Fly Fishing: Are HARDY rods better than SAGE?

Question

I'm thinking of buying a Hardy Demon for about £200. Is there a Sage rod for about the same money that's better. What I'm after is a 9 ft 5wt which i intend to use it fishing for trout in a small loch. I'm really after something that will improve the presentation a little and hopefully be a joy to use.

Answer 1

Any place that carries these rods will let you try them.  What rods have you used in the past.  

Answer 2

I'd take the Hardy Demon at that price. The Sage VT series is about

equal performance wise, but the Hardy is, well, a Hardy.

Both rods would perform equally well in presenting the fly.

Answer 3

I really Sage's new Z line.  A lot of people complained when they discontinued the XP line but I bought a ZXL earlier in the year and I love it so far.  Unfortunately, I've only been able to use it 3 times so far.

Answer 4

Go for Orvis, you get a 20 year no quibble guarantee. Plus they are very good rods.

Answer 5

Ive got both rods, purchased a hardy demon last year in Alnwick England, but i prefer sage, the action of the blank is allot better and the TCR sage rod is better than any hardy rod i have used, i might annoy some fly fisherman here but allot of hardy products are over priced in my opinion and i wont be buying any more, my vote goes for sage.

Answer 6

Hardy are known as the Rolls Royce of fishing tackle but on the other hand the fish don't know that!

Answer 7

hope u aint brainwashed into buying kit like this.  i can catch just as many fish using my £40 daiwa rod.

too many people think that the more they pay the more fish they'll catch, WRONG!

presentation of the fly has very little to do with the rod (many manufacturers wont agree, as its there ACE of spades in their Marketing campaign)  

i did an experirment on a lake once with a fellow fishman on this subject, he used the prettiest flies i have ever seen plus a very nice looking rod,  and i just tied a strip of PINK rabbit fur onto a size 6 hook, fished it on sinking line and the result was i caught far more than he did.

trout bite as a triggered reaction to a presentated situation.