Sage 4200 Reel Review

           Sage 4200 Reel 

By Connell O'Grady

           Hey all, this article will be the first of a series that we will call the “Sage Corner” for the newsletter. If you have followed my blog over the years, you know that I have a tendency to ride the line of decency and have way more fun than I should. The boss has instructed me that this series needs to be a little more professional and a little more product oriented. I will do the best I can, but being boring has never been my style. Regardless, while discussing Sage’s products things can never get old.

          I wanted to start the series with a little info about the Sage 4200 series fly reels. Many years ago I was in a fly shop and was contemplating a new rod and reel purchase. The salesperson spent some time explaining to me that when making a purchase the majority of my money needed to go to the rod and line and the reel should be just an afterthought. I respected the person deeply and when later entering the sales end of the fly world, I reiterated the same sentiment many times over. After all, the reel did nothing more than hold the line. Ten years ago or so my fishing began to change, I felt like I was king of the little fish, but was clueless when it came to the piggies. Cat and I spent a few years busting our tail trying to figure out the monsters and finally one trip things just began to click. I had a great rod and a cheaper reel at the time and really thought that was fine. One of my first serious hookups was a quick run and then a snap that sounded like a .22 going off and then I got to duck as the line came back at me.  I then loosened the drag way up before the next take exploded half way across the river and came to an immediate stop, I looked at my reel and it looked like it could home a Bald Eagle. I landed a few, but any notion of a reel being nothing more than a line holder was gone for good. 

          One of the most important things I have found in these reels is what the manufactures call the “startup inertia”. Now what that means to us non-engineers is when we are fishing those 5 and 6x tippets and the fish drills the fly and begins to run, the reel is moving immediately. No more changing the drag during the battle, the drag is the same at startup as anytime during the run.

Now I am not one of those spec guys, but I do know that the production materials found in the 4200 are absolutely A1, top shelf stuff and more than competitively priced. Now for most people when looking at reels it is the feel that gets them when they pick it up. I love putting one of the 4200’s in someone’s hand and tell them to play with it. The smile begins to widen, they do the quick weight determination, and I can see them begin to sweat.  Then as they put the reel near their ear and listen to the click, I can almost hear their heart beat speed up like a teenager asking out the head cheerleader.  The reel also has a number system on the dial that makes it easy to set the reel where you want, no guessing. Come by the Drift and fall in love, but only if you are interested in big fish….

For more information on about this awesome reel follow this link : http://www.sageflyfish.com/fly-fishing-reels/all-water/4200/ or come by The Drift Fly Shop : www.thedriftflyshop.com