Review Scott Meridian NZ Special 906/4 Andrew Harding

Put a fly rod in the hands of Wellington fly fisher, Andrew Harding and you'll soon get an enthusiastic opinion. We're glad to hear he's firmly on the positive side of the new Scott NZ Special 6wt.

"I’ve always been a huge fan of un-sanded spiral-wrapped blanks on rods. To my mind, it quite simply adds strength, not sanding the valuable graphite wraps away in pursuit of a cosmetically pleasing, smooth finish. I Recently had the opportunity to test (well I actually stole it from Nick Reygaert and liked it so much I kept it for a month) the newly crafted Scott Meridian bearing that iconic New Zealand Special badge.

If you cast the old New Zealand Special Scott S4S, you’ll know it was something quite special, but this one is not built on a dedicated saltwater blank, rather designed from the ground up, a completely re-designed blank for it’s intended purpose… smashing out big flies, heavy nymphs and slicing through that Wellington or North Canterbury gale like a Samurai knife through a Bra strap.

Did I like it?... not really… I “beep, beep” LOVED it!! For those of you who like a quicker rod, this will be the one you’ll sleep with between you and your partner each night, it’s an absolute CANNON! Available in 6wt form only, I would not say it’s a small stream rod one bit, rather more suited to medium-large rivers and water bodies, like lakes and Estuaries and even light saltwater quarry.

Interestingly enough I found it a fantastic roll-casting rod, which is bizzare as this is normally the realm of softer-actioned rods. Standing at the head of “Cattle Rustlers” on the Tongariro with an Airflo Ballistic WF6F I could hit the far bank with a roll cast with relative ease, all this with a 14ft leader, an indicator bigger and brighter than Tim Angeli’s beard and a couple of heavy bombs. Just loved it, and I can tell it will be equally at home pushing large terrestrials to those nose-poking foam-line dwellers in the not-too-distant future.

Cosmetics wise, it’s the Bugatti Veyron of the Flyrod world, not bejazzled with un-necessary eye-candy and gaudy colours. Just rather simple, understated, and clean lines, but with a feel and line control that is ohhhh so good, not to mention acceleration!... It’s errrr…. pretty quick!

Chucking large double jointed streamers that would not be out of place in Mongolia, was done with ease and it’s bloody light, a quick check with Rene had me guessing lighter than the Scott Radian, but I understand it comes in ever so slightly heavier he tells me. There is of course that awesome Scott reel seat where you never have to bugger round trying to line up the hood, she’s a “slide and screw”… (I think I just invented a new sex position!) job done!

Was not really happy to give it back, I had to take a day’s bereavement leave because of this rod, I was so upset, but when she’s available on the market I’ll be there with a credit card (or my first born child for a trade) in hand…"

Andrew Harding