Holy guacamole, this thing is awesome. Casts great in the snow.
I already have two single handed "5 weights" in the Sage Z-Axis (awesome all around & dry fly rod) and Sage X (ultra fast nymphing canon), and I used to own a Sage One too, yet I am compelled to build a SageBuster 5 weight. My SageBuster 2020, aka Rodfather Cutty, is spectacular but it is "just" a very fast 9' ERN 4.5 - it crushes on the Ark, Blue and So Platte. Even bigger water and bigger fish should be attacked however. Enter the Rodfather All Blacks, my SageBuster for 2021, a single handed 10' 4pc ERN 5.5 & AA 71° based on the awesome New Zealand CTS Affinity X blank in gloss jet black... the name is deferential to the champion New Zealand rugby team of the same name as well as the keen all black buildout I rendered. The custom Rodfather YAGGI handle (previously profiled) was made from spare parts, but is a stunner diamond mix of predominantly burnt cork - beauty is especially noticed when paired to it's mated 3" custom fighting butt. I chose all black components including a REC anodized black up-locking reel seat with a dark died, turned & stabilized wooden insert. For guide hardware I am trialing the new REC nickel-titanium guides in black pearl - this is a flexible, durable, and lightweight guide in a new alloy which needn't be plated to obtain it's black color and incredible weather resistance. The hand chosen guide set, tiptop and stripping guides were not cheap @ over ~$4 each or more, but the effect, and hopefully performance, will yield many happy returns. I wrapped the rod more simply than all most recent builds - just black thread throughout. Remind me next time that black on black is a visibility challenge. This thing disappears like a ghost, despite my 80 ft casts ~ I'm just hawlin' in hogs on the sides of rivers and no one is aware I'm even there.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOaFlRsEo8ipFD9MiXc0M0QUIefBcjOYdcISPeq8_Or5fy7bWd55IHCI7hbV38dXCVRchHDu5GQhbIzGVHEFiv7kJjadsSP4QggM3acZx_ylF393CNcdxMgYPh7mVp6kymuNaUB4dB36l/s320/Finished+YAGGI+Handle+For+All+Black.jpg)
The evidence is that not only is the RF AB ghostly cool in all black hardware and buildout, but its performance is stunning & flexible and certainly worthy of SageBuster labeling. It casts very well over distance (at least in the snow), roll casts like a dream, is light and balanced to the hand with a non-fatiguing swing weight. I'm mating the All Blacks with a 5oz black Hardy CADD 4000 reel, which I really like and use with the Sage X as well - it's always loaded with SA Amplitude Infinity 5 weight. This line is ~1/2 weight heavy at 150 grains (1st 30 ft) and therefore mates perfectly (Intrinsic Power = 10*(1st 30ft in grains) + 60*AFTMA# = 10*150 +60*5 = 1800 grains) to the All Blacks with an ERN of 1780 grains. Actually the Sage One should be firing a 7 weight given it's stiffness (ERN of 7.3) so the line matches the All Blacks better. The SB21 has taken its due spot in the rod rack as my go to 5 weight... no one will notice me, and I like it that way.I've updated the rod physics chart for the latest additions to the quiver. The "go to" Rodfather custom rods are not very inflated as to Intrinsic Power - I like that. Commercial rods like the Orvis Helios and Sage X are much stiffer than their marketed weights suggest; my recent TFO BVK derived build is this way too - all could handle lines 1 or 1.5 weights higher than marked (in order to optimize performance).
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