North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine February 2015 | Page 35

ROD

REVIEW

By

Luke McKee

Sage One 690

elbow out
in the process
makes your time more
enjoyable. The 690 Sage One
is light in the hand and picks line up
effortlessly. My line of choice is the 6wt
Rio Grand with a 10’ Fast sink Poly Leader.
Once this is tipped with one of our new
Keith Roe’s shop tied “Lethal Beetle-Wogs”
watch out.
Rocket this out and follow up with a strip
pause retrieve, then prepare for a rod
shocking strike. This is another positive of
the Sage One 690: its fish fighting ability
is epic. Generally with fast action rods
capable of long casts the joy of hand to
fish combat is forsaken. The One gives
you sheer thrill and enjoyment from set
to net.

When the
weather gets really
cold the 690 One fitted with a
sinking streamer line like the Rio 24’
type 6 Sink tip line gets the nod. I prefer
this line to a full sink since the running line
doesn’t sink and allows for longer casts
because it doesn’t tangle your feet. Again, I
tip this with some of Keith’s new killer bugs
like his “Omak Bloody Worm-a-mid.” With
this set up you can’t go wrong. Either on a
rolling hand retrieve or a short strip.
The best thing about the Sage One
690 is that once winter breaks and the
“Mother’s Day” Caddis hatch explodes
on the Yakima, it’s a well suited stick for
sight fishing dries with the Rio Gold or
searching with a dry/dropper rig.
If winter is killing you, or you’re looking for
the best way to re-invest the shiny new
North 40 gift card, stop by the shop and
demo a new Sage One. Remember the
coffee is always hot and so is the shop
talk. So let us help you to get fishing.