 | Further information ... |
|
|
|
10/25/11
bonefishing hawaii:
the redington predator.
so sean had our friendly neighborhood redington rep send us the new redington predator rod to try. unfortunately, we received a tube marked as an 8wt. with a 6wt. rod inside... oops. but, like i always say, you gotta play the hand you’re dealt, so i gave the six a whirl and, just for clarification purposes, this report is based on that 6wt. rod.
as usual we here at nervous water fly fishers are always on the look out for the best rods (at all price points) for our customer's hard earned dollars. at just under 250 bills ($249.95 to be exact), the predator is at the same price point as the tfo bvk. rods in this, what i call, “serious” entry level catagory have become very impressive over the years and represent a real value. in other words, you get a lot of rod for your two fifty. the predators have a deep blue blank with blue wraps. the titanium oxide guides look sharp and are great for the salt. the workmanship is top notch as all redington rods tend to be. the rod comes with a cordura sectioned rod tube (bonus). i lined the rod up with a rio 6wt. outbound short. i chose this line because i am always afraid that a new rod will be too stiff for my liking (as the trend in rods has been in recent years) and, to me, it’s better to err on the slightly heavy side than to come up under grained. a heavier head will slow a rods action down which is okay, too light a line head will make a stiff rod feel even stiffer. no fun, especially at normal sight fishing distances (fifty feet and less).
on sunday, i took the rig out to ke’ehi to give it the ‘ole college try and sight fish some bones with it. somewhat to my surprise, i found the rod to be very crisp. it had the “fast with feel” that i am always barking about and looking for. the outbound short/predator combination cast well at both super short and extreme long distances and the rod felt like it would do fine with any bonefish line (i.e. not stiff). on this day, i decided to walk around the flat with doug. we took turns taking shots at fish (and at each other). it is so much more fun sight fishing with someone you can totally horse around with. we teased each other about our presentations, and casting, and flies. super fun stuff. doug had us walking into the glare for most of the day. although i ragged him about this seemingly amateur maneuver relentlessly, i knew that it was good practice and a part of the reason why he is among the best at spotting fish (a hint for aspiring beginners. if you fish the same way all the time, you’ll only know how to fish one way). there weren’t a lot of big fish out there that day, but there were some rats running around and we managed to catch a bunch of them. all the fish i hooked were in the three to five pound range. the predator was able to handle these fish quite well for a six weight. despite my best stopping efforts, the larger fish did get into my backing. to me that is a bit under gunned especially when fishing reefy situations, but, hey, it’s a six weight. i bent the rod to it’s max and it held up fine and landed the fish i hooked (must be the carbon fiber weave in the butt section). overall the redington predator rod gets the big thumbs up from me (for whatever that’s worth). whether you are getting started in bonefishing, expanding your quiver, or backing up your current rods, the redington predator is one worth taking a serious look at. definitely recommended for the mischief we get into daily around here.
the predator captures it's first hawaiian prey.
doug used his g. loomis cross current glx 8wt. and airflo ridge bonefish line also a fine set up for slaughterhousing bones as doug has been known to do.
the predator rod looks nice and catches fish too! coming soon to finer fly shops near you, especially if you consider waialae avenue near.
this is the bend toward the end of another battle with mr. bone (you can see the head of the line is already in the guides). earlier in this encounter i bent it all the way into the cork...
and yoyed this fella away from some small mangroves.
yet another bone for doug and another notch in his bonefish belt. the rats were on the prowl that day and doug was on the hunt big time.
the redington predator is one of those rods that no matter how good you get, you’ll never need another rod... you may want another rod, but you’ll never need another one. good times.
clay.
Home
