new sage xp

I told my wife today that I got lucky and immediately she knew it had to do with a fly rod purchase from ebay!

As I mentioned before, I was looking for an 8wt to replace the Scott SAS 8wt I sold a while back. I was considering an Xi2 and XP but found favor with the XP so that at least I could use it in freshwater for bass buggin' for largemouth as well as on the flats for reds and specks. I was concerned with the specialty of the Xi2 and I had sent a question to Sage about the XP to which they replied:

The XP is a fast action rod and the Xi2 is even faster. For current model, the VT2 will be faster than your SLT but not as fast as the XP. I believe the XP is the most versatile rod we produce. The XP is fast but sensitive, it fishes very well and delivers the fly in the most demanding conditions. The XP rods are the best selling rod family that we have ever had for a reason, and the beauty in them really lies in their versatility.

So with that, I felt better about my decision so I kept an eye for a good deal on one on ebay. Finally last weekend I saw several Sage rods with warrantees go on ebay from a seller and I placed the starting bid of $360 on a new 9' 8wt XP 4 piece which retails for $600 and was going to wait until tomorrow night when the auction was scheduled to close to see how I did. Interestingly enough the seller ended all his auctions early today and I won! Come to find out the seller is a fly shop/outfitter in New Hamsphire so I feel good about the purchase. I can't wait to get it and hopefully have a shot soon at fishing it at the coast!