STALKER GUIDE SERIES
Jason Sealie challenges some champion rods in Sweden

Team Australia recently competed in the 25th World Fly Fishing Championship at Lycksele in Sweden. The Aussie team in-cluded six competition anglers and a non-fishing captain from Fly Fish Australia, the national competition fly fishing body. As competition rods, the team selected the New Stalker Guide Series.

In conjunction with Gavin Hurley at Pro-Angler and his international rod design team, plans were drawn up for two specialist competition rods, a 5-weight, 10-foot 4-piece and a 7-weight, 10-foot 4-piece, both to be constructed from new generation 46Ton graphite blanks with medium to fast actions. Specifications also included titanium coated single leg guides, 2 triangle tapered silicone carbide stripping guides, cut-away reel seat to reduce weight, and a woven graphite insert for extra strength on the 7-weight.

Twenty one countries participated in Sweden with two days official practice and three days of competition. The Australian team arrived one week early to practice techniques for grayling on local non-competition waters. Competition waters included the mighty Logde and Juktan rivers and Lake Rodingtrask, where targeted species were grayling in the rivers and brown trout in the lake.

Rod selection was critical as the Logde River, similar in size to the Tongariro in New Zealand, was running full noise due to unseasonal rainfall. The Juktan was a hydro river and as such was controlled; it was like the Goulburn at 5000 megs. Rodingtrask, a large tea coloured lake, held wild browns to 1 kg.

Why ten-foot rods? The technique for European grayling fishing in rivers is short-line Czech nymphing, although grayling will rise to standard dries as well. The nymphing technique involves fishing up to 3 heavily weighted scud-like nymphs along the bottom, with no more than 4 feet of fly line outside the rod tip.

This is deadly, close-quarter fishing. Grayling are not easily spooked, so it is possible to hook them right at your feet. It’s a matter of slowly searching the wat-er until you find a patch of fish. Longer rods allow greater reach and control.

How did the Stalker Guide Series rods perform? In a word: magnificent! The 5-weight was perfect for Czech nymphing the big rivers in Sweden. As well as suiting some of our bigger rivers where extra mending reach is required, it would also be an ideal loch-style rod on Australian lakes. The fast action of the rods, unlike other 10-footers that can be soft, allows you to punch out a long line with ease.

The 7-weight is a powerful stick! Ideal for sea-run browns and salmon, this rod, like the 5-weight, combines power and smoothness with an impressive power-
to-weight ratio. The 7-weight would be right at home on big New Zealand rivers and a great selection for lakes like Bullen Merri and Purrumbete in Australia, as well as a sturdy saltwater contender.

The overall quality and attention to detail on these Stalker rods is excellent in relation to the cost (RRP $699). As well as the 10-foot range, the New Stalker Guide Series has another 8 user-specific models: 7'9" 3 & 4-wts for small creeks; 8'9" 5-wt for dry fly; 9' 6 & 7-wts for river and lakes; 9' 8 & 9-wts for large salt work and an 8' 10-wt for fish that need some convincing. They are available in 4-piece for ease of travel, and incorporate a spare tip.

All rods come complete with a sturdy rod tube, and as you would expect with a rod of this calibre, a lifetime guarantee.

For details contact Pro-Angler on (03) 9532 1583. www.proangler.com.au