OVERVIEW
Most salt rods are built for pure power and ultimate strength—that is table stakes for the venue and the discipline. With our new R8 graphite, adding 25% more strength-per-weight was the easy part—a simple function of material advancement—but one that also increased the fight in the rod even down to our six-weight. We increased the pure pulling power without the need to add more material, fillers or reinforcement. The outcome is simple, providing the ability for faster landing times - reducing fish fatigue and catch-and release stress on ever so delicate ecosystems.
More strength and fight were an obvious upgrade, yet few salt rods, especially in the heavier weights, achieve the importance of feel for fine touch shots and precise presentations. Shaping a taper that brought this increased touch into the equation took more time. Yet after a long residence in the birthplace of saltwater fly fishing, and working directly with the experienced guides there, our rod designers found the right profile and fiber alignment that delivered strength, fine touch presentation, and a more intuitive sweet spot to a class of rods that have long had a reputation as unwieldy, unforgiving, and difficult. With the SALT R8, gone are the days of sacrificing the feel and touch in your saltwater rod.
ROD APPLICATIONS
Giant Trevally
Rod: 1290-4FG
More Fight: This 12 weight is designed around maximum pulling power - an essential ingredient for a rod targeting what is arguably the hardest fighting and most voracious target for the saltwater angler.
More Touch: Quick shots are essential in the GT game when opportunity comes in a split second. This 12 weight is surprisingly easy to load for quick shots at a variety of distances while still maintaining plenty of power for high line speeds and accurate delivery of wind resistant flies.
Lines: RIO Elite GT WF12F
Flies: Tan or Black Brush flies, Semper, RIO’s Playbate, RIO’s Baby Bonefish, RIO’s Big Baitfish
Fisheries: Christmas Island and across the Pacific and Indian Oceans
Midweight Bluewater
Rod: 1290-4FG
More Fight: Rigorously tested in the Striped Marlin chaos of Magdalena Bay, Baja, this 12 weight features unbelievable strength and durability to stand up to the day in and day out beating taken in one of the most adrenaline-rich fisheries in the world
More Touch: Things happen fast in the bluewater, and this 12 weight gives anglers an easy-to-load blank to make quick work of delivering large bluewater offerings.
Lines: RIO Elite Leviathan, RIO Billfish Shooting Head
Flies: Large Sardine, Ballyhoo, Mackerel, Large Billfish Poppers
Fisheries: Mid-sized Billfish and Tuna
Giant Trevally
Giant Trevally
Giant Trevally
SALT R8
DETAILS
Revolution 8 Technology
Tempest Blue blank color
Slate primary thread wraps with graduated White and Grey trim
Titanium Fuji K-Guide ceramic stripper guides with oversized hard chromed snake guides and tip-top
Laser etched line weight on slide band
Black rod bag with new quick-tie cord lock for faster, easier, and cleaner storage
Aluminum rod tube with Sage medallion
Premium Flor grade full-wells cork handle with EVA fighting butt
Heavy-Duty anodized aluminum up-locking reel seat with Integrated hidden hook keeper in reel seat
KEY FEATURES
25% MORE PULLING POWER
Greater Pulling power equals more fight for faster landing times and less stress on delicate ecosystems. Enhanced durability and toughness allows blank to withstand more rugged situations and demands of saltwater fishing and travel.
MORE TOUCH
More intuitive sweet spot prioritizes touch and speed for shorter shots and high stakes on-demand casts, bringing feel and presentation to a class of rods that have long had a reputation as unwieldy, unforgiving and difficult. With the SALT R8, gone are the days of sacrificing the feel and touch in your saltwater rod.
SALTWATER SPECIFIC GUIDE SET
Saltwater-specific titanium Fuji® K-guides resist corrosionand trim rod weight while angled shape prevents snags and tangling in the chaos of the fight. Oversized hard chrome snake guides and tip-top let larger saltwater knots pass with ease.
Heavy-Duty Reel Seat
Heavy-duty reel seat and oversized locking rings keep reel tight to the rod for greater contact, rigidity, and a more dirrect connection when fighting powerful high-stakes fish. Integrated hook keeper at the top of the seat keeps flies closer to the hand for faster reaction capabilities and safer fly storage.
DESIGNED ON THE WATER
A Residence In SALTWATER
To really understand what was happening in the heart and soul of saltwater fly-fishing we sent our senior rod designers to the birthplace of the discipline in the Florida Keys.
During their lengthy saltwater immersion, they listened carefully to the shops, guides, scientists, stories and legends to truly understand what was happening on the water and what is really required to shape and hone a more perfect tool for saltwater sight fishing.
Steeped in those cumulative decades of tradition, insight and knowledge, our design team then harnessed the power of Revolution 8 material technology and our precise knowledge of performance rod taper to create what naturally evolved into the Salt R8 collection
SHAPING 8 REVOLUTIONS IN HOW WE FISH
R8 TECHNOLOGY
The advanced, leading-edge material behind R8 enables us to shape a rod with a stiffer, stronger backbone but a more sensitive tip and more connected feel. The secret is twofold. First, a proprietary aerospace composite with a greater hoop strength enables us to dimensionally grow taper diameter more quickly from the tip—while a nano-sintered resin application increases axial resilience and allows us to pack more fiber into the blank, resulting in that true two-way connection from hand to fly and back for greater feel, flow and control.
New Axial Fiber Formulation
Advanced nano-sintered resin application and a more resilient axial fiber allow us to re-profile the dimensional taper to get thicker quicker from tip to butt - resulting in better energy transfer and greater feel. Simply put - a better and more efficient "wiring" of energy.
EFFORTLESS ENERGY TRANSFER
Elongated energy transfer shifts the sweet spot closer to the hand creating a more natural extension of your arm for greater range, quicker reactivity and less wasted effort.
New circumferential hoop fiber
Advanced hoop fibers hold blank in optimal cylindrical shape creating greater circumferential strength - continuously maintaining inherent taper profile while actively engaged or under tension.
STRENGTH VS DURABILITY
Greater Pulling Power plus Knock-Around Toughness
While a strong and durable rod is essential for saltwater environments, strength and durability are not the same thing. But we made sure that our new Salt R8 rods were built with both characteristics.
Pulling Power
A salt rod requires strength for the pure pulling power of getting high-stakes fish to the boat quicker and due to our more advanced graphite, a simple material swap increased our strength by 25% per weight. The key is that this increase in strength did not require adding more material or reinforcement, it was a natural extension of the aerospace material advance in fiber and composition.
DURABILITY
At the same time our Salt R8 rods are characterized by enhanced durability, a critical trait in the rougher, tougher and more remote environments of saltwater fly fishing. Whether the knock-around durability of skiffs and roof racks, the corrosive, abrasive factors of salt and sand, or long travel to remote lodges, a salt rod needs to deliver in the category of durability.
MADE IN THE USA
We’re not a big faceless factory, but rather a workplace of craftspeople who design and build the world’s best fly rods and reels using our hands and hearts. We do it by sharing ideas and always asking the next question to find what can be done to make this better. Our rods are built one at time right here on Bainbridge Island, WA, following hundreds of meticulous steps and passing through 23 sets of hands. We’re out there fishing the same places in the same unforgiving conditions that you are. Craftsmanship is applied experience. Lifetimes of it.
SALT R8 1290-4 FG - All Models
Model | Line Size | Rod Length | Handle | Color | Pieces | Physical Weight | SKU |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SALT R8 690-4 | 6 | 9'0" | Slim Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 3 5/8oz | 2055-690-4 |
SALT R8 790-4 | 7 | 9'0" | Slim Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 3 13/16oz | 2055-790-4 |
SALT R8 890-4 | 8 | 9'0" | Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 4oz | 2055-890-4 |
SALT R8 990-4 | 9 | 9'0" | Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 4 1/8oz | 2055-990-4 |
SALT R8 1090-4 | 10 | 9'0" | Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 4 1/2oz | 2055-1090-4 |
SALT R8 1190-4 | 11 | 9'0" | Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 5oz | 2055-1190-4 |
SALT R8 1290-4 | 12 | 9'0" | Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 5 1/8oz | 2055-1290-4 |
SALT R8 1290-4 FG | 12 | 9'0" | Extended Full-Wells With Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 5 5/16oz | 2055-1290-4FG |
SALT R8 1586-4 | 15 | 8'6" | Extended Full-Wells With Extended Eva Fighting Butt | Tempest Blue | 4 | 7 1/8oz | 2055-1586-4 |
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t a LOT of pressure on a fish to turn it. Read LessRead less about I used Igniters for the last few years
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