{"id":3375,"count":20,"description":"Saltwater fishing consistently ranks as one of the fasting growing segments of the fly fishing market, and a 9-foot, 8-weight rod might be the most versatile configuration available for salt enthusiasts. With that in mind, we set out to find the best new rods for the category.\r\n\r\nTo thoroughly test and evaluate a host of rods, we recruited a solid team of testers. Nearly a dozen individuals committed significant time to this endeavor. We had guides, salt-water junkies, novice anglers, and committed enthusiasts checking out new rods from Sage, Orvis, Redington, Thomas &amp; Thomas and a couple others. We dropped one rod from testing after we found unforgivable flaws (poorly fit ferrules) and held back another after its maker indefinitely postponed its production and release date. \u00a0In the end, four new models \u2014 all 9-foot, 8-weight rods \u2014\u00a0made it through our testing processes.\r\n\r\nThe test team used these rods in a variety of locals and conditions. We fished for bonefish in Belize, Mahi Mahi in Hawaii, salmon and sea-run cutthroat in Puget Sound, and even bass and carp in the warm pothole lakes of Eastern Washington. We cast the rods with floating lines as well as heavy sinking lines. We threw light surface poppers, weighted jigs, and bulky crab patterns and streamers. Each rod was fished for at least a week, though most got more use as the team forced themselves to \u201cwork\u201d diligently with the rods.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-32400\" src=\"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Salt-Rods-6-900x675.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" \/>This year\u2019s roundup of rods shows that the saltwater category of specialty rods continues to evolve in all performance measures. The rods in this group feature some of the most accurate, furthest-casting rods we\u2019ve encountered to date.","link":"https:\/\/gearinstitute.com\/fishing\/fly-rods\/specialty-fly-rods\/","name":"Specialty Fly Rods","slug":"specialty-fly-rods","taxonomy":"category","parent":3195,"meta":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Best Specialty Fly Rods | Reviews and Buying Advice | Gear Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our experts extensively field-tested the best Specialty Fly Rods of the year and rated the best based on transparent, objective criteria. 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