A few years back Sage had a range of rods called the Bass II, specifically designed for and named after the various bass species one might target with them, smallmouth, largemouth, and peacock (okay, there was also a bluegill version, which was dumb on the naming front, but referred to really skinny bass water). These rods measured 7’11”, which was and still is a seriously unusual length. The theory being, that they would load fast and carry heavy flies to their target with ease. I never got to try them but, as a bass-fiend I would have loved to. They developed a bit of a cult following and I have no idea why Sage stopped making them.  

Last year, stepping into that gap, rod guru Tim Rajeff of Echo Fly Fishing released the 84B range, the “B” standing for “bass”. Just an inch longer than the Sage Bass II series at 8-foot, the 84Bs are available from 6 to 10-weights, so you can tackle bass ranging from smallmouth bass in narrow rivers, right up through the weight classes to your peacock bass in the Amazon.  

I got to test the 6-weight on some local smallmouth bass in the Western Cape. First off, I should state I’m not really one for shorter rods, for no reason other than it’s not what I am used to. When you fish 9-foot rods all the time, an 8-foot rod sounds like an odd length. I took it out to a dam which fires when the river that runs into it get some proper flow going after heavy rains. On this day there was quite a lot of flow.  

Immediately, I was hugely impressed with the accuracy. Using a seriously long 12-foot straight leader, not tapered, with a strike indicator just a foot from the fly line, I managed to put a heavy fly into specific deep turbulent pockets with no problem. This is a technique I learned from the late smallmouth bass fly fishing guru Tim Holschlag, when he visited South Africa years back. You cast up current and retrieve the slack line, so your heavy streamer is basically drifting back. I use a very buoyant strike indicator, like an Oros, so it doesn’t get dragged under by the weight of the fly. Usually this is quite a clunky casting setup.

Not only are you casting a heavy fly, but you are casting a bulky strike indicator too, which normally makes casting more awkward. This isn’t really the rod for that kind of fishing, but it handled really well. On reflection, the shortness of the rod was something I really thought would bother me, but it performed so well I completely forgot about it. Casting was lekker and I never felt like I lacked something. It handled the big smallmouth I caught in that session with no problems. Overall, I thought the rod was really great, the perfect bass rod. 

I am keen to use it for more smallmouth bass and for yellowfish (Clannies, smallies and largies). I especially want to test it in small rivers in the Cederberg and Tankwa where you don’t have to cast that far, but you need accuracy casting into specific pockets in bushed in areas. For those kinds of waters my go-to rod weights are between 5 and 7-weights so it will be perfect. Plus, with the fighting butt it’s got plenty of beef and if I get into big fish, that shorter blank will give me more leverage and lifting power to pull a fish out of sunken logs or rocks. In these rivers and larger waterways too, you are casting to structure.

You read the water and know where the bass is likely to be sitting so you need to be able to place your casts very specifically and intentionally. That kind of fishing will also apply to our indigenous species like Clannies, largies and streamer fishing for smallmouth yellows and indicator fishing with crab patterns as well. I imagine if you head up to those bushed in rivers in northern Zambia where Leonard Flemming targets those blue yellowfish, this would also be a great rod for those conditions. 

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This review first appeared in The Mission Issue 52 (July/August 2025). You can read the whole thing below, for free, forever.

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