Scott fly rod rep Frank Smethurst was by this past Friday with a fresh batch of Scott’s new A4 fly rods! Here is our initial review of the rods. Look for the on the water test in the coming weeks!
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Our First Impressions of the A4
Let me preface this by saying, that like you we were all originally disappointed to see our long favorite A3 go away. At that price, it was hard for any of us to fathom that Scott or any rod manufacture could improve upon A3. I’m happy to report that Scott has not disappointed with the A4. We threw a wide range of the new A4 rod line and it was unanimous that these rods feels very clean throughout the casting stroke with wicked flat loops. What I noticed personally, is that the A4 can handle a little more punch then the A3. Often times with the A3 I felt like I had to change my casting stroke to match the rod. The A4 can handle a hard punch out to 100+ feet just the same as a comfortable cast to 30 ft.
James’s Take on the A4
Cosmetically, the rod is absolutely beautiful. Like the rest of the Scott family the A4 takes on the Scott signature unsanded blanks. This not only adds an extreme amount of durability, it has a unique look, texture and something that separates it from every other rod.
Who is the New A4 Line of Rods Designed for…..
- Someone buying their first fly rod, who values Colorado/American Made craftsmanship, and a performance rod that you will never outgrow and will always have a place for in your quiver of rods. If this is you, looks to the 9ft rods in the 4-6wt range depending on the type of fishing you typically do.
- For the more experienced angler, the A4 is nothing to look past. I personally, can see myself picking up a few A4’s for situations or types of fishing I don’t do often and find hard to justify forking out premium rod dollars for. For instance, I can see myself doing a little more Euro/Czech style nymphing this year. I think the Scott A4 10 foot 4wt is a czech nymphing dream rod without spending a fortune.
- Another rods to think about in the line might be the Scott A4 10′ 6wt for the still water angler who fishes out of a belly boat or from shore and needs a little more leverage in the cast while sitting in a belly boat or wading a little deeper than you should.
- For those interested in Carp, wiper, bass or pike, the 7-9 weight rods have a lot more power than the A3 did. If the S4S is hard to justify at $725 the A4 will keep the wife a bit happier.
What Scott Has to Say About the A4…
Handcrafted from start to finish in Montrose, Colorado by the skilled artisans at Scott Fly Rod Company, A4 rods feature many of the technological and process innovations that have been features in top end Scott rods.
The blanks are designed and rolled with multi-modulus lay ups on compound taper mandrels, and are connected using Scott’s industry leading low mass sleeve ferrule design.
A4 rods are smooth casting high line speed rods with very low physical weights. They recover very quickly and cast super flat, very precise loops, yet load progressively and transmit feel extremely well.
Like all Scott rods, design and craftsmanship are more than just blank design. Components and construction were carefully chosen to deliver top performance with the anglers needs in mind.
New grip shapes were turned from Super grade cork to provide greater feel, TiCh coated reel seats with self aligning slide hoods make rigging easy and protect the hardware from harsh elements, and TiCh stripping guides feature SiC inserts.
The component group is truly best in class.
A4 rods cover a wide variety of fishing situations from small creeks to inshore and saltwater flats.
So whether you like to pursue trout, panfish, salmon, or tarpon, there are A4 rods designed to get the job done better.
The A3 I owned for years was stolen by a burglar, so it’s now been replaced by a new A4. Just received the replacement rod, and was wondering about the unsanded blank– whether it was a cost-saving measure or some other downgrade. Your review and the manufacturer’ website have reasssurd me. Am anxious to try it. Thanks.