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Philippe Collet is a French competitive flyfisherman, at the highest national level since 1997, vice-champion in 2013. He writes films for the French channel Seasons, and is the author of many technical papers, especially for Pêches Sportives. He specializes in reservoir trout fishing, and pike and seabass on the fly. Our friends at Ardent fly were good enough to lend us a Sage Motive 1090-4. We asked Philippe to have a good go at the rod so that I could ask him what he thinks of it. Here are the results.

LK. So, Phil, what was it like when you received the rod?

PC. Well, let’s start with the tube. It’s a well made cobalt blue cordura affair, with plastic caps. There’s no rod sock, but the tube is divided. I must say I’m not a fan of that solution, it doesn’t work when you don’t want to carry the tube, or when you need to put several rods in a single tube for travelling.

LK. And the rod cosmetics?

PC. The blank has a beautiful blue paint. It’s very well made, a very serious product, as you would expect from Sage. A well designed grip, made of good quality cork, efficient aluminium reel seat. There’s a pair of astute hook keepers hiddent in the reel seat hood. Oversized snake guides, two very large but light alconite stripers… It’s a rod made for long casting and serious fish.

L.K. Then you take it for a ride… Does it live up the expectation ?

PC. Absolutely. When at first you put the rod together for a lawn session, it feels a little of the sturdy side. Stout rod, somewhat rustic.At the same time, I hadn’t cast a 10wt for some time, so it may have explained this feeling. It’s a strong rod for sure. What’s surprising is that as soon as you put a line on it, and start to cast, the feeling changes. It’s no longuer heavy, but rather light. And soft. Very well balanced too. a real pleasure to cast. Here’s a stop motion of one cast.

LK. What line did you use?

PC. The rod’s a real 10wt. It works well with a WF10 S7 head and an intermediary running line, but also with conventional inter of floating lines. So it’s not undervalued to make it look faster. It’s also very smooth under load, no jerks, it’s pleasurably soft, very nice. The Sage 2210 reel I had for the test gives a perfect casting balance.

LK. So, all in all, a good rod for casting ?

PC. Absolutely. If you have a proper stroke, you won’t have to work hard to get nice narrow loops. I find the rod very directional too: I don’t have to struggle with it to aim, the line feels like it’s on a rail. When I took it out for seabass fishing, I just had a blast. On the boat and on the beach, I was casting often as far as I could, and it was just fun. It’s rather easy to get the whole line out. But you can also get a very good job at short distances out of the Motive.

LK. That’s important for pike…

PC. Exactly. You have to be able to be really precise with just a couple of meters of line out. And you can do that with this rod, provided your line/fly system makes sense.

LK What do you mean?

PC. Well, you don’t want your steamer to dominate your line, and many people use too light lines with the big pike streamers. With an Airflo Striper Cold Salt 10wt for instance, I wouldn’t go bigger than a EP fibers streamer around 15cm long. If you want to cast really big streamers without it busting a sweat, use a 12wt. But as soon as you’ve got a fly matching your 10wt line, the Motive shines. You really can take it and fish hard for hours without hurting your arm.

LK. So, all in all: a good rod?

PC. I’d say so, yes. For a middle range price — at least for a Sage — you get plenty of rod. A nice progressive but lively action. Anyone looking for a serious pike or saltwater rod should consider a Motive, and try one. I liked it.

LK. Thanks, Phil.

Well, boys, that couldn’t be much clearer. The rod can be found here at €446.