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Nov 01 2009

Sage 7136-4 Z-Axis Review – The Perfect Summer Steelhead Rod

Take it pretty much anywhere.

If you fish for summer steelhead anywhere in or near the Pacific Northwest, the Sage 7136-4 Z-Axis is a rod that you pretty much need to have in your arsenal.

The 13’6″ length is extremely versatile and blends easy all-day casting (because it’s not too long) with the ability to cover lots of water with great line control (because it’s not too short). The true 7 weight classification makes this rod equally at home casting a dry line with some finesse, and casting anything but the heaviest sinktips with no trouble at all.

Skagit-style spey lines like the Rio Skagit Flight and the Airflo Skagit Compact in the range of 475 to 550 grains all cast well on this rod. For the most versatility with a wide range of tips, we think a line right around 525 grains will be mighty bueno.

This is not a super-fast rod. Compared to other Sage double-handers, it bends pretty deep into the butt section. If you really like to feel your rod load, you’ll like the style of the 7136. On the other hand, if you like fast, super powerful rods, you’re going to want to check out the new 7126-4 TCX, which has already been nicknamed the ‘Death Star’ and will be the subject of a future post.

On the Deschutes or the Wenatchee or the Upper Dean (especially with a dry line), the 7136 is right at home. Where does this rod not play well? If you’re throwing real big tips, like over 14 feet of T-14 or so, or if you’re likely to encounter fish over maybe 15 legitimate pounds, it’s a little light. Fighting a bright Kanektok king on this rod would probably not be the best idea.

In every series of rods by a given manufacturer using a given technology, there’s often one or two specific models that really stand out, not necessarily due to the numbers or the size, but due to ‘feel’. The 7136 is one of those rods in the Sage Z-Axis line – it’s just a real sweetheart.

The FTC says we have to give a disclaimer!
Sometimes people give us gear, and we write reviews of it, and then we keep it. That being said, we never write positive reviews of gear that we don’t actually like.

More Spey Gear Reviews
Rio Skagit Flight
Sage 5126-4 Z-Axis
Running Line Roundup

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brent says

    March 3, 2010 at 9:50 am

    What reel you running for a this? With a 525 skagit?

  2. andrew says

    March 3, 2010 at 9:54 am

    Hi Brent, thanks for stopping by. That reel is a Sage 6010 and it seemed to match up well. My favorite line was the Airflo Skagit Compact 540 grain (I like my lines pretty heavy). I also liked it with the Rio Skagit Flight 525.

  3. Charles St. Pierre says

    February 2, 2012 at 7:33 am

    Hi
    Quite simply, the best casting rod Sage has made to date…
    Charles St. Pierre
    Northwest Speycasting

Trackbacks

  1. Spey Fishing Articles says:
    February 26, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    […] Sage 7136-4 Z-Axis […]

  2. Sage ONE Spey Rod Review | 8136-4 says:
    June 16, 2012 at 6:02 am

    […] called ‘classics’.  We’ve written about a number of them here before – the 7136, the 8129, the 8134, to name a few – and have been eager to see what Sage had planned for an […]

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