Redington Chromer and Behemoth Review

Redington's newest entry into the spey game, the Chromer, is a hell of a rod

This fall they gave me the opportunity to give the 13-6 8 weight a go along with the Behemoth as we spent our days on the Clearwater in search of early season steelhead.

First Impressions

The mid level price point of $399.99 is a nice way to get people into 2 handed casting without spending mortgage type money on a stick.  You can find some cheaper, but you can find dozens that close in on the $1000 mark or more.   So the price point is great, A+

Aesthetically,  the matt black finish looks great and the components all come together nicely for a great looking rod.  The biggest difference is this....polymer top and bottom grip points.

Traditionalists probably scoff, but I found that these touch points were really nice in hand and in running line management.

With regards to the Behemoth, again the price point of $109.99 you're not going to find many large arbor reels to match with a spey rod that can beat this reel.  The die-cast construction, the lock down drag (if necessary), and other features are exceptional on a reel like this.

On The Water

Paired with the RIO 38 ft Scandi Shooting Head, the Chromer was an all out pleasure to cast.  Each person is going to have different likes and dislikes in every rod they throw, but the break in time with the Chromer was minimal for me.  Once I found the proper anchor placement with the Scandi head, the rod allowed me to cast and cover wide swaths of the rivers I was fishing.    Back to the price point....it fishes like a $1000 stick if you know what I mean

With regards to the polymer grips and my used of mono running lines, I found them to be a big bonus feature with the Chromer.  Pressing the line into the polymer allowed for far less fouled casts that tend to happen with lines like Amnesia.

The reel did exactly what it needed to do.  I prefer a light to moderate drag setting, and I experienced no backlash or issues like that.  The line pick up of the 10-12 reel I had was very, very quick and allows you to keep solid connection with the fish

Any Negatives?

Completely nitpicking on this, the rod's cork could use a little work.  My particular model was missing a few pieces of cork filler but for the price point, do not expect the most amazing cork in the world.  It's a trade off, I'll take a lower grade handle for the awesome cast-ability of the Chromer any day.

On the Behemoth, there was an issue that I had from time to time.  There is JUST enough room for my running line to get caught outside the spool and thank goodness it never happened while catching a fish.  On those time when it happened, I had to loosen the spool a bit, pull the line over and then retighten it back down.  It's a fairly common problem that I am sure anyone has dealt with from time to time

Unanswered Questions

The only thing for me personally is that I never got the shot to throw the rod with heavy sink tips.  It's rare to find a rod that excels at throwing both scandi and skagit heads but I have a suspicion that the fast action and strong butt section will handle heavy tips like 12 ft of T14 with ease.


Conclusion

This combo of rod, reel and line gets a OH HELL YES rating from me.  There are few entries that can provide this much performance for the price.  I may or may not have shed a tear when I shipped them back to Redington, but that's between me and the UPS driver.

Sage Salt Review...

Fish that live in tropical salt water seem like they're dipped in rocket fuel and given a case of redbull before they eat.

Needless to say,  the gear you need to fish for them are a slight step up from your every day 5wt.

Before my recent trip to the East Coast of Mexico, I was given the opportunity to test drive this set up

Rod--Sage Salt 10 wt.

Reel-- Sage 6000 Series 10 wt.

Line--RIO Outbound Tropical Short 9 wt. 


My other salt experiences centered mostly around bonefish and tarpon, so this deal of standing on a beach getting pounded by the waves with a what other fishermen considered a "silly little stick" felt a bit daunting

The third morning I was absolutely trucked by this Jack in the picture above.  It proved to be my only fish from the beach on this family vacation but it gave me a solid feel of this rod reel and line combo

Spoiler alert-- Holy Shit.

Here are my top observations 

1.  The ocean is daunting, so you end up blind casting a ton when you dont have birds or surface activity. The 10 wt Salt felt like a 7 in hand, but has a ton of backbone.  Casting fatigue was limited which helps a ton

2.  The line combo was perfect.  One of my Jedi salt fly fishing buddies recommended to size down on the RIO Outbound as the 10 wt line was too much for the 10wt rod.  Very true.  I could see how the additional 50 grains from the 9 to the 10 could throw this set up off.

3.  Without a good reel, you're not going to stop these fish.  Seriously.  The 6000 series was set to the nuts when the Jack took it's runs and it still did everything it wanted to and then some.  That's no detraction from the reel as I don't think there's a reel out there that can do much better.  The test is that after the big time runs, is the reel functional and in once piece.  Don't bring a plastic reel to Mexico, just don't.  Bring the big guns as you're going after fish that potentially are in that "lifetime" category

4. Solid side note.  If you're going to Pacific side of Mexico, consider bringing a stripping basket.
The only consistent issues I had was in battling the surf, the line would wrap around my legs and detract big time from casting distance.   A couple of times I had moving bait balls rolling by me and I'd get one good cast into the school only to be followed by the line into my toes and my ankles.  In an instance, the bait fish and the subsequent ocean thugs that follow them were gone.

5.  Solid Side Note 2, practice before you go.  If you're normally a trout guy and a 8 weight is big, a 10 wt does take a big of getting used to.  Additionally, if you've never fished with shooting heads and you plan on using a line like this....make sure you know when you practice as to where the line loads the rod.  Being quick with the line and your casts often means everything when the fish are flying by you.  Double hauls are a must and the ability to go from nothing to a 60-80 foot cast is HUGE. Repeat, HUGE.


I felt a solid gear lovers twinge when I had to send these items back.  Fishing with this set up for 10 days made me realize even more than I already knew that solid fly rods, reels and appropriate lines mean the world when your standing in front of a large ocean and waving a silly little stick

Dropping Hammers with the Method...

Time for another test drive, and this time the Sage Method 12'6 8wt

Before we dive into anything,

The elephant in the room....

A year after the "One", what's Sage doing releasing another $1,000 rod?

It's my belief you cant stay stale in anything.  Sit on the same lineup forever and you're going to get passed and surpassed.   In any business you can go from industry leader to also ran in a second.    Our little fly fishing community tends to get stuck in a baseball like position where we have a terrible time letting go of established dogma and accepting new items.  I myself love vintage reels, but on the same hand wouldnt know what to do if I had to nail knot everything.

For that, I have no problem with Sage pushing for a little bit more, another edge, another innovation.

For that, the Sage Method is the shit.

My test drive for the Method was primarily in the part of my steelhead season that focuses on Clearwater River in Idaho.   The set up was made complete with the new Evoke series reel and the Rio Short Head Spey

The Clearwater is big, in both runs and the size of the steelhead that return.  It's one of those rivers that begs for the long dryline and that's why this set up excited as we focused on the Clearwater August through the beginning of October

Here are my top 5 reasons why I dug this set up.

1.  Extra Crispy--The Method is all types of fast action.  If you like a progressive flex, this isnt your stick.  I tend to cast better with a faster action spey rod

2.  It's Purdy-- Finally a fly rod that's not muted grey/black/blue/green.  The wife has shoes, I have fly rods.

3.  Beautiful Cork--I used it for a solid 7 days on the river and it continued to feel like I just unpacked it for the first time

4.  The Line Combo-- Having only cast shorter Scandi and Skagit style heads, the transition to the 10ft longer Short Head Spey by Rio was made a lot easier by this rod.  It was forgiving and powerful enough to get it going.  Once I got the anchor placement down, it all came together nicely

5.  Lightness--ALthough it's really powerful....after a day of spey casting you'll love the lightness of the stick

Yes, it's a lot of money.  If it's part of your budget, have at it with out any reservations because if you like spey rods for the same reasons I like them, you're going to love the Sage Method Series

Fly fishing will always hold onto traditions and traditional gear.  Every now and then, it's ok to check out what's on the forefront of development of our sport