The BEST Dry Fly Rod In The World? Douglas Sky G 9' 4# Fly Rod Review

Andy checks out the Douglas Sky G 9' 4# fly rod in the latest review on the channel. Douglas may not be a familiar name to those in Europe or the UK, but Douglas has been making waves in the USA with their top ens Douglas Sky G fly rod range, so Andy has checked out the 9' 4# fly rod. If you're looking for a dry fly rod for river fly fishing then this could be exactly what you're looking for. As far as trout fly rods go, this one isn't cheap, but the Douglas Sky G is a hell of a trout dry fly rod, so check it out! Enjoy: The BEST Dry Fly Rod In The World? Douglas Sky G 9' 4# Fly Rod Review
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[@kansasscout4322]

The SA MPX is fantastic! If I had the money this would be the rod I'd buy.

[@ruebdogg1]

I just purchased a 904 Sky G and am very happy. THANK YOU for this solid review! Fishing it in Colorado. Cheers!!

[@nicholastully7865]

Another honest review. Quess i will be sticking with my Orvis . Would love to have given it a try.

[@olivertwist4407]

Dear Andy, thank you for the review. I have tested many of the Douglas Sky G rods but never bought one because they come at a premium price but are no premium rods. The blank is fantastic and almost indistinguishable to the G.Loomis Asquith but the craftsmanship is not premium. If you’re in for an even better dry fly rod at half-price, make a video on the guideline LPX. European rod maker, same blank manufacturer in Korea, same quality but half the price. If you’re in for a premium dry fly rod take a look at the Winston Pure or Winston Air2. Therefore, I have one suggestion. If you present the perfect dry fly rod for English waters, test three rods at different price points (low, middle and premium). That‘s what I have done for my latest rod project just to experience that the differences in casting are subtle while the price differences are substantial.

[@Fly_Fishing_Fool]

I have the original Douglas Sky in the 9ft 6 wt, the Sky G in the 9 ft 8 wt, and the DFX switch rod in a 7 wt. I've fished the 6 wt countless times in the past 5 years, and it is still in mint condition. Zero issues with it, except that I lost the tip section once (and they replaced it for 50$), and I broke the tip section again (not sure how I did that, but they again replaced it for 50$). Whenever I use a cheaper rod, like a TFO, I'm appalled by how heavy the swing weight is in comparison. Obviously, that's not a great comparison in terms of quality, but having used the hell out of my douglas 6 weight for 5 years, I have zero complaints. I just wish they made a Douglas Sky G in a 10 foot length for indicator fishing on bigger water, but alas....

[@berks8260]

Excellent review. Have you taken a look at the Adams XTZ? If not I would be curious to see what your thoughts are on it….

[@ibelieve1468]

Sunray been using a similar padded perforated rod sock for Many years!

[@jacekmyslinski9629]

Well done , thank you.

[@IBandAndyFishing]

Thank you!

[@copperjohn2]

Excellent informative review. Thanks Andy.

[@johnneame2180]

For info..... MPX lines are half a line heavy👌

[@wrekintaichi6536]

A few premium manufacturers roll their blanks in Korea. Quality control is apparently top notch - you don't go to Korea if you want cheap.

[@IBandAndyFishing]

The quality of the blank certainly reflects that!

[@wvlongshooter3912]

Great review. I guess it fishes better than your r-8 ? After fishing two r-8’s I’m very happy with one model, 10’ 6 wt , but the other one, 10’ 4 wt is ok but it’s a very heavy rod that’s hard to get it’s swing rate balanced to suit my needs. To get its swing balance to my liking, it’s now too heavy to dry fly fish all day. I’m mainly just using it on Stillwater’s for dries now where I selectively cast to fish with a slower cadence. The 10’ 6 wt is a dream to fish !! Thanks!!

[@IBandAndyFishing]

It definitely suited my casting stroke and the kind of fishing I do better than the R8. I think the R8 might be a better option for the really long stuff, but for my sub 50' sweet spot I don't think I've cast anything better?

[@wvlongshooter3912]

@@IBandAndyFishing thanks for replying, interesting!!!

[@nebraska39]

Great review as always, first point why the grey whipping on the tip ring??, would have my OCD in overdrive, agree with the reel seat, had just as good on Maxcatch rods at £100, it's a shame they obviously have paid attention to detail on some things, tube, sock, guides but for a couple of quid/dollars the graphics, reel seat, globby whippings etc could be improved, guess Sage, Loomis, T&T are not overly worried, still wouldn't mind giving one a throw.

[@wrekintaichi6536]

Sunray do the mesh rod sock.

[@WadingWatersFlyFishing]

Andy, we appreciate your honest review and are pleased that the performance of the rod exceeded your expectations. We will take your recommended improvements and share this with Douglas for consideration. Tight lines!

[@Noirdorn]

Douglas or sage r8? In terms of sensivity and casting?

[@IBandAndyFishing]

The Douglas suited my casting style and the mostly sub 50' distances I fish, better than the Sage. I think if I were throwing really big flies like they do in the States, or having to cast further, then the R8 might be the better rod

[@HopperJuan]

@@IBandAndyFishingThe R8 is a great rod but I think that Sage thinks it’s better than it really is. It’s got standard snake guides and is heavier in swing weight. It’s “slower” in its casting and really doesn’t have that ‘personality” that one would want in a fly rod. I think the Douglas has “personality” and is a great casting and Fishing rod. I agree, and I think it’s the best 904 fly rod out there.

[@trevorluft1763]

Love to hear your thoughts regarding the Guideline LPX

[@IBandAndyFishing]

I've not cast a guideline in a while!

[@trevorluft1763]

@@IBandAndyFishing I have the 9’ 5 weight, i think it weighs 71 grams it’s incredibly light , I use it for dries on Stillwaters. My favourite rod.

[@trevorluft1763]

The guideline LPX tactical 9’5 weight weighs 71grams

[@saoirseclark]

Just a heads up - I bought this expensive rod (reputation) over a year ago on line, and when using it in Slovenia where the tip section just snapped while taking on a nice sized graying- contacted Douglas and the after sales service was appalling…

[@IBandAndyFishing]

That's a real shame, can you shed any more light on this? What happened in the end?

[@saoirseclark]

@@IBandAndyFishing hand lined the grayling 😅 As the rod was registered. I contact Douglas via retail store. Finally emailed by Douglas rep. I had actual photos of rod snap while playing the fish - by my guide, and the rep still went to extraordinary lengths to state it wasn’t so… car door, fall into rocks.. wtf 😳 eventually they agreed that I should ship rod section (my cost) to them. As I prepared the section - they asked for unique rod part number (again), and said they would agree to ship internationally. But I’d have to make a minimum payment. Countless emails/phone over at least two months. The rod replacement section did arrive, and I ’m not convinced it’s the same rod. I use it as a spare now!

[@kevinrobertson2037]

From some of your previous videos ive watched, you said your go to rod is a 10" #4 ? What would you suggest 10" or 9" ? I fish medium sized rivers ( Tweed/Annan ) love to try and target trout 3 to 4 lb 🎣🎣 cheers and try and get yourself up here in the winter for some 3lb + Grayling 👍 would love to see one of they videos 🤣🤣🤣 can pass you on a few good contacts for a visit 😉😉

[@IBandAndyFishing]

So, this is a really personal thing. I really like the 10' 4#, and for the situations you're talking about that's what I'd use. Many brands don't make a 10' 4# in some ranges, and the 9' 4# is still the more popular rod, so that's what we get asked to review. I was supposed to be up on the annan in May but had to cancel cos I made a mess of my work diary. It'll happen at some point!

[@kevinrobertson2037]

@@IBandAndyFishing thanks mate 🎣🎣🎣🎣🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@rhonda837]

try sa amplitude trout smooth it matches well.

[@jorvikangler]

G-Tec amused me as this was a range of low/medium priced rods by Greys. As you said there is something about the rod that doesn't look premium at all. It looks like a far-eastern attempt at making something look premium which just vends up looking ordinary. If I saw then in a shop there's nothing that would attract me to them, unlike the Greys you reviewed with it's bit of red bling.

[@starskyarsky8374]

Theres a difference between premium priced rods and premium rods ! The market is flooded with equipment! Virtually ninety percent of them are hideously overpriced! The product is ridiculously inflated for profit margins. Why you see massively discounted expensive rods after a new range is introduced.

[@IBandAndyFishing]

Interesting point! So, in the UK, who is making the money, the manufacturer, the distributor, or the retailer? The government gets their cut on import duty and VAT too!

[@jacobprescott396]

This hobby is so elitist. Yes there’s cheaper gear available and that’s the only reason I can fly fish. But the fact this single rod is priced at over £800 is quite frankly ridiculous. There’s no way it would cost anywhere near that to produce. And I don’t even get me started on chalkstreams and private beats… this sport desperately needs a fresh outlook. It’s not the 1800s anymore.

[@steveconquest6684]

Hiya Andy, Your review was absolutely superb but I'm afraid that I can't say the same about that rod. It looks like a bog standard American pattern Korean made rod which is everything I don't like about modern rod design. Chinese made reel seat, tip over butt ferrules (cheaper to manufacture than spigot ferrules) and those guides I don't care for. These current high compression carbon fibre blanks with the ultra thin walls come at a price as some current Hardy rod owners have found out. That price is durability. Carbon fibre is already susceptible to bruising if struck against an object, these current blanks just exacerbates the problem. I'll stick with my vintage Hardy's. Ta for the review.

[@davidanderson2651]

It may be a great rod at the high end but there is alternatives made in Uk by Uk manufacturers and workers and if we took your attitude of not caring where a rod is made or anything else for that matter we will become, and many say we are there already, a third rate nation whose population will not be able to afford such luxuries. Look what the USA does and supports its indigenous industry and penalises imports

[@lodoviconapoli9749]

The only think that's is really premium on this rods is the marketing strategy that Jim murphy former Redington Albright fly rods project manager is developing on this new brand , obviously an overseas product makes a substantial percentuage income to the sellers than an handcraft western top brand rod ...Scott...Winston ..Thomas&thomas , so if this companies they justify on that their one million dollar rods for which reason this Company charges the same amount is still out any reasonable justification , by the way all this rods are promoted and tested buy people on which I still wondering were they develop or graduated their casting and fly rods engineering competence, most of them on their casting test make me fell pity for how pathetic is their casting technique and skylls. for on third of this rods cost people can book a full casting course to qualified teacher no bla bla bla , clowns or show man and learn how to squeeze out the same one million dollar performances even from a Lidl or Shakspeare fly rod .