Sage ESN 10' 4wt Review

Light. Accurate. Deadly

Last August I picked up the Sage ESN 10' 4wt for Euro nymphing our local rivers and have hardly put it down since. This lightweight fish-catching-weapon is just too damn fun to stop using.

For those not familiar with Euro, or Czech, nymphing tactics it is simply a form of tight-line nymphing. Tight line nymphing has been around for a very long time, but with modern technology there are new rods, leaders, flies, etc specialized in enhancing this form of nymphing to new levels.

The ESN Euro Nymph rod series is in it's second generation of production featuring the latest in technology from the US manufacturer Sage. While I have to admit I never used the original ESN series, I would imagine like all other rod series, when Sage revamped the ESN there were some definite improvements.

Some key highlights I have taken away from the Sage ESN 1004-4

1. Sensitive - What I really, REALLY like about this SAGE ESN series is the sensitivity. These rods are so frickin' light and responsive you can feel every moment of the drift and if a fish even sniffs at your fly, you can feel it.
2. Ultralight! - This makes it super easy to high-stick all day and not wear out your arm / shoulder
3. Very Accurate - KonnecticHD Technology® makes for pinpoint fly placement and fast rod dampening so you can quickly detect strikes.
4. Downlocking Reel Seat - I love downlocking reel seats on Euro rods to help counterbalance and un-weight the tip of the rod for a better balanced outfit.
5. Power without the bulk - The lower-profile ESN blank while being exceptionally light still provides ample power for throwing heavily weighted stones and handling hot fish.
6. 10' Length is Universal - I keep gravitating back to this 10' rod length on ESN because of two things: 1) it is very easy to manage compared to some of the 11' rods on the market. 2) can you really tell me a difference in performance over a few inches? I don't think so. The small difference in length between this 10' rod and other rods that are 10'6" is small, plus this rod plays better on the smaller streams when you still need some power for fish and fly size but don't want to be wielding around the extra rod length.

Summary

I feel like if you are going to have one universal Euro nymphing rod, the Sage ESN 10' 4wt should be high on the list to consider. With it's exceptionally lightweight rod blank, overall accuracy and power the Sage ESN 4wt is not overkill on small trout yet has the power to handle larger than average fish. This action packed 4wt Euro rod is capable of throwing the small euro patterns as well as the heavy stones and plays well on both large and small rivers. While the 10'6" 3wt might be a market favorite, kinda like the 9' 5wt is in the regular fly fishing world, this 10' 4wt is going to be at home on many trout rivers across the west and beyond.

I fished this rod on rivers like the Spokane here in Washington, NF / SF Shoshone in Wyoming, Madison in Montana and other smaller western trout streams just to give you an idea of where.