Nothing else is even close. Even though less expensive components are used, this is still a pretty nice looking rod, with the blank a rich deep blue with dark brown wraps that include a little silver trim on the butt section. 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. I loved the look of the Mod, with its standout, jazzy lime green color. Like many of the other 9-foot rods in our Shootout, it was at a disadvantage in weight to the shorter 8 and 8 foot rods. An attractive X-pattern graphite wrap is used on the butt, behind the logo. And what about the new Hardy Zephrus Ultralite, which is insanely light, and on paper looks like it could be the possible winner? #25. So, for $530 you will get 2 set ups so you can begin to contrast and compare the differences between the 2 rods. Pretty good loop control but the feel and accuracy were not as good as what I was getting with the DXF or the St. Croix Imperial. 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! This is a very pleasant rod to cast, with a medium fast action. The epoxy coatings were a bit too heavy though, not nearly as nice as what we see on the Hardy rods. For broken rods that are not registered to the original owners, most companies are going to charge you $150 or more for repairs. The blank is a pleasing burgundy that sparkles in the sunlight. hardy zephrus 4wt. (tie) Douglas DXF 86 #4 $349.00. I also liked the 12-inch mark on the butt but I wish they had also given us one at 18 or 20 inches. Hardy Aydon Single Handed Fly Rod. Mystic Lifetime warranty to original owner. Where some rods separate themselves from others is in their ability to handle above-average wind. Shop Now. The Hardy Zephrus series of fly rods features our award winning Sintrix . I was hitting the plate almost every time. Light Tippet Protection 20 points available. #28. But in looking closely at the Hardy Zephrus, Ultralite, and the Douglas SKY, they are also definitely near the top end of the craftsmanship ladder. The Zephrus makes me a more accurate and efficient caster. We have found that the only good way to pin down these subtle differences is to have at least a half dozen of the contending rods with the line stripped out and sitting there in front of you on the lawn, so that you can take a few casts with one rod, lay it down and pick up another rod, and make a few casts at the same distance, make some notes and then move on to another rod or the next distance. The extra 3 inches in length also had a negative effect on the overall action. Performance at 60 feet: 9.7 points out of 10. For $699.95 you can get the 9' 5wt Zephrus Ultralite with Hardy's lifetime warranty, superior build quality, and all the incredible performance attributes mentioned above. The guides start with a hook keeper, and then one huge SiC stripping guide that seems way too big, followed with hard chrome snake guides. What gives? The stiffness hurt in close but this is one of the very best performing rods at long range. A sliding band and one easy to grip locking ring are used. It is trimmed top and bottom with contrasting, composite cork rings. At short and medium distances, it has great feel, but was lacking in accuracy. Hardy Zane Rod. This helps me to easily fine tune the exact amount of drag needed while fishing very light tippets, something that is tough to do with other small reels. Fenwick-Lifetime warranty. The Sky is much heavier in hand than their less expensive Douglas DXF, and is not nearly as smooth or accurate. The epoxy coatings were excellent. Both of these lines utilize a slightly longer rear taper that allows superior mending ability as well as enhancing the ability to make medium to longer casts. It is also a soft rod, so it scored very well in light tippet protection. 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. 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. The blank color is a non-glare, graphite gray with slightly darker gray wraps and alignment dots. Usually takes 2-4 weeks. New rods must be registered at time of purchase. Formed nice loops and was consistently accurate. The blank is graphite gray and follows Scotts practice of sanding the blank only lightly and allowing the tape marks to remain. Distance Naturally, you must use a double haul and form good tight back cast loops to deliver accurate casts at these longer distances. The rings should be easy to grip and tighten. Since most anglers fish at shorter distances with a 4-weight rod, we decided to put less emphasis on the longest distance, decreasing the points available to 10 points. This rod is a pleasure to cast, and it has tons of reserve power at long range. The very light swing weight confirms this. Sometimes the whole rod is replaced. 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. Id even go so far as to say the Zephrus Ultralite deserves to be in the conversation for best fly rod on the planet, alongside rods like the Sage X, Orvis Helios 3, Loomis Asquith and NRX-LP, Scott Radian, and Winston Boron IIIx. Now Im getting a respectable performance that matches the Zone and DXF. It often takes a little time for the rod to settle down from all this movement so we do this procedure 4-6 times and then take the average weight we are getting from the scale. We have liked the Mystic Reaper that has done well in some of our early 5-weight Shootouts. This is not a pleasant rod to do a lot of false casting with, as you would fishing dry flies. The double size uplocking ring was easy to grip and tighten. #16. The stiffness did not allow much feel but the accuracy was surprisingly good. Personally I dont care much for the five inches of white just above the cork handle but this has been the Helios 3 trademark and I think that Orvis feels that it will help the rods visibility on the rod rack in fly shops or out on the stream. Rods with softer tips help you avoid break-offs like these. TFO FINESSE TROUT 89 #4 $229.95. I like a lot of things about this rod. Props to rod designer Howard Croston, it may be a long time before someone dethrones this new 4-weight king. The spacer is not fancy burl or birdseye maple, but laminated wood as often seen on inexpensive rods. ROD HANDLE TYPE: RHW. Gear Reviews Multiple Fly Rod Weight Rankings Yellowstone Angler Hardy has given us another magical rod that produced an absolutely stunning performance to blow away all the contenders. Feedback. However, the 8-foot Aetos turned in much higher scores in several categories, including performance at 25 feet, swing weight and light tippet protection. That might be the answer, but then it would likely be more of a 3-weight rod than a 4-weight. #19. Annette McLean, Winstons long time rod designer did a great job with the Pure, giving us a rod that is Pure fun to cast and fish. Also, by having 8-10 rods set up, 2-3 testers can simultaneously do the casting. The Recon is a very pleasant rod to cast wonderfully light in hand, and responsive. Distance Step back into long-distance 4 wt territory, and the Ultralite maintains castability and responsiveness. #8. Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) Lifetime warranty to original owner. 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. If you look at the deflection chart, youll see that the Zehprus has one of the stiffest butt and midsections, yet then it progresses to a nice soft tip. The best part? If you cannot find or cast the rods that interest you, we are here to help. Still, I felt it could be our 4-weight winner until I finished casting the Ultralite heads up with the winner, the Zephrus. The 8 foot Pure had a much heavier swing weight, and would not be as much fun to false cast all day as this 8 footer. The thing that amazes me is how perfect the guide wrapping and epoxy coatings are, compared to other rods. Certainly the Hardy Zephrus is a bargain as our choice for as the number one 4-weight rod. #8. GUIDE TYPE: FUJI TITANIUM REC RECOIL. The heavier swing weight makes casting at longer distances a workout. In our opinion, this upgrade makes the Zephrus an even better all-around 4-weight rod than the Zenith. 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. The best rings use thin nylon spacers between them to assure a positive lock up. This was one of the rods that we felt needed the lighter Trout line. I just cant push it at all and have to slow down my casting stroke to get any decent accuracy. Hardy Ultralite Fly Rod Review - Trident Fly Fishing Little feel, and the slower action kills any accuracy. Once again we give you a Performance Only chart, which zeros in on the very best performing rods, which is the real meat of our Shootout. This was the best distance for me with the Zone. The JXP was also better. Fun to Fish/Got to Have 10 points available. Keep in mind that what you will read here are only our opinions. Picking up this rod, I'm immediately impressed by its light weight and responsiveness. Details The Hardy Zephrus series of fly rods features our award winning Sintrix material - Sintrix 440.The Zephrus exhibits high recovery and enhanced in hand feel for a fast action rod, whilst generating high line speed and phenomenal line control. That said, there is one in my local fly shop and I'm quite taken by it. Many of the best rods are built in one factory in Korea. Equal to the Orvis Recon, but head to head the Avantt and Helios 3F were far better. With your support we can continue to give you more Shootouts and head to head comparisons on tackle and equipment in the future. A black anodized double uplocking skeleton seat is used with an unusual x-pattern design and a laminated wood insert. Rods with heavier swing weights or ones with stiffer tips dont fare nearly as well.Ive often had a fish grab a halfway submerged fly in the surface film, when I havent been watching closely enough, and bolt off before I could react, snapping my 6x tippet. Surprisingly, this is often true. Part of the light swing weight can be attributed to the use of the superb REC nickel/titanium single-foot guides. And the Fenwick Aetos, that finished at 11th, higher than the middle of the pack, is only $179.95! The TFO rods, the Taylor rods, the Mystic rod, and the Waterworks rods are all designed here in the U.S. and built in Asia. The 79 TFO Finesse was far better. Our advice is that if you feel one of the top rated, expensive rods works best for you, go for it. It also has one of the heaviest swing weights in our Shootout. For guides, they use one SiC stripping guide followed with hard chrome snake guides that are thin and light on the tip sections. Rods that have good power in the butt and mid-section help me set the hook quickly and allow me to throw a combination of flies and indicator along with a little weight. For most of my fishing with a 4-weight rod in critical conditions Im using one of our 12-foot leaders down to a 5X or 6X tippet, but in the Shootout we stick with 4X Rio Powerflex as a tippet in order to minimize breaking off the yarn indicator. Im sorry if we offend some people or manufacturers. Tell us what you think - opens in new window or tab. The attractive cork handle is a half wells design with a flare on the bottom end, a comfortable swell in the middle, and a nice forward taper. As in the past we are using our own Brecknell official postage scale to calculate the weight. Sage Lifetime warranty to original owner. 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. No loss of accuracy, power or feel here. The stiffness is a bonus at long range. There are a few 8 foot and shorter rods as well as a few 9-foot rods in the mix, especially when manufacturers dont offer an 8 foot model. I just wish that the performance was as good as its looks. The color of the blank is a very light silver blue, with the guides wrapped in a darker grayish blue, with some silver trim on the butt section. The wide single ring was easy to grip and tighten. The quality of the cork is not too good either and it used a lot of filler. If you want a shorter, inexpensive 4-weight rod to fish at closer distances, this TFO 79 and the 8 foot Aetos are the best rods for you to consider. Get this rod out in the sunlight and it really lights up. There is not much swell in the middle of the grip and it tapers just slightly forward. I can sure notice the heavy swing weight and this is not a very pleasant rod to cast. Performance at 40 feet: 18.0 points out of 20. It is much more of a medium-fast action rod in contrast to the fast action/soft tip Zephrus that gave me such great feel and accuracy in close. In fishing to wary trout, I often set my false casts up short and to the side of the fish, and then shoot a little line in on that last cast. They have to if they want to sell. Heavy, slower action rods never perform well. 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. Im able to form fairly tight loops, but the accuracy is not as good as what Im getting with the Helios 3F or the Avantt. The final change in our performance categories is putting a lower value of 10 points on the longest distance 60 feet. This is one of the worst scores at long distance in our Shootout. This rod is insanely lightweight and maneuverable; in fact, it has the lightest swing weight of any rod we've tested here at Trident. I do like the 8 foot rods over the 9 footers as they are lighter and the shorter length allows me to strike more quickly, and they often provide better light tippet protection than the longer rods. Forty feet was definitely the sweet spot for this rod. I wish that we could have tested an 86 Aetos, but this rod is only available in an 8 foot #4. Ive had the privilege of fishing the Zephrus Ultralite in a 99 2wt, 89 4wt, 9 5wt, 99 4wt, and 99 5wt over the past few months. Rods are repaired, not replaced, except for broken sections. 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