Sage Signal Fly Rod Review - Model by Model - New Saltwater Rod from Sage
Sage has just released the Signal, their new update to the Maverick for 2026. I still have my Maverick from when it came out back in 2020 along with my Salt R8's and Salt HD's. So I am in a good position to review this new one. As usual, my arsenal of other saltwater fly rods is around to test against as well.
I see other reviewers testing this new saltwater rod in cold freshwater but if you read my blog you know we will give it a proper saltwater evaluation with a bunch of the best tropical lines. That takes awhile so I'll update this review when I can.
I have reviewed fly rods, especially saltwater ones, for quite awhile. There are now plenty of great saltwater fly rods on the market but back when I started doing this there were really only a few. Sage didn't have much competition with their saltwater rods in the old days but things have changed. They are no longer the dominant brand in saltwater fly fishing anymore. So I guess this rod better be good. It's priced at $795 which is more than everything else in the category.
If your rod budget is precisely $800 but not $1,000 or $1,100, you are in luck.
Part One: Overview & Positioning / Price Point vs Competitors
I like the looks, that's easy to start with - everyone on the internet can draw their own conclusions. It's a nice shade of blue, lighter than the Maverick color, not so different from the new Orvis Recon saltwater rods which came out earlier this year. Speaking of that rod, it's basically the only major competitor to this new Signal, along with the Scott Wave. These three are made in the USA. Nice rods for saltwater that aren't made in the USA but are competing in this segment include the TFO Moment and the TFO Blitz is great as well, especially for less than $500. Other than that there are not too many serious saltwater rods that qualify as "mid-priced" anymore. The Sage Signal is priced at $795, the Orvis Recon is $698, the Scott Wave is $695 and the TFO Moment is around $650.
Yes, a few other companies make saltwater rods around this price point like Douglas with the very nice SKY G, but it is technically a premium rod not a mid-priced rod. Just worth noting it's not far off at around $979. Then of course G. Loomis also makes a mid-priced saltwater rod, it's fine but they make better rods for not much more money (the NRX+S at $990). That's going to be the major stumbling block for a rod like the Sage Signal. At nearly $800, there are plenty of other options within reach, including even Sage's own Salt R8 which is now around $1,150 last time I checked. So is this rod's new price point just an upsell to a high-end model now? Or does it turn away potential mid-price rod customers? Or both? Split customers between downgrading or upgrading? So who buys this rod then? If your rod budget is precisely $800 but not $1,000 or $1,100, you are in luck.
Hardy is at $1,050 for their high-end flagship rod, the very popular Marksman Z. As I mentioned there's G. Loomis at $990, and Douglas at $979, and these are all very high-end options. So it's getting crowded. I remember the Maverick at around $550 being an unbeatable deal. This is quite a bit more.
The Signal uses Sage's Konnetic HD tech, which was found in the older Salt HD and most of their previous generation high-end rods. I think the new Sage Arrow inherited quite a bit from the X series rods, and this one seems to be getting a bit of Maverick and also maybe Salt HD? Not sure yet, need to do more testing. I'll do a whole model-by-model review breakdown with all the fly lines later when I finally have some time.
7wt - skipping this to focus on 8-11wt testing for now, the most popular sizes
8wt / 9wt -
Bonefish lines: We can be sure that Rio Elite Bonefish was probably one of the main lines this 8wt got tested with in development (Sage and Rio are part of the same parent company). Worth noting that both Rio Elite Bonefish and Scientific Anglers Bonefish Plus have the same 225gr 30ft grain weight and similar tapers so as expected they perform fairly closely. What I need to go test more would be all the brand new Airflo saltwater lines (Flats Universal and Flats Tactical mainly). And I will be throwing in a few heavy duty lines for Peacock Bass and Golden Dorado when I get more time.
Redfish lines: No surprise, there are just a few popular redfish fly lines: Rio Redfish or SA Redfish, or Cortland Redfish - also the newly updated Airflo Gulf Redfish line as well.
Striper lines: Every single fly line company now makes Striper lines in Floating, Intermediate, and Sinking versions. Take your pick, I sell the most of Scientific Anglers ones, but they should all work fine.
SA Balance taper - You guys want me to go test Balance taper? I still have some reels spooled up from last time I reviewed another rod series with it.
9wt -
Permit lines: Probably the number one use for this 9wt rod will be Permit, so yes I am confident it was developed with Rio Elite Permit and SA Grand Slam in mind. Probably Rio Flats Pro but I'd go with SA Balance taper or Grand Slam over that option personally.
Bonefish lines: Windy situations or very large bonefish might call for a 9wt Bonefish setup. Also nice as a crossover setup for the occasional Permit that you may encounter in Florida, the Bahamas or Belize. And with a large shrimp fly you can easily get either species.
Redfish lines: When you jump to 9wt setups for Redfish it's usually the really big ones in the winter in Louisiana and similar places. So that means heavy lines which this rod should work just fine with, but I have not tested them as it's too hot outside (summer in the Southeast doesn't work well for testing cold water lines).
10wt -
11wt -
12wt -
*14wt - Note there is no longer a 14wt offered in this new lineup like the Maverick featured. The TFO Bluewater is pretty much it in the "under $1,000" price point for quality bluewater/offshore fly fishing.
6wt - I'm skipping this one for now.
* I'm still testing and evaluating a bunch of different fly lines and also casting against rods for comparisons here but as with all my reviews I update as I go. Check back for more soon.
