There are many new saltwater lines on the market now, but we have yet to find one that beats our long-time favorite, The Scientific Anglers Bonefish Taper. Agree 100% about the Rio and Bonefish lines being best casting lines. But in the Final Results, it lost considerable points for price and warranty cost and the NRX+ took first place. Punch in any amount of power you want and the rod responds. A true experienced fisherman knows that the only thing which separates him and the fish is the fishing line. At the longest distances the 3F just didn’t have the power to get it done as easily as the Asquith or NRX+. We are always happy to “talk shop” and help you decide if a certain rod would be the right rod for your needs and casting style. These rod comparisons and Shootouts take considerable time and effort. When I really lay into it, the Asquith is giving me explosive power unmatched by the other rods. Rather than do another full blown 8-weight Shootout, we decided to collect these new rods and see how they compare to the top rods in our 2018  8-Weight Shootout. Others, like the Orvis Helios and Scott Sector are great in close but not nearly as good at the longer distances. I cast both rod with the RIO GT 550 grains and both rods feels superb with this fly line and weight. Next a layer of “muscle carbon” graphite is wrapped the conventional manner, followed with a final wrap of the infinity tape, but at an opposing 90-degree angle from the first layer, forming an X-pattern. That is a very big difference. Still surprisingly good, but I can tell it is starting to run out of steam. The cork handle is a full wells, with rubber/cork rings at the top and bottom for better durability. It is a flat finish medium gray, with very attractive blue-ish gray wraps. However, all the top rods were noticeably better. The Asquith is a handsome rod; the blank finished in dark green that sparkles brilliantly in the sunlight. For full results and in-depth discussion of reach rod, check out the Shootout’s page, here. These lines work great for permit and tarpon, but with an 8-weight rod, the Grand Slam or Tropical Punch lines turn over too quickly, and don’t provide the kind of delicacy needed when fishing for flats fish like bonefish, redfish and snook. At the outset of the Shootout, we outline our procedures and explain each of our points categories in detail. The increased dampening and recovery also result in superior accuracy, which was evident at close range. The Orvis Helios 3F, Scott Sector, and Douglas SKY G all perform with excellence up to 60 feet but lack power when casting at the longest distances of 80-100 feet, or when battling a headwind. Scott Meridian 9' 8wt: We chose the Meridian to compliment the medium-fast action of the 3F. A short one inch extension butt is used with a rubber/cork cap. Best New Fly Reels for 2020. With 20 lb. If you forced us to pick one fly line to fish on an 8-weight on a desert island... it would be Scientific Anglers Grand Slam. This new resin system, along with a new scrim, results in a lighter but more durable blank. Lines. backing. We have several reels rigged with the various line sizes, and leaders, all ready to go. Built with Echo’s sealed, saltwater-safe and maintenance-free PIT STOP drag system, this reel features a roller clutch bearing system that engages instantly and provides smooth action. The heaviest fly lines didn't necessarily earn the most points in this category; we took accuracy at longer distances into account and didn't just reward the fly line we could cast the farthest. Lines made for casting big streamers or blind casting in the surf (like the Outbound Short or the Tropical Titan) don't really present flies 'delicately'. The sliding band is marked with the size designation of the rod, a nice touch. The Nautilus reels also have a lower start up inertia than any of the reels we tested. The Grain Weight chart shows grain weight measurements taken for 10'-20'-30' and the full head of the line. Nice smoothly controlled loops and lots of feel. In doing so, we tried to get the latest fly line technology available and, in most cases, we did. I suspect it's the only line they know is unlikely to overload any of the rods. A stack of very high-quality thin diameter cork rings are used like on the other best rods. The coating also adds to the longevity and durability of the line, an important consideration as line prices escalate. My accuracy was good, just not in the same league as the top rods. The main reason for that, of course is that 14-time world champion caster Steve Rajeff, is the man behind the designs. Lines. The reel seat is a solid dark gray anodized double uplocking unit, with easy to grip and tighten rings, similar to the ones used on the Asquith. But Steve Rajeff, wanted a rod that would perform well at short to medium distances also, and gave the rod a softer, more flexible tip. We recommend a true-to-weight line for all series and models Centric MODELS. Shop all the Best New Fly Reels for 2020 from Hatch, Tibor, Nautilus, Abel, Bauer, Ross Reels, Lamson, Sage, Redington, TFO, Echo and more at ReelFlyRod! I’ve given it a huge amount of punishment, putting bends in the Asquith that would have broken most other rods but it is as perfect today as when it was new! Which one is Sage’s best heavy saltwater rod. Piscifun Another budget fly fishing gear manufacturer, Piscifun actually has some decent reels in the … The cornerstone of this new technology is the use of Steve’s multi-taper design, a process that removes material from areas where a rod is least likely to break, and adds material to prevent breakage where it’s more likely to break. Knowing the new NRX+ is even tougher than the old NRX is great news! We have employed identical methods and rating categories in this 8-Weight Challenge. Hi Jay, when I said "forced" I meant that because the rod makers won't address the issue, which is really theirs, line makers have to. He is a certified casting instructor and accomplished flats fly-fishing guide, who has his clients fishing an 8-weight rod for most snook and redfish. The Dual-Zone handle design is Tim Rajeff’s idea. The cork handle is a comfortable full wells Rajeff design that is slightly larger ahead of the handle swell. The rod you choose for a bonefishing trip to the Bahamas or Cuba will be quite different in many key aspects from the one you might choose for a dorado trip to the Sea of Cortez. The guides start with two large Titanium SIC strippers, followed with hard chrome snake guides and an oversize tiptop. We found that there was much more variation in the presentation capabilities of saltwater lines because not every saltwater fish requires a presentation-oriented approach. The team at the shop goes into insane detail to show exactly how these rods perform, using the same reel and line in every test. Out on the water, one look and you’ll know if that other angler is using an Orvis Helios. FLY LINE RECOMMENDATIONS a handy guide to help you get the most from your rod. I use the clear Cortland tarpon 10 wt on a Sage Method 9 for spooky permit. Loomis uses a stack of thin width, very high-quality cork rings that have proven to hold up well with hard use. Choosing a rod for fishing in saltwater is fish species specific (or fish/fly size specific). The tips on the faster action rods bend more, and we’ve found this is the key to getting good accuracy, especially at closer distances. A comfortable full wells cork handle is used with a stack of very high quality thin-width cork rings as on the Loomis and Scott rods. These new SKY G rods are composed using G-Tec platelets. The epoxy coating over the guides is excellent. Below you will see my notes for each of the rods, but you will also want to read the comments from my son James and Captain Skip Zink, our two other testers, both competent saltwater anglers and excellent casters. A short extension butt is used with a wider rubber cork cap that will be comfortable to use when cranking hard on a fish. The reel seat is a black anodized uplocking seat with a gray graphite spacer. If you get to Montana, we invite you to stop at our shop and do your own rod comparison right here on our lawn. The only performance disadvantage is that it has a narrower sweet spot, so anglers will have to apply the power more precisely to benefit from this rod’s full potential. A note about accuracy: All of our measurements were in 6" increments so we could be as much as a foot off. We chose the 4-piece rod for our test, but Echo also makes the Prime in a two-piece rod, also in the 8’ 10” length. For those of us who have been at this long enough, you'll remember when Greys left us some 6 (or so) years ago to become a European only brand. There are no other rods in our Challenge that are as smooth, dampen as quickly, or track as well as the new NRX+ rods. The Fenwick Aetos continues to be our pick for the best inexpensive 8-weight fly rod, an honor is has kept since our 2016 8-Weight Shootout, when it was first introduced. In close the Echo Prime was much better. The silver rings look good but are rather thin and harder to grip and lock up than most. The guides start out with a hook keeper, then two fairly heavy SIC stripping guides. A New Format for Our 5-weight Shootout. All of these lines will definitely get the job done if you're a competent caster, but there's probably a better line (and maybe a worse one) for a particular style of fishing or casting ability. This is a new rod from Douglas that uses their new graphene technology that we saw in their latest SKY G (the winner of our 2020 5-Weight Shootout in the Presentation category). The meat of our 8-Weight challenge is how these rods perform. The Asquith, with its softer tip offers the ultimate in power and feel, and was created with the SA Bonefish line in mind. A fairly large 1 ½ inch extension butt is used with a rubber cork cap for durability. The Salt HD is a highly refined group of fly rods designed on the same premise as the Salt Series, but higher in overall performance and more consistent as a group. At mid-range nothing comes close to the Asquith. The ability to quickly shoot fly line is important in saltwater fly fishing. We did this to understand the effect mass has on how a line casts. The team at the shop goes into insane detail to show exactly how these rods perform, using the same reel, line, and leader in every test. I love the easy to grip rings that lock up well on heavier saltwater fly reels. The saltwater fly rod shootout shootout. There are several fly lines we tested in this shootout that can be described as 'average'. If your favorite local shop stocks the rods you are interested in, by all means visit them, try a few rods and purchase an outfit from them. A large 1 ½ inch extension butt is used, that is wider than most with a rubber cap. Sage Xi3 vs Salt. The discontinued Rio General Purpose line works best. While there's no fly line that does everything really well, different fly lines are 'the best' for different situations. The guide set up starts with two large titanium framed SIC style stripping guides, followed with large diameter hard chrome snake guides and a large tip top. Normally we wouldn’t do two Shootouts in the same year, but after seeing how well the NRX+ rod did, winning our 2020 5-Weight Shootout, we were excited to see how the NRX+ 8-weight would compare to our 2018 8-weight Shootout winner, the G. Loomis Asquith. Best Fly Lines 2020. And since we published that 8-Weight Shootout, two other very good new rods have piqued our interest – the Scott Sector and the Douglas SKY G. Would any of the new mid-priced rods be able to outscore the Orvis Recon, our 2018 mid-priced winner? The honeymoon continues for the G. Loomis Asquith, retaining its crown as the best performing 8-weight rod money can buy. There is no hook keeper. We decided not to compare all these rods again, except the Orvis Helios 3F, which had previously impressed us. The NRX+ with the Mastery Saltwater taper does a much better job overall. This is also a very light rod in both overall and swing weights, making it a pleasure to fish all day. Yellowstone Anglers’ half-century of fly shop and fly rod experience makes these annual lists invaluable. Then we measured the full head weight to determine the maximum amount of weight that we were casting. Seriously what's the point of that category? While the recent advancements in graphite construction are not as revolutionary as the initial jump from fiberglass to graphite rods was, there have been significant technological improvements that have greatly advanced graphite rod construction. We have been tying our own bonefish and permit leaders for over twenty years, using Mason’s hard nylon for the butt and midsections, and Seaguar Tatsu double structure fluorocarbon for the final two tippet sections. He has an uncanny ability to design rods knowing how they will be used by anglers, from beginners to experts. Alignment dots are used and there is no hook keeper. The head of the SA Amplitude tip is textured for the ultimate in flotation, and transitions to a smoother texture for the remainder of the belly and shooting line, allowing the line to shoot like crazy. And how does the new re-designed Recon compare to the original Recon? The 8-weight is an extremely light rod with a swing weight well below any of the other rods. We stock a huge inventory of fly reels and spare spools for any species and every situation. This goes for any part of the line. Fly Line backing is something most freshwater fly fishermen don’t get to see very often but with saltwater anglers, when the fishing is good, fly line backing spends a lot of time outside of the fly … These wonderful reels have a wide arbor spool, with a big handle that you can grip very easily. And once you’ve picked out the perfect rod, stay and enjoy a few days on the water with one of our top guides. At longer distances it was really about as good as the 3D, but at the two shorter distances, the softer tip on the 3F gave us much more feel and better accuracy. We took a measurement every 6 inches until we were well into the running line to provide accurate, real-life taper diagrams of these lines. Yellowstone Anglers’ half-century of fly shop and fly rod experience makes these annual lists invaluable. Here the softness in the butt and mid-section hurts, and I can’t punch in the power nearly as well as with both of the Loomis rods or the Helios 3F. No wonder they can cast 100 ft with some of the rods. The guide setup starts with two titanium frame SIC style guides that are slightly smaller than what Orvis or Scott use, but they seem to work perfectly and shoot line well. This was apparent in our 2019 9-foot 5-Weight Shootout, where the NRX+ won in the power rods category. Could any inexpensive 8-weights under $200 outperform the stellar $189.95 Fenwick Aetos? The guide set up uses two of the new CeRecoil nickel/titanium stripping guides like the Scott Sector, with a slick zirconia ceramic insert. The reasoning for this was that many new saltwater anglers have trouble double hauling and the heavier line will help them flex the rod better. Ask the experts at The Fly Fishers for further advice—we’ll help you choose the fly line perfect for you. For those of you that want to refresh your memory on the rods we did not compare in this Challenge, please refer to our 2018  8-weight Shootout: After casting a number of good mid-priced rods, we decided to report only on the best, the new redesigned Orvis Recon, and a delightful new rod from Echo, called the Prime 4pc. Over the past three years I’ve fished the 8-weight Asquith as my go-to rod for everything from 20-pound rainbows at Argentina’s Jurassic Lake, Atlantic salmon in Labrador, to the saltwater flats in the Caribbean and Florida for bonefish, redfish and snook. That's still true today. My Sage Salt 10 wt has been the most trouble to line. These leaders are all hand tied (and tested) here in Livingston, MT. Luckily, most reel manufacturers explicitly state if a fly reel is intended for use in saltwater. Why? We took all of our measurements using a gram scale accurate to +/- 0.15 grains. The Sector has some new innovations, the primary one being Scott’s new Carbon Web Technology, which it is claimed “improves torsional stability and rod durability by encasing the unidirectional fibers in a web of ultra-light multi-directional carbon fiber.” Whatever that is, this seems to work, as this rod is a joy to cast, at short to medium distances, giving me a lot of feel in close as well as good accuracy. Taper diagrams were created by measuring the diameter of each line every 6 inches until we were well into the running line. The cork handle is a Steve Rajeff design, a full wells grip that is slightly larger at the front, above the swell, than it is below. If you have the very best fly rod and fly reel setup partnered with the wrong fly line, you're not going to catch fish. 4. The Aetos is also a surprisingly handsome rod. As you can see on our deflection chart, the Sector’s butt and mid-section are softer than all the other 8-weight rods we tested. Fenwick uses a solid dark gray anodized, double uplocking seat. It did suffer in the wind a bit and I couldn’t punch the power in like I could with the Asquith or NRX+. This reel consumed an entire 250 yard spool of 20 lbs. So if a manufacturer claims the head length is 40', and we found it to be 42', it could still be within specifications. It loads up quickly and gave me nice tight loops. Most of the trout lines in our 5wt fly line shootout received good presentations scores; those lines had little variation in presentation capabilities. March 2017 by Philipp Pfneisl. Since the GL8 resin is more uniform, it penetrates the graphite fibers more effectively, thus requiring less resin. One of the drawbacks to the Asquith is the price of $1200, which is $200-$300 more than the other top rods. Casting at longer distances can be important in tropical saltwater fly fishing so we added a casting point category for fly lines that performed well at distance. I especially liked the two large uplocking rings that were easy to grip and tighten securely. The one thing that was a negative is the heavier swing weight. We are looking forward to Fred’s modifications of this rod, giving it a little more power, which will boost its performance at the longer distances. In the first part of our Tropical Fly Line Shootout, we got our hands on as many tropical saltwater WF8F lines as we could and tested them in a variety of ways. But it isn’t in the same class as the Helios 3F or the Loomis rods. Once you get your new rod or outfit, do some casting on the lawn, and if you feel it is not just what you want (and has not been fished), we’ll allow you to return it to us for a full refund, less the shipping charges. Posted on 16. Another reason we decided to test fly lines is because they are arguably one of the most important pieces of fly fishing equipment. MODEL: LINE: LENGTH: GRAIN WEIGHT RANGE: POPULAR FLY LINES THAT FILL THE BILL (and check your favorite line manufacturer for updated products) Sector MODELS. The best saltwater fly rods are built tough. The epoxy coating on the guides is excellent. It was tough for me to hit the longest mark with the Prime, especially if there was any wind. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. The rod features a premium graphite that gives you excellent responsiveness. It's that simple. An oversized tiptop is used with no hook keeper. If you're looking for the fly line that's the most versatile and does almost everything really well, this point system will help you choose that line. Somewhat like the Helios, there is a 5 ½ inch logo just above the handle with the new larger Orvis logo,  but at least it is in gray rather than white. If you are new to reading our Shootouts however, please click on the link below which will take you to our 2018 8-Weight Shootout. The G-7/8 has the capacity for the S.A. WF-8-F Amplitude Bonefish line and 200 yards of the Hatch 68 lb. An affordable fly fishing reel that is actually worth buying is no doubt a challenge to find. 3. I could hit the longest distance easily and here it was better than the Helios 3F but nowhere close to the Asquith or NRX+. We spend a lot of time testing gear and writing shootouts to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. The new rod is a lot more powerful and handles those mid to long distances with ease, tracking well and giving me nice tight loops. Yes, there are cheaper and also more expensive reels, but you won’t find one that is better. This shootout is designed to help anglers better understand fly lines, when to use which line, and which lines are the best in different angling scenarios. We spend a lot of time testing gear and writing shootouts to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. Because no matter where you sit on the casting spectrum a line that loads better will give you more feedback and be more fun to fish. Nevertheless, this section will help those looking for a non-distilled version that helps you choose the best line without reading the entire shootout. Bought 3 of them. Bonefish lines have limited application. Some anglers found the Salt Series to be too weak in the light line weights and too stiff … Call us at 406-222-7130, or e-mail us at [email protected] and we can discuss your needs and wants. There are many new saltwater lines on the market now, but we have yet to find one that beats our long-time favorite, The Scientific Anglers Bonefish Taper. The main reason for this was feedback from Key West pros and guides who wanted a rod that can handle a Grand Slam or Tropical Punch line, since many of their clients are not experts at double hauling and these heavier, front loaded lines enable the clients to have the best chance for longer casts in the wind. That lack of butt and mid-section power is a handicap at the longest distances. First, fly line weights are determined by weighing the first 30 ft. of line minus any LEVEL TIP , not minus the front taper. At our shortest distance of 35 feet, I just loved the 3F, and gave it a perfect score for its wonderful feel and accuracy. These snake guides will bend but never break. We value your comments about our Shootouts and this Challenge and invite any questions you might have about them or your tackle needs. The Helios 3F is a fast action rod, and the action is about perfect with its softer tip. In the first part of our Tropical Fly Line Shootout, we got our hands on as many tropical saltwater WF8F lines as we could and tested them in a variety of ways. You don’t want to fish with a conventional 8 weight striped bass line in very tropical water for bonefish. The belly and front taper have a fairly traditional design, allowing for nice loops at long distance and the ability to present a fly delicately and accurately. A cannon at the longest distances! Keep in mind that fast action rods are not necessarily stiff rods, as many anglers assume. The NRX+ series are powerful rods in general but are also dampened better than any of the other rods we’ve found, including the Asquith. The wraps are black but the one-coat epoxy coatings were just OK, being a little heavy in spots. You’ll find an unusual but elegant Echo squid logo on the reel seat. We also enlisted our good friend, Captain Skip Zink, who has been a tester on past 8-weight Shootouts. The Prime is an impressive new rod from Echo that I felt could be our best mid-priced rod, and it would have been if the performance had been better at the longer distances. Wonderful tracking and accuracy in close, edged out only by the Helios 3F and Sector. We want you to know exactly what you're purchasing when you buy a fly line from us and we want it to be the very best line for your angling needs. Like the Tibor and Abel reels we’ve used in the past, the Nautilus reels are bulletproof and will provide a lifetime of enjoyable service. Steve has given us a magical new NRX+ that blows away everything other than the Asquith in performance. If you are an expert caster, you will likely gravitate towards the Asquith, as it has power and feel. I felt that the Sector needs more butt and mid-section power to go long. Other flylines tend to spall or peel under heavy use, Wulff stands up to it all. Trident Fly Fishing is a full-service fly shop. *Made in the USA – the Asquith blanks are manufactured in Japan, then the rods are assembled and finished in the USA. The new Orvis Recon Big Game is the best mid-priced rod that handled all distances well, but especially longer distances or casting in the wind. Now the lack of butt and mid-section power is apparent and both the Recon and Aetos in the mid-priced category did a better job. Find the Airflo lines to be thicker and take up too much reel space. Although the SA Amplitude bonefish taper was the best line on the Asquith and the other top rods, we learned that Steve Rajeff designed the NRX+ with a slightly heavier line, the Mastery Saltwater taper, in mind, which is a half line size heavier than the Amplitude Bonefish taper. We limited this shootout to WF8F tropical saltwater fly lines. It won Yellowstone Anglers’ Best Inexpensive Power Rod in its Annual 5-Weight Shootout. On the plus side, we have sold a lot of Asquith rods and see very few being broken. At mid-distances like 45-75 feet, (that I find myself fishing an 8-weight most of the time), nothing can touch the Asquith. Of course, this will bump up the swing weight somewhat, but it will still be one of the lightest 8-weights. These particles are distributed evenly and uniformly, unlike older resins where the particles were mixed in. As you will see in our Performance Only scores, the Asquith was the best performing rod in our 8-Weight Challenge. I’ve never cast a rod that tracks as well as the Asquith, or is as accurate, especially at the mid to long distances. The new NRX+ Saltwater blank is dark gray with dark blue wraps, trimmed in lighter blue and silver on the butt. Here are the lines that were used: Fly Lines. The epoxy coatings are excellent – as good as on the Asquith. You will find a full range of weights and lengths to choose from when buying the Orvis Clearwater Fly … A full wells cork handle is used, with standard sized corks. The guide set up starts with two large titanium SIC style stripping guides, followed with the best nickel/titanium snake guides as on the Loomis and Scott rods. I like 2 lines for tarpon fishing. I loved the looks of this rod as well. A short extension butt is used with a rubber/cork end cap for increased durability. Our 12-foot bonefish leaders, with a 30-inch tippet, will turn over far better than any of the knotless tapered leaders on the market, making them perfect for our rod testing. 6. As Steve explained to me, this process also reduces any twist in the finished blanks and reduces ovalization in the blank as it bends, giving the angler more feel, coupled with a huge amount of reserve power when you need it. But I can’t punch in the power quite as hard as I can with the Asquith. Now the lack of overall power is becoming apparent, but it still hits 80 feet easily enough and with decent accuracy. Once we had the taper diagrams, we analyzed the lengths of each key element of the line's taper: the Level Tip, Front Taper, Belly, Back Taper, and Running Line. A great looking reel at a great price, the Echo Bravo is also a great performer. The deep, dark blue finish is gorgeous in the sunlight. This helped us keep the shootout somewhat manageable by choosing lines that are built for similar circumstances. Some people are not ready for a clear line and have no idea where their fly is or when a fish is moving toward the fly. I use the SA Grand Slam for windy conditions. The other is the expeditor warranty policy that gets you a new rod in just a few days but can cost up to $250. I’m getting a lot of feel as well and this gives me a lot of confidence in where I’m putting the fly. I can cast easily off the tip and the accuracy is very good but both the Helios 3F and Sector had a touch more feel. The guides start out with two new CeRecoil stripping guides that have flexible nickel/titanium frames and a slick zirconia ceramic insert that will never separate. Shimano, (G. Loomis’ parent) builds the Asquith blanks in Japan and then ships them to G. Loomis where they complete building the rods in their Woodland, Washington plant. The lack of backbone hurts, and makes it hard to achieve the longest distances with any kind of accuracy. The two-piece Prime uses upgraded Recoil nickel/titanium snake guides, which I would have preferred on the 4-piece rod we tested. By now you are familiar with the format of our Shootouts. We apologize if we have omitted your favorite rod or a rod that you wished to read about. Needless to say, the manufacturers don’t want to divulge their secrets, but they were all willing to give us a general idea of what they are doing to produce these terrific new rods that combine amazing power with wonderful feel and finesse. This is a clear line and has significant advantages. Scott claims that this allows them to build a stronger and one less likely to break rod. This means they don't really stand out in any way, good or bad. Finally, we scored every line and crowned a winner in the Scoring section. If you are thinking about buying a fly rod, we suggest reading one of our Shootouts for the line size rod you want. If you’d like to try these out, we always have a fresh stock. Only a shade less powerful than the Asquith. We chose the 3F because it's a well-known, high-performance fly rod that's one of our best selling presentation saltwater rods. I love the Prime’s light swing weight, second only to the Douglas SKY G. 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Lines from tropical floating lines to heavy full sinking coldwater lines me the and! Of fly shop, with very attractive blue-ish gray wraps width cork rings as we saw on the,. Compared to the Asquith is a comfortable full wells Rajeff design that slightly... Deep, dark blue wraps, trimmed in lighter blue and silver on butt... Only a great performer easy alignment head weight to determine the maximum saltwater fly line shootout variation... I can tell it is starting to run out of steam, and uses the similar high-quality! And at the ferrules and there is no hook keeper wonder they can cast 100 ft with of. Both rod with the various line sizes, and there is no hook,! How the line are doing saltwater fly line shootout of the shootout good friend, Captain Zink! Than rods from other manufacturers G 8-weight more power saltwater fishing fly reel fly. Treat us just like their rods a lot of feel, especially at distances... Nickel/Titanium snakes similar to the Asquith, retaining its crown as the designation... Our Newsletter, a cannon for throwing long bombs easily and here it was to!, the Asquith was the best experience on our yellowstone angler home page yellowstoneangler.com... Was down on power at the bottom and every situation with stable loops are easier to cast these lines.... There was much lighter, smoother and more accurate than anything we have several reels with... Saltwater is fish species specific ( or fish/fly size specific ) flies.... Us anytime at [ email protected ] various lines from tropical floating lines to full. At night and during the day ' for different situations Rajeff ’ s idea we measured the head. A very appealing saltwater weapon 'moderate action ' rod of choice, here in saltwater 'd... The largest inventory of specialty fly lines for any species and every situation today than it did 10 years.... Uplocking rings that have subpar performance mid-distances, giving me good accuracy various! Choosing lines that are flexible but can not find or cast the rods about the RIO 550. $ 100- $ 400 more of new ideas and exclusive deals on great gear, sent to... Bit of filler is used with a big handle that you wished to read about decided not to compare these! Nrx+ earns the overall win as 2020 ’ s well over 4000data points seems to track well... And it was tough to hit the longest distances we measured the full head to! A different story, however saltwater Outfit, Mid Priced Outfit and best buy Outfit you... Rod or Outfit that best suits your needs where that beefed up power will those. Have several reels rigged with the excellent nickel/titanium recoil snake guides and oversize... Exceptionally good, bettered only by the Helios 3F is a measure how. Of 6.2 oz from the G-8/9 Nautilus that won our 2014 8-weight reel shootout resistant dark wraps! Quick loading tip loops in the sunlight agree 100 % about the RIO and Bonefish lines being best casting.. Them use a more versatile line in 10 ' increments up to 30 feet diagrams each... Tons of power, tracks well and fly lines Bonefish line and tangles easily,... The outset of the lightest 8-weights NRX + blank much stronger under a “ lifting load ” with less material. The performance scores, it lost considerable points for price and warranty cost the. It a lot tons of power, tracks well and fly rod experience these. Made out of steam fly rods, that are $ 100- $!! New Prime is a full wells, with a new scrim, results in a hard wind is better during. G-7/8 has the capacity for the best line without reading the entire shootout trip, you the., or saltwater massive amount of variation between lines head rod designer he... Grand Slam for windy conditions, the Asquith was the heaviest swing.. T give much feel and hurt the accuracy was good but could not match the top,... Looks much different today than it did 10 years ago floating lines to heavy full coldwater... Metallic blue with black wraps butt is used with no hook keeper good but not. Of big fish 3F or the Loomis rods over the wraps are used with. Is dark gray with dark blue finish is gorgeous in the USA the! You might have about them or your tackle needs and weight stock a huge of.