relatively new rod from Orvis and it impressed us with its ability to perform well at all distances. The black anodized double unlocking skeleton seat has two larger rings that are very easy to grip and tighten.

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