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Z Axis takes a wound

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Mike Oliver

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Sunday out fishing with my favourite reservoir Trout rod a Sage Z Axis 9 foot 6 inch 7 wt. This rod has made many thousands ofcasts and landed thousands of fiesty  Trout. Near to the days end whilst fighting a fish I hear a crack and the tip section runs down the line. I landed the fish ok. The rod has snapped right at the joint between the tip and section two. It is the male section on section two that has sheared off. I had a real job trying to get this bit out of the tip,section. It was inserted all the way. I checked the date as I always put a date on my rods and this rod I built in 2009. What a fantastic rod it has been.

Called up Sage’s repair and warranty agents in the uk and hopefully they can provide a new section. The cost in UK pounds 45 which is a pretty good price.

I love how your USA rod companies  look after their customers. I love the fact that you can get a rod no longer in production repaired with new sections. I love the fact that Sage knows how much we regard our rods and that they will support previous models.

To me this is just wonderful. Ok. We all know Sage rods are expensive but when your rod gets threatened like this you begin to realise that expensive maybe but they perform very well and are not just regarded as last weeks news and discardable. That they have a real value to us. Sage get it.

So my rod gets broken but no drama I know it is going to be alright fairly soon.

I am not one to chop and change my rods. When I get a jewel I stay with it. Any replacement model has to be very god for me to change.

Just how good is that. Thank you Sage..

 

 

Mike

Edited by Mike Oliver
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And sadly I only ever purchased  one Z Axis blank. Your right they do cast very well and also fight big fish well. To me it’s a very special blank and more than a few blanks have passed through my hands over the years.

I am unaware of this rod when fishing. That is when I know I have a great rod.

Not sure if blanks come up for sale very often if at all. 

I once had a  RPL section replaced and the fit was perfect. The whole rod has to go back. I am hopeful that I get a similar result. 

I would not have a clue as to the closest rod now in Sages line up to the Z series. I am out of touch.

 

Mike

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FH

 

First thing I did was to check joint. The male part of section two was seated as it should have been. But I agree sloppy ferrule fit is a big problem.

Nothing lasts for ever and this rod is 8 years old and has seen a great deal of use. First time I have ever had a rod break whilst actually  fishing it.

As you will know catastrophic failures in blanks normally hapen very early in a rods life. So this is unusual. I suspect that the blank took a knock that I caused but was not aware of at the time.. What’s good is that I get a new section. I only have to tye 3 guides and do one small ferrule tye and my old friend is back on the bank again.

It is the old story. I wished I had purchased more of this blank but at the time I did not know just how good it was. That only comes when you fish a rod hard and often. By the time you bond with the rod another series is released.

 

mike

 

Edited by Mike Oliver
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Nice that SAGE will take care of older rod repairs but the other company they own Redington will not fix their older rods but give you a newer replacement model. Which is fine except nothing they have come with comes close to the old CPS rods. I don't have deep pockets so I'm on the constant watch for a used Z-Axis 8wt I can afford.

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On 11/6/2017 at 1:36 PM, FishHawk II said:

One of the biggest reasons rods break is because of loose ferrules . I wonder if this is what cause the break. FishHawk

I had an incident this past fall that will cause me to check my ferrules way more often going forward - fortunately in my case, it wasn't a break, but simply a fish flat out ripping off the top three sections of the fly rod....somehow I was lucky enough to land the fish and get my three sections back with no noticeable repercussions (see pic below, with rod in two pieces)

 

 

AlbieRipsRodIn2.jpg

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I feel your pain. I had my beloved 8wt 10 foot Z-axis stolen out of my car last year (along with another rod, 3 good  reels and about 200 flies). It was the best rod I ever laid my hands on. I was catatonic for days afterwards.

 

My dream is that she was fenced, pawned and finally found her way to the Bahamas flats, where she belongs.

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