“A
Dedication to Sodium Chloride”
The
Sage Xi3
By
Chris Frangiosa
Salt is a necessary
element to life on our planet but
has also some interesting caveats.
Sodium Chloride is a sustaining part
of all animals’ diets yet is
toxic to most land based plants. It
was only natural then for Sage, a
rod company with a factory by the
sea to dedicate an entire rod series
to salt. What has come from this devotion
is one of the greatest salt-water
rods to ever be built. The Xi3 as
you will read throughout this piece
will slay even the most brutal ocean
going beasts and then return to its
case ready to battle another day.
Sage has a history
of creating rods that are salt-water
focused. This series began with the
RPL X then came the RPL Xi and then
finally the Xi2. These were all great
rods, but none were as purely salt
as the new Xi3. Upon opening the tube
it seems that salt-water pours from
every ferrule; the Xi3 is painted
a vibrant tropical blue with bright
blue raps and just begs to be taken
to the islands.
The Xi3 rods come
in every weight that you could possibly
require. Weight ranges from 6-16 so
anglers will be set for everything
from small Bones to giant Tuna. The
first thing that struck me when casting
these rods were how light and easy
to load they were. The salt series
from Sage have always been designed
for lifting power as well so expect
to be able to keep even the biggest
fish at bay. Overall, I am more than
pleased with how these came out; it’s
hard to imagine anything casting more
effortlessly than this.
Salt cravings are
caused by a sodium deficiency in the
body and I can tell you that when
I haven’t fished the flats in
a while I feel a similar need. I will
not be traveling to the sea this year
without a Xi3 in my bag. I know that
a rod like this will handle anything
the ocean has to throw at it. In conclusion
and to finish the theme, doctors say
that an over consumption of salt can
cause series health problems but if
you focus on the salt with a fly rod
in hand, you might just be all right.
Click
here to purchase your Sage Xi3 Rod
