Scott Centric 1006-4

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   This is too much fly rod for my trout fishing, but stillwater anglers will find a rod of incredible capability. Fishing broad water with sinking lines comes naturally to the Centric 1006-4. Choose this model over the 956-4 for light line steelheading, high stick nymphing on big rivers and fishing lakes at distance. I have no local purpose for the rod, but if you do, you’ll be blown away at how finely tuned the Centric 1006-4 is for its purposes. This is the most specialized rod in the series.

   John Duncan (Telluride Angler)

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   It’s been two weeks since I received my 10’ 6wt Scott Centric rod and I’ve compiled about 30 hours on Stillwater to document my impressions regarding this fly rod. I have really put it through the paces to see what this rod is capable of doing and whether I could incorporate it into my arsenal of most loved fly rods or not?

   This Scott Centric rod is without question the finest fly rod I have ever fished on Stillwater or on rivers for that matter!!! I do not hesitate whatsoever in making this bold assertion! Scott has accomplished something legendary with this rod for Stillwater fly fishermen that goes beyond anything I ever thought to be possible.

   To underscore my statement, it must be conceded that I’ve been a Sage rod fanatic for 25+ years and I’ve owned and fished every major Sage model made for large trout fly fishing during the last quarter century. I still have 22 different Sage rods in various closets around the house. Many prior favorite and highly coveted Sage models have been gifted to friends and family over the years. I’ve always considered Sage to be at the pinnacle of rod design! Yes! I’m a Sage guy through and through.

   Let me tell you what this Centric rod can do. Beyond the obvious ability to masterfully cast floating lines like a baton in the hands of an orchestras conductor, it also has the uncanny ability to magically cast every type of sinking line I attached to the rod. As far as the floating lines go, this rod equally loved the SA Amplitude MPX, the Elite RIO Gold, and the RIO Big Nasty. I was very surprised that I didn’t get any complaints from this rod with these distinctly different floating lines. Amazing! And talk about Incredible roll casts. Unreal—

   Let’s talk about the sinking lines I’ve fished on this rod. Beginning with a midge tip (or Emerger tip) and descending down through numerous sinking rates, I was in awe at the wide range of lines this rod handled perfectly as though it was designed SPECIFICALLY to cast each unique sinking line to its utmost potential.

   What kind of special magic we’re they using in the Scott factory when this Centric rod was designed? It’s beyond belief that a single rod could do all of this—

   For Sage fans, just imagine a rod that incorporates the immense power of the Sage One, coupled with the dream-like grace of the Sage 99 (yes the 99 is a stellar Stillwater fly rod for sinking lines. It’s a hidden gem not necessarily recognized as a great Stillwater rod), and then meshed with all the charm and amazing capability of the Sage X, and you’d begin to see what the Scott Centric rod is all about.

   If you’re not familiar with the Sage 99, then think of the Sage Z-Axis as part of the blend I was describing above. You’ll get the point.

   The Centric cast all of the following sinking lines perfectly:

   RIO’s Midge tip; SA’s Emerger tip; RIO’s Big Nasty FHI & FHIS3; RIO’s Hover, RIO’s Camolux, RIO’s Fathom Clean Sweep Slow; SA’s Parabolic; SA’s Titan I/S2/S3; and SA’s Titan Int/S3/S5.

   To be fair, no fly rod that I’ve ever used can cast a type 7 line worth a damn, but the Centric was as good as the Sage One with that task.

   That about sums it up. For the record I should state that casting this rod was absolutely magical with every type of line. No other single rod can do all of this. That’s why I described the Centric as being equal to a combination of all of the best Sage rods I own and fish. That’s saying a lot.

   Here’s the other thing I’ll say. If it was possible, I’d swap out my other primary Stillwater rods and I would only fish with Scott Centric rods for the rest of my fly fishing days. Give me four Centric rods and I’d be completely happy! It’s that good. It’s that amazing and I don’t expect to ever see a better rod for Stillwater to be created in my lifetime. Maybe someone from Sage will take on this challenge and try to improve on the Centric. It’s a seemingly impossible task.

   Well done to Scott. I’m a believer now. You will be too if you fish this 10’ 6wt Stillwater masterpiece.

   Lastly I want to thank the team at Telluride Anglers for the generous work to publish reviews on the gear we love to fish!

   Jeff

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   I’d like to follow up with a few additional remarks about this astonishing Scott Centric fly rod and draw some comparisons from the other Stillwater rods I fish.

   Among the 10’ 6wt rods available to the Stillwater angler today, I’d like to comment on the Sage X and the G.Loomis NRX+ rods. I absolutely love both of these fantastic tools and each rod has a few specific tasks where they excel as superb Stillwater fly rods.

   The Sage X really performs best with longer Sink tip lines and slow sinking lines such as Hover and Intermediate lines along with other Type 2 & 3 mid-weight lines. It struggles somewhat with Type 4 & 5 and heavier sinking lines. Therefore, those jobs have been assigned to the older Sage One and Sage 99 models that have the robust reserve power necessary to successfully cast the heavy weight lines. The X is also a fantastic indicator rig when coupled with the SA Amplitude MPX.

   The G. Loomis NRX+ has a unique configuration that qualifies it best as the dedicated dry fly and terrestrial fly rod when using a RIO Gold Elite line and it’s also my favorite choice as the Midge tip (or Emerger tip) rod. The NRX+ is a stellar indicator rig with the SA MPX line and it performs these tasks beautifully but struggles with medium weight or heavier sinking lines.

   I normally carry some combination of four different fly rods loaded with appropriate fly lines while fishing Stillwater. Rod selection depends on the type of water I will encounter and the fly lines required because each rod has its somewhat narrow range of capabilities and its clear limitations.

   Until now, no single fly rod was truly capable of EASILY performing the wide variety of tasks faced by Stillwater anglers. That has changed with the Scott Centric rod that performs every task described above, equal to, or better than, the rods I’ve previously employed.

   Yes! The Scott Centric casts every type of Stillwater sinking line with such resolute tenacity that it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. In some cases, the Centric rod surprisingly out performs the other surgically selected rods with their specific capabilities which is something I did not expect— no single rod should be capable of this kind of magical performance! However, Scott has somehow accomplished the impossible—

   Whether casting a floating line or a type 5 sinking line, and everything in between, the Scott Centric rod has overcome the normal barrier of limitations inherent in fly rods to become the first and only 10’ 6wt fly rod in my experience to excel with every task and every class of Stillwater fly lines. You no longer need a bevy of different models of rods to cover all the situations you will encounter on Stillwater.

   The 10’ 6wt Centric is the one Stillwater fly rod that can do it all at the highest possible level of performance! No other single rod even comes close! This is why I said in my prior comments that I’d gladly trade my arsenal of Stillwater rods for four of the Scott Centric rods and I’d be completely content for the rest of my life. Of course, having said that, I couldn’t possibly part with my Sage rods. I have too much history with each rod. But I will begin a new chapter of Stillwater fly fishing with the Scott Centric rod front-and-center in my quiver. This fly rod is so absolutely astonishing that I’m going to add a second 10’ Centric to my rod arsenal. It’s that amazing!

   How does it cast? It’s easily the #1 fly rod that I have ever cast against a stiff field of competition. Depending on the line selection and how that line interacts with the rod, it’s not difficult to send the entire line out through the guides. Targeting and accuracy are astonishingly easy. Overused words like sublime, surreal, and dream-like come to mind when positing the casting qualities of this 10’ marvelous work of art.

   All of this praise for Scott’s great design achievement comes from a long lifetime of experience fly fishing on Stillwater and I never thought I’d see a fly rod capable of this singular level of perfection across the board. It’s flawless! This rod is unequalled by any other challenger from any other manufacturer. For those Stillwater anglers who search for fly rod nirvana, you have come to the right place. The Scott Centric is the Excalibur of Stillwater fly rods. Enjoy!

   Jeff

4. Rated 5 out of 5

   This is a bigger feeling fly rod than the Centric 956, but it still maintains that perfectly smooth feeling of the whole blank unloading in the direction of the cast. The flex is deep without folding or bouncing and the rod is surprisingly easy to cast overhead. I think this is a touch too much for even my biggest trout fishing, but I can see real purpose for this rod as a single hand summer steelhead stick. The Centric 1006 is very balanced and matches well with an Elite Gold or Infinity taper. The easy load of this long rod also makes me feel like it would handle shooting head style fishing in the surf. Just load it up and let the line shoot out with little effort. This is a very well-made rod with an intelligent taper that makes shooting line at long distances easy and repeatable.

   Richard Post (Telluride Angler)

5. Rated 5 out of 5

   This is some heavy artillery. Line shooting from the tip of this rod makes me think back on the scene from Christmas Vacation in which Clark Griswold greases his sled in order to go for a “new amateur recreational saucer sled land speed record.” This rod paired with a SA Amplitude Infinity taper is quite the canon. I cannot find a reason that I would find this rod in my hand for a typical trout fishing scenario. However, this could be a sweet light line, A run Steelhead rod.

   Jim Harris (Telluride Angler)

6. Rated 5 out of 5

   This rod is an absolute beast. It is a little much for big water trout fishing but is a cannon for stillwater applications. I was pleased to see how well it casts at all distances and how easy it was to cast 100’ of fly line. 10-foot 6wt rods are never light, but the Centric is lighter than other rods in the same length and line weight. There are a lot of different fly lines that will work well on this rod. If you plan on nymphing with the rod, the SA Amplitude Infinity is sensational. If you want to toss streamers with it, either the Rio InTouch Big Nasty or the SA Titan taper lines will pair best.

   Parker Thompson (Telluride Angler)