[Thomas Williams]

I had a Sage 4580 I think it was. Felt okay but the drag was really loud. Not my cup of tea. I only buy Lamson now. Cant beat the customer service or build quality.

 

[Steve Saville]

It was Hardy, back in the late '70's and early '80's seems to me.

 

[Mike T]

IMHO they're overpriced. Sage makes them in Asia but charges like they're made in the USA. They might be compelling if priced less, much less.

 

[speyfisher]

If I remember correctly, I think one of the things that turned people off with the older Sages was lack of continued spool availability on discontinued models.SF

That is nothing unique to Sage.I have run up against the same situation from another well known maker. As to the failures of various Sage reels, does Sage not warranty their reels the same as their rods? Don't know. Just asking. The 3600D, the whole series I suspect, had a drag that was made up of multiple disks, very much like the old coaster brakes on bicycles. Solid as a rock, stop a freight train, sealed drag. Those reels still command a good price whenever they show up. Which is not very often.

 

[BDD]

I agree with Phil in that you should stick with what you are good at and perfect it, without trying to branch off into something new just to make a buck. In other words, Sage rods and Ross reels, not the other way around.

I have owned a few Sage reels over the years and though they were okay, there never seemed to be any consistency in their products...they were always changing them too soon. Plus, I agree with Mike as well, for their top of the line reels, they charge like they are US made when in fact, are made overseas. That don't sit right with me. I don't mind paying top end for a quality US made product. But no way should you pay top of the line price for an Asian product.

 

[Rick Todd]

I have a Sage 3400D that I use with my 8wt Xi2 for bonefish etc. It is stamped Made in USA and it is really an awesome reel-super smooth drag and has stood up well to repeated salt water use. I got it on Ebay along with the rod very cheap. My best reel purchase yet in terms of dollars spent vs quality. I have an Islander, Abel, and Solitude that are maybe better, but more $ as well. Rick

 

[Salmo_g]

I like the Hardy-made 500 series Sage reels very much. They were the best reels Hardy was making at the time. But that's the thing with Sage reels, they're all made by somebody else. NTTAWWT. All the newer disc drag and large arbor models look like reels offered by other vendors to me. There is nothing distinctive about them that attracts me to them, with so many other choices of equal quality at lower prices. The older 500 series reels, however, are worth a premium - unfortunately for me.

Sg

 

[Klickrolf]

What about the 5000 series? They're very well made with cork drags and distinctive looking...and made in the USA (by whom I don't know, maybe Abel or Lamson?). I've got 3 of them, a 5500 and two 5600's (nice size & weight for a speyrod). These reels will stop anything that I'll ever fish for. But alas, they are not large arbor. Doesn't bother me a bit because I enjoy not being able to keep up with a fish, that's half the fun of flyfishing for me.

 

[seatSniffer]

I've got an older english made (jw young i think) sage 106m and it's great.

 

[15130]

No. I use the LPs and a few other. The ones I was talking about were British made. Dan may be right. Maybe Hardy. The two sages I have are pretty cheap. But definitely Asian made.

not sure how far back you meant by "older", sorry. i was thinking of the 90's, when i know that sage owned lamson. the current water-works/lamson entity aquired lamson from sage in 98, per their website. i don't know how long sage owned them or if i was incorrect to assume that they while sage owned them the sage reels were rebranded lamson reels.

 

[Steelheader69]

Yeah, I was talking a bit back. I was thinking the ones produced by JW Young.

 

[Drifter]

Well if you place a gear fishing reel next to a fly reel it's amazing any of the fly reels go for over $100! there are so many brands that start at $200 and go to $700. It's not like a fly reel has the parts or fine design of a shimano calcutta for crying out load! they don't have a 4 to 6 to 1 retrieve and the balancing of the spool so good that it spins in the cast at blinding speed with no back lash! they are just mounted on a shaft with one little quick release clip and a fricken handle to turn a spool on a frame with a "OH WOW - BEST DRAG EVER BUILT"

When I compare what you get when you buy a level wind reel compared to what you get when you buy a fly reel I have to just shake my head. we fly fisherman sure know how to over pay for all our shit. At $500 a fly reel should be at least silver plated if not gold plated. doesn't matter who makes them!

If you took apart a Calcutta and checked out the craftsmanship it takes to build that reel and compare it to any $350 fly reel you might feel the same way I do. many of you probably already do!

 

[hydrological]

I think one of the things that turned people off with the older Sages was lack of continued spool availability on discontinued models. SF

same problem with orvis. just months after the hydros replaced it, they couldnt sell me a spool for my battenkil LA. i'm suree other companies are the same. ross gunnisons, i see you can still get spools for, and they've been discontinued for, what, a decade or more?

as far as sage reels not being us made, everyone knows the best bar stock comess from korea

 

[dryflylarry]

I like the Sage Click, but seems a little pricey at $310, but, it must be the lightest reel made. Looks like a dandy trout reel to me. I had a 500 Series reel, rebuilt it and sold it. It was too heavy. As far as trout reels, I look for something as light as I can find.

 

[James Waggoner]

What about the 5000 series? They're very well made with cork drags and distinctive looking...and made in the USA (by whom I don't know, maybe Abel or Lamson?). I've got 3 of them, a 5500 and two 5600's (nice size & weight for a speyrod). These reels will stop anything that I'll ever fish for. But alas, they are not large arbor. Doesn't bother me a bit because I enjoy not being able to keep up with a fish, that's half the fun of flyfishing for me.

Great looking reel, I've got a 5300 and two 5600 ....those 5500 are very hard to find...would you trade for another 5600?

 

[Stonefish]

same problem with orvis. just months after the hydros replaced it, they couldnt sell me a spool for my battenkil LA. i'm suree other companies are the same. ross gunnisons, i see you can still get spools for, and they've been discontinued for, what, a decade or more?

as far as sage reels not being us made, everyone knows the best bar stock comess from korea

As a fan of the older Ross reels the continued availability of spools is really a great thing. Hopefully that will continue well into the future that 3M owns them.

 

[Brian Thomas]

. The 3600D, the whole series I suspect, had a drag that was made up of multiple disks, very much like the old coaster brakes on bicycles. Solid as a rock, stop a freight train, sealed drag. Those reels still command a good price whenever they show up. Which is not very often.

I have a 3600D (used it today actually) , and although I agree with your assessment , they were imo way overpriced . The 3600D was an $800.00 reel up here in Canada when they were a current model . They don`t do anything any better than most of the disk drag reels I own , and the anodizing is of poor quality . I have an Able that is 10 years older than the Sage , but looks 3 years newer than the Sage , and the Able has seen far more use .

I still like the Sage , but I`m glad I got the `smokin deal on it that I got when I bought it (unused , with an extra spool) from a fella on Speypages .

 

[speyfisher]

All fly fishing gear is overpriced when compared to gear fishing gear. It's a numbers thing.

 

[Porter]

I think its a well known fact that sage's reels are made overseas. You have some great american making reel companies in the usa, bauer, galvan, and tibor come to mind, who offer better made reels (MHO) and competitive pricing too. Some of the older sage reels are nice and well made. The 3000 and 3000D series at first were made in the usa by who??? Had heard that Jack Charleton was behind the design of those reels but I don't know if true or half true. It was during this sage reel era that the transition to sage overseas production started from what I can tell....before that you had hardy, lamson, and loop making their reels.