SAGE FLi

[Curtis]

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Okay, since I was struck with how great the LAUNCH by Sage was even though I originally thought it was super ugly, I thought I would check out the FLi. This one too is a strange color. Kind of a rust copper color. Touted as a fast action where as the LAUNCH is more of a mod-fast. Well, business was pretty good this month so I decided to treat myself to another new rod, if that is they were any good. Went down to Western Rivers and asked to cast the FLi and the Launch (had only cast the three weight so far in the Launch) in a 9 foot five weight. Well, I have to say as much as I love my three weight LAUNCH, I just could not get the five weight to work for me. My timing was way off. This is not anything to do with the rod as I could tell it is a fine rod in that size. It just was not working well for me. So I next tried the FLi. First cast and the problems with the Launch were over. Sweet tight loops as close or as far as I needed them to go. Very sensitive and light. Has a little nicer hardware too. Same nickel silver but with a nicer wood insert. Again, all wraps and guides are done with SAGE quality. The LAUNCH is made with the SAGE II graphite and the FLi is with their SAGE III graphite. This rod is a little more money. The two piece comes in at $245 which I must say is modest for the quality you are getting. You really cannot go wrong with either of these series. Go cast them side by side and see which one fits you best.

 

[sfugarino]

I have a FLi 586-4 and love it. It's far better than other rods in the $300 range and can compete with some high end rods. I was surprised at how well made the rod feels. Great rod for the price.

 

[Pocono]

Does anyone have experience with the Sage Fli in a larger weight; 8, 9 or 10 wt.? I'm planning on going to the Yucatan in the late Spring and want to take one each of the above weight rods with me. Since saltwater fishing is going to be only a minor part of the fishing that I do (I fish mostly Trout in small freestone streams), I don't want to spend a bundle on heavier weight rods that will sit around, unused, most of the time. At the same time, I'd rather own these rods at reasonable prices than rent them in Mexico. Any advice?

 

[tie one on]

I own an FLi 4 piece 4wt & love to use this rod.

Of all the rods I own this one takes sooo much less effort
to present the fly to waiting swimmers. If you can afford a
few more bucks I would highly recommend this rod.

Tie One On

 

[Pocono]

Thanks for the feedback, but do you think that the qualities that you like in the 4 wt. will translate into the larger 8, 9, and 10 wt. Fli models?

I ask because I've had experience with some rods where the small stream models (2-4 wt.) were really sweet, but the larger weight models felt like lifeless clubs. I know that Sage is a high quality manufacturer and I do take a considerable amount of comfort in that; knowing that they would not put a poor performing product on the market, but I'd like to get some feedback on how the larger weight Fli models actually perform.

 

[FlyRichardFly]

I purchased a Sage Fli last year and I love that rod. I got a 5wt 9' 2pc. Mine was $255 at Cabelas.
It's the fast light graphite, similar to the Legend Ultra.
I compared both before I bought:
- The Sage has a better rod taper. It's thick at the bottom and thin at the top. With no line on either rod, when I shake the LU it giggles too much..... tip heavy. But the Sage doesn't giggle.
- The FLi and the LU are the same weight..... exactly.
- The FLi seemed to cast much better for me
- The FLi is $60 cheaper than the LU.

I'm very happy with my FLi....... but I didn't compair it with a $700 rod!

 

[GRN]

Does anyone have experience with the Sage Fli in a larger weight; 8, 9 or 10 wt.? I'm planning on going to the Yucatan in the late Spring and want to take one each of the above weight rods with me. Since saltwater fishing is going to be only a minor part of the fishing that I do (I fish mostly Trout in small freestone streams), I don't want to spend a bundle on heavier weight rods that will sit around, unused, most of the time. At the same time, I'd rather own these rods at reasonable prices than rent them in Mexico. Any advice?

For starters, you might want to consider taking just 8 & 10 wts. to keep the bundle spent to a reasonable size regardless of what taper you choose, unless you really need 3 rods... the crossover in functionality with all three will offer more redundancy than you're likely to really need.

The FLi in heavier weights is a nice casting rod, but the butt section may present limitations (maybe a bit weak) if you're going to be throwing heavier sinking lines, or hooking up larger, heavier and very torquey (not really a word ) fish. I fished a 9 weight last year with a 350 gr DC full sink for 20#+ stripers and preferred my Xi2 (which I can't cast quite as well) due to the concerns above. For floating and intermediate line applications for lighter, fast running species I believe it would work well. YMMV :wink:

TL's~

 

[FrankB2]

Hmmmm.....I bought a Sage FLi 9' 6wt about a week ago. After I discovered
a deep scratch on the butt section, it was destined to be returned. I did, however, give it about 30 minutes of casting time. With a SA GPX 6wt line,
the FLi seemed a bit stiff for my tastes. It certainly cast nicely at close
range, but at 40-50 feet, it lacked much feel. It came to life at 60 feet, but
that's about all I was able to get out of it. I would like to have tried the 5wt
FLi with a 6wt line.

I've heard the Launch isn't as fast, and maybe that means not as stiff. If that's the case, I might give one of those a shot. I'm looking for another
7 or 8 wt.