Hi

I recently got lucky with an insurance policy that actually paid out, so I decided to invest the cash in blanks for personal use, rather than domestic cleaning appliances, and other such treasures found in Home Depot type stores. I have just had delivered a Sage 9 foot 10 wt Xi2 salt water blank. Sage have very dutifully marked each section of the blank, and the spine in the tip section is bang on with their marks. The spine is not a strong one, but if I wrap on the spine ( soft side) the tip of the blank does curve quite a bit to the right. This is not enough to reject the blank but will make ringing more difficult and the finished rod not so asthetically pleasing. As a general rule I have always built to the spine and had no problems with curves that go right or left if they are reasonable. I have to confess that a 9 foot 9 wt came as well and this will be a pleasure to build on as everything lines up with the curves and spine,(almost none) it's a doddle, why can't all blanks be like this?
So bearing in mind we only have a moderate spine here what would be the general concencious as to the best way to proceed is it to build to line of best fit ( which is very good) or go with the spine and accept the off curve. I guess this question has been asked before so appologies in advance. I just want to get this particular rod right, and find myself for inexplicable reasons with too much self doubt to make the required decision. It's probably an age thing!

Thanks

Mike Oliver

The effective spine and any natural bend, warp or curvature, are rarely in line with each other. The blank's natural curve is usually along the stiffest axis, which is rarely on or opposite the effective spine (softest axis.)

Normally Sage marks their rods for the straightest axis, as this is what they want to the customer to see when they sight down a finished rod. Rods that show a curve to one side or the other are usually rejected by the consumer as being "warped" and thus most major rod makers put the curve up or down, never to the side. This means they usually must disregard the spine altogether.

Check the FAQs page for more information on what you can expect from any particular orientation of the effective spine or use of the rod's natural curve.

..............

Hello Mike:

I am willing or actually wondering if bying an Xi2, cause I needed a stiff tip rod, stiffer than XP. But after I read that the tip section of the Xi2 was design to be "soft" by adding fiberglass to inner part I got even more confused and doubtfull.

What is your opinion of this rod´s tip? Can You compare it to other popular fly rods? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

On a visit to the SAGE factory. I asked about checking for the spine. They do not do it. They have a lady that looks at them and picks out the straightest side and marks it. If it is not almost perfect, she rejects it. I guess they feel their blanks are so good, it does not make any difference. I also spoke with a Loomis engineer that told me they did not check for the spine. I don't really agree with them. John Butterfield

Adolfito,

Thanks for your post. I would be a touch surprised and more than a tad dissapointed if Sage had utalised glass fibre scrims in the tip sections of the Xi2.

It is very difficult to answer your question as UK blank rollers do not make fly blanks anything like the premium USA blank makers when it comes to 8 wt's and above . English style blanks tend to be softer in action and feel at least one line down compared to the stated line rating on a US blank. I purchased the 8, 9 and 10 wt on reputation and because I already own a couple of Sage12 year old RSP III 6wt and 8 wt which have stood the test of time and have preformed very well. Nowadays they would be considered as medium fast only at best.

So I have unwrapped the blanks only today and what do I think. First reaction was wow wonderful finish, the joints were perfect no knocking but the 10 wt is going to take some figuring as to build because of the curve in the tip section.
Now as to action I can only tell you what it is like with no handle on or rings just the bare feel of the blank when flexed against it's own weight through the air ( done carefully) In short I liked it a lot. It has in my view a fast action but the action is not just in the top 2 feet of the tip.The action does come down the rod as you load it but then tightens and it could not be described as medium not by my way of calibrating the action. And here lies the rub what is medium fast to me may be fast to you. There is a lot to discover about these blanks which is only going to be found out by fishing with them. What I can say is that my experience which is about 27 years in rod building suggests to me that this rod is not going to dissapoint. It is going to do what it says on the tin, and may be more. I never believe the hype especially for a new rod and what the manufacturers put out. I purchased this rod blank the 10wt primarily for Striper fishing in Montauk in the fall. It is mostly blind casting so a rod which is too tippy (fast) would for me be too tiring. I fish four to six hour sessions and want to be able to get out of bed the next day. As the blanks are so new there is not a lot of real genuine opinion on the street. I will try out the rod in the uk in tough surf conditions in May and if you want will email you directly with my findings, but again how do we calibrate. I would not want to mislead anyone. I have a sneaky feeling that I am going to like the 9 wt best.
Hope this helps a little, feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss further.

Regards Mike Oliver

John,

I reckon that Sage need to get the lady who checked and marked my blank some glasses then because the 10 wt I got was anything but nearly straight, when assembled to their marks. But I will qualify that. If I ignored the markings that Sage placed on the blank for the tip section to the second section and altered it by a whole 90 degress voila a pretty straight blank. I also found that moving around the second section to the third section just a touch gave a better straight line fit. It must have been pure fluke then that the factory marks actually lined up bang on with the spine, well the spine in the top section at any rate. We as custom buiders do have the luxury of making the time to get the best out of our blanks which is difficult to replicate in the production envoirament. But this would not be a good situation with a relatively inexperienced rod builder who might be afraid to go against the factory marks. @#$%& it through me a little hence the urgent post to get other opinions and further advice. I have had several hours to think things through now and have actually, now managed to get a pretty straight blank with the tip section properly spined up to boot. The 9wt I got is plumb. It is very rare in my experience that we get a blue printed blank even from the premium producers. Let me say in case the wrong message is getting out that I am very pleased with the Sage blanks I have just aquired and am looking forward to turning them into fishing rods when they will get a thorough pasting in the surf. I am confident that they will come through flying.

Thank you for responding


Tight Lines
Mike Oliver

John,
Sorry I made an error in my reply I should have said moved the tip section in relation to the marks on the second section by 180 degrees not 90 degrees.

Regards Mike O.