Sage ONE 486-4

The ONE and only

The Sage ONE is Sage’s flagship as a fast all water fly rod. It is not the most brand new rod from Sage since it is on the market for roughly 4 years. It is a proven fly rod, fished all over the world for so many different fish. Starting with a 3 weight rod up to a 12 weight the Sage ONE is also the most versatile fly rod series in the Sage fly rod family. There are 26 different ONEs available. From creek trout to tarpon, there is for everybody ONE available.

I landed at the ONE already 3 years ago with my first own custom build fly rod. the Sage ONE 890-4. I built it up for bonefish. It turned out to be the rod I love the most from all of my fly rods. I use it now for a majority of my fishing, especially also for pike. I love the smooth performance of this shiny black rod. I declare myself as a true Sage fan. All my rods are from Sage. This is now my 9th Sage fly rod. I wouldn’t say that other manufacturers don’t make as good fly rods but my first fly rod ever was a Sage and since then I sticked to this company. Over the years I tried several other rods but none of them had a performance that made me rethink.

Coming back to the this stick. When I was looking for a new “light” fly rod for trout I didn’t had to struggle long with a decision. I already said that a Sage was a must, The ONE series was my choice. A four weight rod should it be, not too long and not too short. The 8 feet + 6 inch seemed perfect for me. Of course a blank only because I wanted to built it up based on my kinetic and optical preferences. Rudi HEGER had one in his shop so I grabbed my wallet and some money changed the owner. Its actually not less money but I believe that quality has its price.

I built up the rod similar as I did it with all my others previous fly rods before. Recoil titianium guides, a Fuji titanium stripping guide, high quality floor grade cork and a Lemke reel seat together with a buckeye burl insert. I try to avoid making experiments although I had my worries with the Recoil titanium single foot guides. I heard that they tend to squeak. But I like the lightweight feel and the decreased swing weight more so took the risk. The finsih was finally very discreet. I like a more unobtrusive look. Especially on a pure black rod high contrasty colored wrappings look kitschy to me. It took me a little bit longer to finish it, I had troubles to get the cork, but in the end I think I made a good job.

On the water the ONE is super light in your hand and this feeling continues when casting. The delightful, rapidly working ONE casts in every situation a sharp loop and shoot at a phenomenal line speed and high precision. The ONE is working over the entire rod blank. It has a very strong bottom section without getting less sensitive on the tip. And it doesn’t matter if you want to cast 20 feet or 100 feet. The ONE casts all over this range with high accuracy. No need putting to much force into it. Everything works effortless, the ONE will cast practically almost “by itself”.

With a four weight fly line the ONE 486-4 is stocked extremely well balanced but also a class higher she would tolerance easily . I’m using the new RIO InTouch Trout LT WF 4 weight. The line feeling is fully present in every phase of the cast and the drill feeling is transmitted to you without any losses. Accuracy and precision are the premises of the Sage ONE. Although it is just a four weight fly rod the 486 ONE provides the feeling of much more strength than as one would believe.

The conclusion: Casting the Sage ONE fly rods is the tool each experienced fly fisherman needs. In fact, it allows the experienced fly fisherman the development of its innovative claims and provides a more intense on the water.

Key facts and features of the ONE 486-4

Available at Rudi Heger Fly Fishing (www.rudiheger.eu)