mjkirshner
Well-known member
This will be quick, as I bought a Scott Tidal and cast it on the grass, but returned it without fishing it. I returned not because I didn't like it, but because I liked it so much that I upgraded to the Meridian. I have never bought more than a mid-priced rod before, but the Tidal looked and performed so well that I decided to splurge and step up to the top tier. I figured if the Tidal was that enjoyable to cast, the Meridian should be pretty spectacular. I cast the Tidal alongside a Sage Motive, and it compared quite favorably. The build quality of the Scott is at least equal to the Sage in every visible aspect other than the grip, and in that respect, the Scott appears to have better quality cork. The Scott is lighter in hand than the Sage, and balanced better with my Lamson reels. The Scott felt better to cast than the Sage, and while I couldn't reach any greater distance with the Tidal, it equaled the Motive. In fact, it was ridiculously equal. I cast the rods four times, one with Rio Bonefish Quickshooter and other with Airflo Tropical Punch line. Four casts and never more than about 6 to 8 inches difference in the distance. Then I switched the reels/lines and did it again, with almost exactly the same result. Disclaimer: I am not a great distance caster, so we are talking about 70 feet max, but I couldn't get either one to outperform the other by even one foot. However, the Tidal has a slightly narrower grip, lighter swing weight, and felt better in my hand. After discussing it with someone from Scott and with the seller, I decided to upgrade to the Meridian and drop down to an 8-wt. I will post a review of that rod once I get the chance to try it, but for anyone looking for a saltwater rod in a middle tier price range, I would highly recommend that you check out the Tidal.