When a rod loads, it is capturing the energy of the casting stroke. When the rod unloads, it imparts this energy to the fly line resulting in the cast. It sounds really scientific, but it's actually very simple. Every rod is designed to load and unload at a particular place on the rod, depending on whether it's a faster or slower action rod. Since different rods have different actions, anglers need to adjust their casting stroke and application of power to maximize a rod's performance.

Tip cast

Tip casting means you back off the power of the rod and utilize the rod's tip to perform the cast. This generally requires a very fast-action rod, such as Sage's XP Series, and a crisp, compact casting stroke.

Line speed

Line speed is the key to casting performance. Line speed enables the angler to achieve superior distance, control and accuracy. High line speed also creates tight loops, which helps drive a fly through the wind. It is achieved through the loading and unloading of a fly rod. Sage pioneered the development of high line speed fly rods with the RP rods in the mid 80s and now recommends the XP as our premier high line speed rod.