Fly Rod Review – Sage Foundation
The Sage Foundation fly rod gets you more than your money’s worth. By a maker known for their high-end quality, this rod has versatile features packed into a mid-range price. In our tough rating system, it qualifies for a hard-to-earn “Best Value,” making it one of the best fly rods for trout you can buy for your hard earned dollars.
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1. Overview (with jump ahead links):
2. About The Sage Foundation Fly Rod
The Sage Foundation is a medium-fast action fly rod that can be used on most waters and conditions. A number of reviews we have read mis-classify this rod as fast action, it actually has a medium action in the tip and mid-sections, and a more powerful action in the butt section that supports strong casts while keeping a more moderate action in the top end and center of the rod.
Because Sage is owned by the same company that owns Redington, it is in a good position to build quality into more affordable rods. While the Foundation is made with pure graphite rather than a more modern composite material, it is nevertheless a performance rod in the mid-tier market, which is why we’ve placed it in our “Best Value” category.
We find that this Sage fly rod does provide a nice combination of strength and smooth, not entirely flexible but we’ll call it softer stroke. This is a function of the medium action up top combined with the stronger action in the butt section. The recovery speed is very good, and while lightweight still punches enough to get out well beyond 50-60 feet when necessary.
With 8 models available (see specifications below), you can cover most fishing species and conditions other than the most challenging conditions. This rod sits firmly above more practical and less expensive models, while bringing quality features that usually cost you substantially more.
Recommended Applications:
- Average trout and panfish – YES – lighter-weight models
- Larger trout, bass and smaller salmon (silvers, sockeye) YES – heavier weight models
- Large salmon and steelhead – NO
- Pike, muskie – NO
- Saltwater – NO
4. Photo Gallery
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Related Article: The Best Fly Rods For Trout
.5. Detailed Sage Foundation Review Comments
Design & Construction
6. Video Review of Sage Foundation Fly Rod
We always like to provide another opinion in our fly rod reviews, so you can make the most informed decision. Here’s a nice video review by Fly & Field Outfitters:
7. Wrap-Up
If you’re looking for a mid-priced fly rod that excels at catching trout, the Sage Foundation is a terrific choice.
It’s an excellent, versatile fly rod with a nice design and quality construction for the price. Far far and away from a cheap fly rod, especially compared to most other manufacturers.
Its hallmarks are a moderate action top section combined with stiffer / stronger action butt section, casting precision and ease in the 25-40 foot range with ability to cast longer as needed (if not without effort), and a quick blank recovery.
If you’re looking to take the next step up from an entry level rod, or give one as a gift to someone at the same point, this will be a great selection. This may not be the best Sage fly rod overall, but we consider it their best value packed with quality. Before you conclude this Sage fly rod review, consider also the Sage combo, which is a great value in addition to the rod only option.
If you have comments on this Sage review, please let us know on our comments page. When we review Sage, we want to be aware of all our readers comments, so we can include them in future updates and provide the best Sage rod review perspective we can. This is a Sage rod review of one of their most popular fly rods, if not a top of the line Sage fly rod, but for its price it accomplishes an enormous amount. We plan on writing many future Sage reviews, to bring you the latest about the best Sage fly rods, so let us know what you think! We hope you’ve enjoyed this Sage Foundation review.
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