BEST Euro nymphing rod? Sage ESN vs T&T Contact II

Sage ESN: store.flyfishf...
T&T Contact II: store.flyfishf...
Lance breaks down the differences between these two Euro nymphing rods and tell you why they're a couple of our favorites.
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[@mglennon5535]

Good stuff. I’ve been tossing a Thomas&Thomas for years. Brand loyalty. You guys rock! Thank you

[@gbossaboy]

Great segment - now please follow it up with a review of the best entry level euro-rods. Thanks.

[@brockwilson3446]

Echo shadow 2 is a great entry level euro nymph rod. They probably won't make a video about the cheaper rods.

[@intoflyfishing]

@@brockwilson3446 Or Moonshine Vesper, Moonshine Epiphany or Redington Strike are also great entry-mid options.

[@B58FTW]

@@intoflyfishing Moonshine is complete garbage. Worse than the $70 Amazon stuff.

[@intoflyfishing]

@@B58FTW how so? they are amazing rods, built well with an extra tip included for a great price. Plus they have the best warranty in the business. Do you have a lot of moonshine rods?

[@B58FTW]

@@intoflyfishing No, I own zero. Someone had one on the river once and was raving about it. I set my rod down and tried it. Rod had horrible accuracy, recovery, horrible tracking and couldn’t keep a loop. It was bouncy at all distances. Zero feedback and felt cheap. Which it is. If you cast a dry to a target with a $900 rod and then a moonshine, it’s like cutting steak with a razor sharp knife vs a plastic fork. If you’re happy with it and don’t know any better, don’t let me stop you. And the best warranty in the business is funny. Buy a high end rod from anyone and they take care of you, period.

[@pablob4390]

I thought the 3wt. 11' Cortland MKII was an incredible rod until it broke while fighting a 22" rainbow. Switched to the Douglas Sky. A total broomstick compared to the Cortland. Also very heavy but that is only for the perception of the place where the reel sits.....and then I bought the T&T 3wt. 11'......that is serious rod. Very, very happy with it. I also own the Syndicate which is an incredible entry level rod for the money. A little too fast for my taste. If all you can swing is 300 bucks, the Syndicate is A LOT of rod for the money. My wife uses the Cortland now and when I compare it against the T&T they are very, very, very close in performance. Never tried the Sage because, in my opinion, while Czech nymphing, every inch in length counts (guys, I know, not the best choice of words but true), I stick to the 11' rods. I love the T&T. If you can afford it, you will not regret it. Just my opinion.

[@tonyg3091]

Thanks for this. I am very tempted by the 11.2 T&T. I love my 11"ESN and think it is a huge shame Sage discontinued it in favour of the 10'6 versions which I do not like as much.

[@riverrightoutdoors]

The sage is an amazing rod 🔥👊

[@JeffDenning]

I've been waiting for this video for a while--thanks for filming

[@chillipphi]

T&T are one of the very few with a 6wt euro rod. Really interested in one of those someday

[@2thslpr166]

It’s a good rod as a 6wt, works well for big AK lake run fish.

[@damonm7541]

I’ve been fishing the 1093 since July, and what an improvement over my Contact 1133. No comparison in my opinion, the new blank is far superior. I also have the 1003, configured as released a year prior on the current blank. That rod is superb and excels as a crossover rod. Both the 1003 and 1093 make excellent long leader dry fly rods as well. Durability remains an issue for me, though, and repair turnaround time is about 2 months. Make sure you have a back-up.

[@philipvankampen3394]

4:58 Pretty funny sequence. "A tiny bit more slack here, but ... if I don't miss the line."

[@djTorchLive]

Hi, how would you compare these rods with the Cortland Competition MKII?

[@chasinbowsnbrowns3657]

Thanks ! Was already leaning towards the Thomas , but what would be the difference in a 3 weight and the 4 weight, besides the 4 being a tad heavier? Would the 4 be more versatile?

[@blackflycreations]

Great Video! I'll start saving now so I can buy 1 in 3 years!😄Can you suggest a mid range euro rod? Wanting to upgrade a couple of my rigs. Thank you guys, always appreciate your content🔥

[@patches152]

orvis recon, it stands up to the sage ESN in most shootout tests.

[@scotteepip]

Awesome! Thanks for comparison, see few T&T reviews for some reason. Have you fished the Douglas DXF 3wt 11'? Curious how you guys compare it to this top tier.

[@walkdawg216]

have you tired the Orvis H3 Euro rod? if so what are your thoughts on it?

[@warmestbatmilk]

Contact II, no question about it. My 3 wt 10' handles 15-20" trouty boys exceptionally well, it's honestly mind blowing. Oh yeah, if you happen to damage your ESN, Sage will take 2 years to repair it.

[@FlyFishFood]

The best part about the contact 2 is that now you can buy one for $650 in the form of a diamondback.

[@merrittwhite4189]

How much of a difference does it make having an up locking vs. a down locking reel seat? I mistakenly bought a TnT Contact II w an up locking seat. Probably a stronger real seat configuration. I also have a feather weight Water Works fly reel, so I’m thinking any issue w swing weight might be negligible. Your thoughts?? Fyi, so appreciate you, Devin et. al. Contribution to the euro nymphing game! Truly a better and more common sense approach to fishing deep for trout! I’m hooked:)✌️✌️

[@damonm7541]

Compared the point of balance with the old Contact 1133 configured with up and down locking seats and a Hatch 4 plus. The difference on that rod was negligible. I own the Contact II 1093 with down-locking seat and the Contact 1003 (same blank as Contact II) with up-locking seat. The 1003 is the rod I prefer.

[@kubaz8702]

Those Hanak rods though...

[@2thslpr166]

Did you add weight to the sage esn reel to balance the longer t&t rod? Or did you run both of the rods with the same amount of weight on the reel?

[@ozarkseuro]

I have been watching and studying Euro rods to possibly add it to my arsenal, however, the one fear I really have about having it, is, what to do on calm water or very slow water (like zero flow tailwaters when shut off) or other non movement situations when using a Euro nymph set up. Or are there other ways to use these rods when its the only one on you for the day? I have watched the set up videos that incorporate a normal fly line with the Euro add ons, but is that the only alternative? What if I only have a Euro set up on still water? Thank you guys for one of the best Fly fishing and tying channels on KZbin. -Chris

[@patches152]

bring a spare spool of line, either floating or sink tip, and strip streamers instead.

[@allenstilwell7769]

What reel would you pair with the T&T Contact II 10ft 2wt?

[@andreamarin9767]

What line did you use with the T&T Contact II?

[@TTapMT]

Has anyone in the shop fished the G.Loomis IMX-Pro Euro in the 10'6" 3wt.? I am curious about what folks think about this rod? Thanks!

[@FlyFishFood]

We have fished it a bit and love it!!!

[@TMFF.Larryslodge]

Is the T&T II as fast as the first model??

[@splishsplash2579]

How many rocks do you fall over in a session with that chest pack on

[@mancooutwest44]

They should call that the Dolly Parton pack.

[@erikkarlsson5727]

Is it possible to make a camparison with the Hanák rods?😊

[@TMFF.Larryslodge]

I fish the superb xp and I am a huge fan. It’s fairly similar to the ESN

[@erikkarlsson5727]

@@TMFF.Larryslodge Great, I have some XP and some Superlight but I haven't compared them to the ESN. Although I have compared the XP and the Helios 3 but the XP is better for nymphing👍

[@mikekrol7485]

Thanks for doing this. I just got the T and T Contact II 10ft 3wt. Taking it out after the hurricane is gone. Quick question- did you notice any difference in strike detection, or are the blanks also very similar? Thanks in advance and thank you for educating those of us on the way up (hopefully).

[@justinaldrich692]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@grantrichardson84]

Sage really needs to update their components setup on the factory esn hd. No point in having one of the best blanks on the market but it’s years behind in component setup. The vison nymphomaniac sets the new standard for what a euro rod needs, especially for comp guys.

[@FlyFishFood]

Interesting. What, specifically, are the components are you looking for in a rod? I think the sage components are excellent in regards to performance.

[@grantrichardson84]

@@FlyFishFood the components sage uses are excellent, my concern is setup or better word is configuration. The higher first stripping guide annoys me on my ESN. That small amount of drag does have a small influence on sensitivity. Update to single foot guides with only having a snake guide before the top to prevent line wrap around the blank. Fighting butt makes life easier if you need to apply a bit more pressure on larger fish. ESN is a beautiful rod, but needs to be updated.

[@Lanceeganflyfishing]

Grant, those are interesting opinions. I agree a lower first stripping guide would be nice. I’ll bet it’s on the next version. Regarding sensitivity, my opinion is that sensitivity is overrated for euro nymphing. I find watching the sighter to detect strikes is superior to waiting to feel a take. Sage already uses single foot guides. That’s a non issue. Regarding the fighting butt, again my opinion differs from yours. I prefer a rod without a fighting butt for euro nymphing. The butt provides very little in fighting ability but causes the fly line to wrap around the butt of the rod far more. This is a hassle in my opinion. I’m sure the vision rods are great value rods, but for my dollar and performance needs I prefer USA made products. Korea and China make fine value rods, but not high end products.

[@grantrichardson84]

@@Lanceeganflyfishing yeah agree, if you can buy sage, you get yourself a sage and won’t have to look back. Where I stay, for our needs you want a fighting butt as our non-trout rivers hold anything from a dink to 40lb fish. For trout, then yes, no need for fighting butt.

[@helok9]

Hands down, Hardy ultralight LL 10’8, 3wt.

[@bunganutproductions7660]

T&T all the way

[@mattp6355]

Lol break a sage and see how fun the warranty is.. i love echo shadow x because there sooo nice to deal with and med price point but if your on a team for world championships lol....yeah just get one of these duh

[@Lanceeganflyfishing]

I’ve had great experiences with both warranties. Sage and Echo both great companies. Their rods are pretty different performance wise, and price wise.

[@leemowers9395]

Fly fishing, the fish flies to the net.....