Shakespeare Agility 2 XPS Fly Rod

This is my second Shakespeare Agility fly rod (my other being an Agility Rise2 7ft 4wt), and continues the trend of functional quality at an exceptional price point. The cork is soft, premium stuff, the action is nice and fast, the guides are big and let heavy lines through freely. Even with my amateurish casting, I can average about 50-60ft casts with a Clouser or other heavy streamer. The rod tube is also nicely made, and definitely adds some value.

The finish is not absolutely flawless (epoxy on wrappings is a bit uneven on the edges), the reel seat can be a bit stiff (probably a good thing), and the fighting grip on the 10wt is maybe a gimmick (I haven't had the chance to use it yet, though). For £68, though, you don't just look past these, you wonder how they can be selling these rods for so little. If you're looking to get into heavier fly quarry, these absolutely pull their weight.

This rod was purchased for Pollock and Pike, and is my first 'heavier' weight rod. First impressions were good; The rod seems robust and well put together and the carry case is solid. (The first rod sent to me had a squint ring on the tip section and after some brief communication, Angling Active replaced without fuss).

It had it's first outing on the Isle of Skye last week. Fishing from the rocks into moderately deep water, even with my modest casting ability I was able to throw decent sized saltwater streamers an adequate distance. Hooking up to a 3lb Pollock, the rod performed perfectly allowing me to manoeuvre the fish away from a rocky section and also to lift it from the kelp with ease.

For the money, it seems like a very good all round package. I'm looking forward to using it again.

This rod was recommended to me for pike and pollock fly fishing. I pondered for a while about buying it but eventually decided to just get it. I was very pleasantly surprised with rod. Finished to a very high quality and excellent value for money. Cast well and is capable of handling light and heavy lines of various tapers.
If you are thinking of buying a rod and this suits your needs then I fully recommend purchasing it.

I liked the #10 Agility 2 XPS so much, I bought a second XPS in #8. Cracking rod for the money - oversized line guides, good fixed fighting butt, quick recovery. I'd rate it medium fast, with a bit less backbone than the #10. Looking forward to trying it on sea trout, mackerel, chain pickerel and grilse. Balances well with my Airflo Xceed 10/12 reel; with Angling Active's affordable shooting heads and lines, I can swap out #10-11 shooting heads for full size #8 lines in minutes, using the same reel for both rods....a full saltwater and predator fly-fishing kit for less than the cost of one Sage rod.

Shakespeare Agility 2 XPS Fly Rod at less than £60 or £200 for an alternative that I liked, well obviously as I'm reviewing the cheaper option you know which I went for! Despite having much more expensive rods I have over recent years bought a number of 'budget' rods and while rings may not be quite as nice, or handles finished so prettily I haven't yet regretted a purchase. So this rod, its not cheap its great value. I bought it for pike and bass fishing as I wanted something lighter than #10 for small river and canal work and that would double for mullet fishing when the bass don't show up without being ridiculously heavy. Firstly the delivery was brilliant. I paid a little extra for 24 hour delivery and placed my order at round midday - the rod turned up at 10am the next morning. Can't fault that! Packaging was solid and the decent tube was well protected by bubble wrap. Now this was at work and I haven't got a river anywhere close but as my gear for the season lives in my car, when lunchtime came I went out to the adjacent field and put a reel holding an #8 Rio Intermediate striper bass line on the end. My first impressions are that the rod loads easily, shoots the line accurately and is not to heavy - just as well as I'm ignoring doctors orders to rest my elbow which has tendonitis thanks to a tough day on my 10 weight! Now that's only a very quick 'session' of a few minutes but as I've often found the usability of a rod does not fall significantly short of a rod at 4 times the price. So in summary, trust the order time and trust the rod. Both are great value.

I ordered this rod for striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, landlocked salmon, lake trout and muskie fishing. It's built for the job - a fairly fast action, lots of backbone, and oversize guides that let shooting heads shoot through. It's as light in the hand as a 10-weight can be, and balances perfectly with my AirFlo Xceed 10/12 saltwater reel. And when I really need to lift, the fighting grip is just where it should be. Thanks, Angling Active!