I thought I'd bring this query to the source, rather than floating it on a bunch of other forums.

I'm looking to pick up a medium to medium-fast action 0 wt rod, and my local shop went out to try and find a nice expensive one for me LOL! The model they came up with is the Sage TXL 0710. I own or have owned several Sage rods (VPS-Light, DS2, RPL+, LE, 9140 Spey, SP) from 3-9 wt, and prefer the slower end of the scale. I'm shooting for a fairly high end rod that I won't feel the need to replace in 5 years.

I was wondering what people think of the new TXL line up--the good, the bad, and the ugly. Any real quirks I should know about? Any alternate (yet relatively easy to obtain) rod/blank suggestions. I might be up for going down the custom route if necessary, but I do like the convenience of the warranty (having had to send in a couple of rods for work already).

Any help would be appreciated.

TIA,

Aaron

Dan Craft Sig III blanks.

Aaron. I played with a 0 and 00 TXL at my local shop and decided I could build a better rod on a Dan Craft blank or even a TXL blank. IMO the biggest flaw is the truncated grip. Sage should have gone with a longer taper Orvis style. Sage also didn't put guides on the ferrules, a pet peeve of mine. The rod sports a locking reel seat, which kicked the rod weight up. They did use a clear wrap over a metallic painted blank which does look good. The Sig III blank is at least as good at half the price.

I just wanted to thank you both for the help. I think I might look into having a rod built, or perhaps pick up the SLT 0 wt on clearance.