Sage 490-4 Igniter

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   The more rods I cast and the more reviews I write, the more and more I realize that line pairing is paramount. The IGNITER 490-4 was a fine example. The rod was rigged with an InTouch Grand WF4F initially. I made some casts, thought the line was a Grand, made sure it was, then I switched for an InTouch Gold WF4F. With the Rio Grand, the rod felt stiff and automated. I just don’t like the Grand and feel like overlining the IGNITER 490 with a heavier line is not what this rod was designed for or what the rod wants to do. With the InTouch Gold WF4F, this rod was fire! Loop formation was instant. The IGNITER 490-4 throws superbly flat parallel loops at all distances. Line speed is easy and instantaneous, control is supreme and it just flat out commands the fly line. At 20 feet the rod formed wonderful loops and had a surprising amount of touch. This is a fast rod, but you can certainly notice the load point even with a short line. At 30-40 feet, there is no equal in this fly rod category. Robin Hood-like accuracy, surreal intuition and not an iota of wasted energy. This thing is tactical, but I feel like it requires a lot of input from the caster for it to perform. This is not a rod for the novice angler looking to achieve more distance or a rod to be overlined to make it load. It wants a longer headed line, a commanding caster and a worthy challenge.

   Richard Post (Telluride Angler)

2. Rated 4 out of 5

   The Igniter 490-4 is considerably more fishable than its predecessor in the Method Series. Like the Method 490-4, it casts forever, but feels so much lighter and more nimble that anglers will choose this model out of preference rather than necessity. Like many super-fast rods of the past, this Igniter lacks sensitivity, but it feels nowhere near as heavy and clubby as the Method or TCR. I cast this rod with several fly lines and was impressed by its tolerance for different tapers and head weights. Whereas I categorically recommend overlining the Method Series with either a higher line weight or extra-heavy line in class (such as the Rio Grand), I found that the Igniter 490-4 casts equally well with a Scientific Anglers Trout Taper as with a Rio Gold or SA Amplitude Smooth Infinity, all useful general-purpose lines rather than specialty lines designed to load stiff fly rods. As a result, the angler may choose a fly line based upon the fishing situation rather than the rod with which it is being paired.

   John Duncan (Telluride Angler)