Great Bay Rod Co SFT
Neil Grose casts back to the future with a new rod from Great Bay.
The new SFT Series fibreglass rods from the Great Bay Rod Company see a return to a traditional soft action fly rod. While the resurgence in bamboo has received plenty of publicity, there is still a dedicated market for the feel of a fibreglass fly rod. These rods are unashamedly aimed at small-stream fishers who use small flies to target small river dwelling trout—a fast growing segment of the market.
It’s been a long time since I cast a fibreglass fly rod; however, after trying out a 7-foot, 3-weight SFT Northeast model, they will be getting a trundle a lot more often. This 4-piece rod as you would expect is big on short-line delicacy and finesse—perfect for small to medium streams. It has enough power to handle bulky dries like hoppers and weighty flies like small bead head nymphs, but its true beauty is the small dry upstream presentation. Fans of traditional rod actions will love and cherish this rod.
It isn’t as soft as you’d expect—more smooth than soft. It is a crisp blank, in so far as it is very easy to generate tight loops; however, you do need to relax a lot more with the timing and let the loops unfold in their own sweet time. This is the beauty of these rods—they take you back to a time when fishing was about flies and fish, not technology, modulus and line speed!
The rod itself is a deep green blank with maroon wraps. It has snake guides on the bottom two pieces and single foot guides on the top two sections. These are all laid on perfectly, and in combination with a very nice polished reel seat. The cork handle comes in a natural finish, or hand rubbed with Tung oil, producing a smooth, slick finish that looks very smart indeed.
Spigots are used to join the rod sections. While looking a little different, this allows the rod to bend smoothly along the whole length with no flat spots. Components are first class—TiN stripper guide and TiN running guides throughout.
As with many rods these days, the SFT fibreglass rods come with an original owner lifetime guarantee, a smart alloy tube and cloth rod bag. Priced at about $450, they are great value.
For more information and purchasing options, visit www.flyrodreel.com.au