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Scott Sector S 8107

Scott Sector S 8107

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Scott Sector S 8107
Smallmouth Bass Fly Rod

Scott Sector

The Scott Sector S 8107 is one of the newest fly rods in the Scott Fly rod line up. The Sector series is geared toward the Saltwater market. Needing a new seven weight I decided to pick up the 8 foot 10 inch 7 weight in this new series. While understanding it’s one of the fastest rod actions in their lineup, it would give me diversity in my fly rod selection. If I have to be completely honest, I tend to lean heavy on the Scott Radians.

As soon as I picked up the Scott Sector S 8107 the first words out of my mouth were “man this is light”. Being a guy that is known to break pretty much anything, having the lightest usually isn’t what I’m most thrilled about. But after taking the Sector through a Hex season on the Upper Manistee and giving it a good test during the first part of my Smallmouth Season, this rod gave me a good first impression.

Positive Feedback

Scott’s all new Carbon Web technolody improves torsional stability and rod durability by encasing the unidirectional fibers in a web of ultra-light multi-directional carbon fiber.

As I mentioned the rod is super light, and the above quote from Scott Fly Rods gives some of the techie stuff that I don’t really understand, but makes it sound super fancy. What I know is that you can cast this rod all day, especially if you balance it with a light reel. I have a Ross Revolution LTX on the Sector I am running and it seems to balance well on this rod at 4.65 oz.

The next thing I noticed with the Scott Sector S 8107 is the stripping guides. I love a big stripping guide and these are some of the largest diameter guides I can remember seeing on a 7 weight rod. The Sector features all new CeRecoil stripping guides with nickel titanium frames and super slick Zirconia inserts, along with Recoil nickel titanium snake guides for low friction and corrosion free performance. The guide sets are PVD coated in a low reflective coating for even greater durability and stealth. Large guides allow greater line speed when you cast, thus a farther cast.

The S 8107 seems to team up well with the short quick line tapers that are now common from most fly line companies. I’ve been running the SA Glow Line during my Hex Hatch season, which is on the Frequency Magnum taper, and the SA Bass Bug Taper for my smallmouth fishing trips. These rods have very little swing weight and are great with short head lines.

8 Foot 10

I decided to go with the S 8107 because smallmouth bass was the main target for this rod, having a quick responding easy casting rod that can quickly fire into small pockets is what I was looking for with the Scott Sector S 8107. This is exactly the situation in which the Sector excels. This rod is fast, much faster than the Scott Radians, which I have to note here again is my personal favorite trout rod!

When I’m fishing topwater flies for Smallmouth Bass I like to make longer casts, chugging or popping the popper a few feet off the bank, and then quickly picking up the line and firing it back towards the shore. No complaints when it comes to picking up longer amounts of line with the Sector. This rod has handled every range of casts I have thrown at it.

Cons

Really the only cons of the Scott Sector S 8107 are some minor points, but really they are little facts about the rod that it actually wasn’t designed to do anyway. The rod seems too fast for dry flies and casting at slow rising trout isn’t really in its wheel house. While as a mousing stick I think it will work out about perfect, but jet setting on a trout with this quick stick seems to be a common occurrence. Also I wouldn’t buy this length if I planned on roll casting, the Sector is designed to be fast, so roll casting isn’t really what it’s known for. Also because the rod fishes so well with the short head fly lines we already mentioned, those lines to are not going to help you in the roll cast department either.

Overall Review

While the new Scott Sector S 8107 isn’t going to take the place of my Scott Radians during the Hex Hatch or even on my next trout streamer trip, it defiantly has a place in my arsenal. Especially when I know it’s going to be a long day of casting, the rod is so light and so far very durable. It casts tight loops, throws poppers and frogs into heavy cover, and has plenty of power to pull smallmouth bass away from logs and stumps. It’s going to be a great rod next time I get to travel again to the salt. If your looking for a fast rod the Sector should be first on your list of new fly rods to cast, so please go check one out at your Local Fly Shop.

Scientific Anglers Mastery Coastal Express – Product Review

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In Michigan we are blessed with an endless supply of fresh water lakes and streams which translates into endless fishing opportunities.  This however, is both a blessing and a curse as you may encounter multiple water types and consequent challenges during a fishing trip.  Finding one line that can tackle most of our fishing situations on any given day is
nearly impossible. Most of our streams and lakes are featured by steep drop offs which makes it tough to properly present a streamer in most situations.  For most of the streamer fishing I do here in Michigan I need a line that I can cast easily all day long and one that can cut through the water surface tension quickly and achieve sustainable depths in swift
currents in a timely fashion. The other issue I find in our region is cold weather and cold water. Now you can make the argument that this is a good thing for our trout populations but these conditions can wreak havoc on the running lines found standard on most sink tips available today.  I will admit I have been frustrated for some time now with most of the lines available today as they love to twist and tangle when you shoot them to
your target often causing your cast to fall short and in a tangled up mess while your fly is sinking to the river floor, NOT GOOD! I was recently handed an SA 250 Coastal Express and immediately I fell in love with thisline. Wow, what can’t I say!  1. Immediately I was hitting my targets 15 – 20 Ft further per cast with the same amount of effort.  The slightly textured line instantly improves its castability at distance.  It loads quickly and shoots accurately with great fly turnover.  2. This line is designed to get down quickly and it does!  The sink tip has a thin diameter which allows it to sink quicker and to achieve greater depths. With a 28 to 30′ sink tip it sinks fast and keeps your fly at your desired depth for much longer throughout your retrieve which is an important part to our fly presentation.  3. Not only was I able to cast this line further and get my flies down quicker and deeper, this line was designed for cold weather and cold water and guess what, the tangle issues I was having with the other lines, well they were reduced to nearly nothing, notta, ninja!! This line has now found a permanent place on my spools and will remain at the top of my list until SA can improve upon the existing line or come up with a new one, but I can’t imagine how they can make it that much better.

Nice work guys, I can’t wait to see whats next!

Contact your local fly shop and pick up a Coastal Express if your in need of a new sink tip fly line.

Bogs Extreme Boots – Product Review

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I don’t even want to really think about how many years I’ve been steelhead fishing, scary how fast time flies.  Feels just like the other day that was I throwing on the full neoprene waders and hitting the trails.  But with 24 years later my gear has changed a little.  With each an every year enjoying the winter months more and more.  With that love affair for the cold and dreary I needed to change my attire to withstand the elements.  Out with the full neoprene waders and in with the bibs and boots.  What do I mean by bibs and boots, we will cover the product review for bibs at another time.  But for the boots, what I usually describe to new clients is boots you would want to wear when snow-blowing the driveway or going on the back of a snowmobile.

Wearing boots when steelhead fishing does mean you are going to have to fish from a boat or from shore, and the Bogs Blaze Extremes  are perfect for this.  I have over the past 20 years worn many different styles of boots, and this years purchase of the Bogs Blaze  Extremes  have been my best purchase to date.  They are by far the warmest boots I have ever worn. They give me the comfort for a long day on the river, proper cushioning so no soar feet or lower back pain.  With 100% waterproofing, so that I can wade up to my shin and have no second thought as I push the boat off the trailer.  The traction on the bottom is ideal for wet, slippery, and icy boat ramp conditions that we face day in and day out.  With over 75+ days in these boots since October, and no signs of wear or tear I’m sold that Bogs Blaze Extremes are the best steelhead boot that money can buy, if your into fishing for steelhead from a boat.  I highly recommend these boots.  My normal $100 duck boots would fail after about 3 months, with the rubber sides blowing out and letting cold air and water in.  No signs of cracks or leaks in these boots and don’t see it changing anytime soon.

  • Ultimate winter hunting/steelhead boot
  • 8mm of Neo-Tech™ insulation with NEW Bogs Max-Wick™ lining to manage moisture surrounded with 600 grams of ThinsulateM to lock heat in
  • 5.4 lbs. per pair (size 10) –almost 2lbs lighter than other brands highly insulated boots
  • Comfort rated to temps of -40 degrees (hard to snake roll in these temps)
  • A waterproof 3mm Neo-Tech™ snow cuff lined with plush fleece to seal out wet and cold
  • The thermo-molded EVA midsole and deep lug outsole provide great traction in snow
  • Aegis antimicrobial odor protection insole with scent elimination
  • Height: 16 ½”

Patagonia das pants – product review

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steelhead clothingPatagonia’s das pants have been a staple of my winter steelhead gear for the past 3 years,  anytime when temperatures plummet into the 30’s, 20’s, and or are your crazy your going fishing range.  The das pants from Patagonia is one of my first layers I put on.  I can still remember the first day I wore a pair of these pants, felt like I was in a warm down based sleeping bag all day.  I love the feel of the pant, it’s more of a relax feel than a tight based under layer.  No yoga lulu lemon feel.  More like a cozy pair of sweatpants. The das pants are easy to wear under waders or bibs.  Plenty of room in the legs and crotch area to move, climb over boat gunnels and jump onto shore.  The nylon shell is a great windproof layer, and is treated to be very water repellent.  Durability just like every other item I own from Patagonia is top notch, 3 years equals about 300 days of use.  Not a problem yet.  Also feel comfortable in these pants after a long day of fishing to wear them into the local watering hole for a little warm-up juice if I so desire.

My only con with the Patagonia das pants is that they can be “too” warm.  I have to watch the high temperature of the day.  If the temps are going to reach middle or upper 40’s, I could be too warm.  I have to adjust my layering and bring my backup pair of pants to change out.  Also if I’m going to do a long walk let’s say on the little manistee for a day of coho and or early winter steelhead, I’m going to be too warm too.  I’ll end up sweating underneath the layer, the PU coated nylon will hold in my heat too much and I’ll end up having puddles of moisture.  But in the same sense if know I’m spending a day in the drift boat or sled, where I’m sitting more than I’m walking these pants are amazing.

Details

  • Lightweight, PU-coated nylon ripstop shell is durable, water-resistant, windproof and treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish
  • Highly compressible, water-resistant 100-g PrimaLoft® ONE insulation provides maximum warmth for its weight
  • Pants have elasticized waist with hook-and-loop tab adjustments at side zips, and separating 2-way zip fly with snap closure
  • Full-length 2-way side zips with insulated wind flaps for easy on/off
  • Elasticized mini-gaiter cuffs with snap-tab closures lock in heat and accommodate an alpine boot
  • 1.2-oz 20-denier 100% nylon PU-coated ripstop, with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish. Insulation: 100-g PrimaLoft® ONE 100% polyester

by Jon Ray

Product Review – ARC Eyeglass Retainer

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arc sunglass retainer

ARC Sunglass Retainer

ARC Outdoor Gear has made a sunglass retainer that can stand up to the abuse of even my standards.

GRAPLRZ Retainers are made of stainless steel cable, industrial grade silicone and anodized aluminum. Stylish, durable, comfortable, and with a lifetime warranty.

After wearing out similar products by another company , I trashed two sunglass retainers this past summer alone.    When I saw the heavy plastic cups that suction onto the glasses, I knew this wear point would not give out, the heavier gauge wear is nice because it stays off your neck.  For sure one of the greatest negatives of all other sunglass retainers is the retainer laying on the back of your neck.  Drives me crazy! I will say my only negative to the ARC Sunglass Retainer is that it’s a little long.  Pulling on my hoodie over my hat the retainer does get pinched, usually a simple maneuvering of the retainer lays it down properly but having this wire a little shorter would be nice.  But the positives that it has already lasted a couple months with no signs of wear, means this retainer will out last the rest.  Plus with the lifetime warranty that ARC has given this product, means the manufacture knows it’s going to last a long long time.

Check out ARC other products as well they have some pretty cool lights and knives for the outdoor enthusiast.