Shorter fly rods for barra, murray cod and other Australian natives
Whatäó»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 1/2äó» 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.
Primal Blitz CS | 8ft #8
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. Itäó»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 didnäó»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 fishäó»s nose without just plopping it down, can be the difference between success and getting a big fat donut.
Scott Sector | 8äó»4äó #6, #8 & #10
Now if you really want to lash out and buy a beautiful hand crafted rod with the latest in components, itäó»s hard to go past the American Made Scott Sector in the 8äó»4äó lengths. They truly are a thing of beauty. They not only come in an 8äó»4äó #6 & #8, but an 8äó»4äó #10 which excels at chasing impoundment barramundi and murray cod, but also tuna and other speedsters in the salt. They also do an 8äó»4äó #13 and #15 for billfish, GTäó»s and XOS tuna, but that storyäó»s for another time.
Written by Josh Power
Images by Josh Power, Tom Clancy, Kurt Rowlands & Steve Kirkham
