Sage TCX 590-4 Product Review
By Timm Rosenbach
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Sage 590-4 TCX Fly Rod
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Nothing like windy day on the Lower Madison to give Sage’s nine foot 5 weight TCX a shot at a 20 incher. We’ll get to that later. This is a beautiful piece of workmanship, which comes as no surprise being a Sage and all. The Kryptonite green shaft gives you the feeling that you can handle the “Superman” of the river. Sage has fit this rod with an impeccable cocobolo wood insert that is teamed with dark nickel-colored hardware. Hard chromed snake guides and hard alloy strippers compliment the goldenrod thread wraps trimmed in garnet beautifully. This rod has that classic Sage look with the technology and sensitivity that the G5 graphite offers.
We arrived at the ramp to find the river flowing with two separate water colors. The Cherry Creek side was rolling out mud while the opposite side offered a couple feet of visibility and enough hope to keep us optimistic. The wind was gusty out of the east, calling for a rod that could handle a double nymph rig and an indicator. I had just the weapon. The lower Madison offers “buckets” or depressions along with strewn out weed beds. It is critical to spot these features and place your flies in the spot. Initially I had some concerns with the lay-ups or short distances, however there is enough tip to present this set-up accurately. This immediately reminded me of the TCR, the TCX’s predecessor, which really struggled at short distances. The TCX is not a spring creek rod; however it offers much more versatility to an advanced caster than the TCR. To me this rod fits a piece of water like the lower Madison. Being able to hit spots at ever changing distances is a must here and the TCX makes it relatively painless in the breezy conditions of southwestern Montana. Initially, I over lined the rod. This decision was based off what I knew of the TCR, it wasn’t really necessary as I switched back to the Rio Grand 5wt line. When I had to reach out across several seams the TCX responded well while allowing me the ability to make several different mends with ease. In this situation the presentation wasn’t always great, but that was my problem, not the rods.
Finally, after a few minutes the bobber disappeared. And I was into nice brown, it was interesting to see the rod flex, It gave a little deeper than I had expected, which really allowed me to feel my opponent. By all accounts this was the 20 incher. As I looked around for help landing the fish my buddy smiled and told me I forgot the net. Of Course I did. This rod has power and handled this fish quickly, while still allowing for the enjoyment of the tug. After some shoddy line handling the fish released itself. I landed a few more throughout the day, most were decent size and the TCX proved to be an enjoyable fishing rod.
Sage labels this rod as a fast action rod, which it is, but not in the sense of a tournament casting rod. This is a fishing rod first and foremost. It allows the caster to achieve great distances if necessary, and can still work a tip cast close to the boat. It serves well as wind instrument and has enough tip flex to protect your 5x while fishing pmd’s on the Yellowstone. This is the rod for the angler who needs to cover all of his bases in one rod on big western rivers. Dries, nymphs, streamers, it can handle it all in a days work, and be a pleasure to fish. Stop in the Sweetwater Fly Shop and take our demo for a test drive.
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