Scott Session 803-4

Reviews

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   On this 3-weight and both 4-weights, anglers will really notice the sense of lightness. This is a pleasing rod to pick up and swing. Due to its modest length, the Session 803-4 casts best with lines that have average length or short heads, including the Rio Elite Gold, SA Amplitude Trout and SA Trout Standard. It forms a nice casting loop right out of hand, delivering the fly accurately with great delicacy up to about 45 feet. When this distance is reached, a modest double haul is necessary to hold up the longer line, but the rod accepts this confidently. This will be a very nice dry fly rod up to about 50 feet with just enough spine to throw a light dry dropper or short leader nymph rig.

   John Duncan (Telluride Angler)

2. Rated 5 out of 5

   This little rod surprised me. I’m quick to write off a lot of graphite rods 8 feet and under, especially in the mid-priced category. I feel like a lot of these rods are afterthoughts in the series and tend to feel like a cut down version of the longer rods, clubby or bouncy and with a stiffer flexing profile than their length would indicate. These rods are typically sold at the end of the rod’s life cycle with, “It’d be a great rod to throw panfish poppers.” The Session 803 is much more than that, but it’ll still throw a bluegill popper like a British dart player. Even flexing, it came out of the gates forming loops with little to no line out the tip and feels like a small water trout rod, as intended. A Rio Technical Trout WF3F felt just right and provided a pleasantly stable and springy turnover. You feel the bend and the stop of this rod and that fast recovery allows more loop control than you would expect from an 8 foot 3 weight. This little rod is as polished as they come at this price, an excellent small stream and creek-leaning trout rod, well worth a cast. It will also make an excellent first fly rod for a young trout angler.

   Richard Post (Telluride Angler)

3. Rated 5 out of 5

   The 803/4 Session is very light in hand and a pleasure to cast. It isn’t as stiff as some other shorter graphite 3wt rods, which is my personal preference. The overall design of this rod is different than other rods in the lineup. In order to make the rod not feel stiff, the butt section was designed to be slightly softer than other rods in the Session family and the result is a rod that loads easier in close and has excellent feel throughout the blank. This is a great rod for people fishing tight quarters with light flies. It will cross over as an excellent creek rod, as well. I tried this rod with a Rio Elite Technical Trout and thought the line paired well with the rod. I wouldn’t be afraid to fish it with a shorter headed line, like the Rio Elite Gold or SA Amplitude Trout Standard.

   Parker Thompson (Telluride Angler)