Shorter fly rods for barra, murray cod and other Australian natives
Shorter fly rods for barra, murray cod & other Australian natives
What’s the old saying, horses for courses? Well, after spending a lot of time fishing out of float tubes, kayaks and canoes for Aussie natives like bass, saratoga and sooty grunter, I decided I needed a shorter fly rod, a specific fishing tool for a specific situation. Fishing a 9ft fly rod out of a kayak, canoe or float tube, can be a bit cumbersome, particularly when fishing skinny creeks from water level and casting tight to the bank, below over hanging trees.
I was first introduced to the benefits of shorter 8-8 1/2’ fly rods when fishing the saltwater creeks around Hinchinbrook Island, with Amos Mapleston, chasing mangrove jack and barramundi. The shorter rods made life so much easier placing a fly deep into tiger country, with minimal room for back casts and provided plenty of lifting power, when extracting fish from gnarly underwater snags.
When Rene Vaz, the head designer at Primal Rod Co said that he wanted to design an 8ft rod that would do all the above; but not break the bank, I was beyond stoked. Finding an 8ft rod for targeting everything from bass, sooty grunter, saratoga and murray cod to mangrove jack and barramundi, has been like trying to find a needle in a haystack, or an expensive exercise up until now. Enter the Primal Bitz CS 8ft #8. It’s hard to believe it only retails for $399.99, considering how well it performs and features saltwater components.
Primal Mega CCC | 8ft #6 & 8ft #8
Rene didn’t stop there, he wanted to add a couple of 8ft rods to the Primal Mega CCC lineup, the flagship rod in the Primal range. When these rods first came out, I was so impressed that I had to buy a #6 and a #8. The 8ft #6 has been a firm favourite for targeting Australian bass, saratoga and sooty grunter. I purchased the #8 for murray cod, mangrove jack and barramundi trips, this thing is a cannon! I personally prefer the Airflo Ridge 2.0 Flats Power Taper Floating in the freshwater, as it lives up to the sub-tropical climate that I live in and turns over bulky flies with ease. That said, the Airflo Ridge 2.0 Flats Master has been a stellar line as well, when I want to get the fly down a bit, as it features a 10ft intermediate tip and is designed for casting heavy flies. For targeting barra and jacks in the saltwater creeks with the #8, I found the Airflo Superflo Flats Universal Floating line to be great at delivering barra bunnies and the like to spooky fish in often clear water. The ability to gently place a fly on the fish’s nose without just plopping it down, can be the difference between success and getting a big fat donut.
Scott Sector | 8’4” #6, #8 & #10
Now if you really want to lash out and buy a beautiful hand crafted rod with the latest in components, it’s hard to go past the American Made Scott Sector in the 8’4” lengths. They truly are a thing of beauty. They not only come in an 8’4” #6 & #8, but an 8’4” #10 which excels at chasing impoundment barramundi and murray cod, but also tuna and other speedsters in the salt. They also do an 8’4” #13 and #15 for billfish, GT’s and XOS tuna, but that story’s for another time.
Written by Josh Power
Images by Josh Power, Tom Clancy, Kurt Rowlands & Steve Kirkham