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Featuring custom crafted freshwater fly rods, saltwater fly rods and fibreglass fly rods for the discerning fly angler.  Match these with our line of fly reels and fly fishing accessories and you have a winning combination of quality, performance and value.  If you take your fly fishing seriously, you have come to the right place.

 

Phil O'Brien - Mittagong NSW - Talks about his Great Bay Winding Brook 764 4wt. fly rod

Try before you buy.  This was too good an opportunity to miss when I started my search for a 4 wt. fly rod.  The quest was to locate a short rod that was not only accurate but at the same time had the ability cast a reasonable distance when required. The first of it’s kind in the country, the new Winding Brook 7 ft. 6 in. 4 wt. arrived in my hands two weeks after discussing it with Steve.  Chasing grass trout on the local field,  I was more than impressed with it’s ability to put a decent distance into a strong breeze whilst at the same time enabling accurate presentations at a variety of distances.  The demo rod , nick named “Baby”, spent time in the hands of several members of my fly club.  The Illawarra Fly fishers.  It then made a trip to New England and the Snowys accounting for a number of decent fish.  I was so impressed with the rod that I bought one and it has now notched up some serious hours having fished a variety of streams and rivers around the country.  I am now trying to muster up the courage to ask my wife if I can purchase one of Baby's larger relatives, a  saltwater custom 7 wt.   Steve already has the specifications and I think the family is about to get larger.        

 

Nate Wakefield - Canberra ACT - Talks about his Great Bay MSR 804-5wt. fly rod

I'm very pleased with my new rod and it "feels" well made.  It's had three good trials so far all on the Thredbo and I've had some decent results. I can cast from the bank easier, especially from over bushes and branches, than would have been possible with my former rod. My casting style still isn't even close to 'correct' but the rod responds well and I find I can fully extend the leader and fly a lot easier whereas before, I would often end up with line piled in a heap on the water, I can actually also roll cast with this rod, which had always been a mystery in the past! I like the finish and the colour, and it even had a "new smell" it arrived. Overall, it plays fish beautifully, and once hooked i haven't lost a fish due to broken tippet as I probably would have with my old stiff rod which didn't soften much impact at all. I actually picked up my best trout to date on Monday, a 52cm rainbow on a dry humpy.  Thank again for your great service.

 

Nathon Dalton - Oakland Park SA - Talks about his Great Bay PTA 904 8wt. fly rod

They long anticipated arrival has come. I was really wowed!  This is a stunning rod, and I'm really impressed by the packaging and workmanship on the handle and custom logo. A 10/10 for a rod that honestly looks more impressive than any GLX Loomis or Sage rod I've seen. I was actually looking at some GLX's a few weeks ago, and I couldn't believe how classy the GBR looks.  I'm a fan for life.  I couldn't wait til the weekend, so I went to a near by park to give my new rod a cast just before sunset. The obvious clear punching power is what first struck me. I would by no means regard myself as a pro, but with the knowledge and feel I do have, I was really impressed. My first cast...three false casts... shoot the line... and bamb, had a 90 foot cast that was pretty spot on where I wanted it.  I really hope the company explodes with this superior looking product.  Thank you for going the distance with the extras and all your help choosing and designing my own personal fly rod.

 

Matt Simmons - Castle Hill NSW - Talks about his Great Bay MSR 904 6wt. fly rod

Now about the new rod, which in a word is just excellent!  The first day I took it out, a vicious cold front had just blown through the previous night and when I arrived the next morning, I was greeted by sleet and a 40 knot "breeze".  It amazed me how far out I could punch casts in these conditions. Also, the line control of this rod was something that I really really was impressed with. This is perhaps the single best feature of this rod and is a huge asset in these rough conditions. The finish of the rod is really good too. I also had no trouble casting small dry flies either and most perhaps most importantly, it handled a 2kg trout with ease.  Thanks for all your help, Steve.  Much appreciated.

 

Neil Grose - Tasmania - Talks about his Great Bay Northeast 704 3 6wt. fibreglass fly rod

As some of you many know or have read along the way, Neil Grose did a review of this fly rod in both the Tasmanian Sportsfisher and FlyLife magazines a while back.  As he said in the review..."it's been a long time since I cast a fibreglass fly rod.  However after casting with a SFT Northeast series rod they will be getting a trundle a lot more often. This 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."   Now what you might not know is that after reviewing this rod and taking it out on the water, Neil ended up buying it to add to his small stream arsenal.  That, for us, was the best review of all. 

 

Colin Hall - Wamboin NSW  - Talks about his Great Bay MSR 804-4wt. fly rod 

I spent a bit of time on the weekend casting with the new MSR.  It is quite a remarkable rod and easily added 15-20 feet to my standard 3wt casting stroke.   I love this rod already and am now itching to get into some proper fishing.  Slight tactical error buying this rod at this time of the year with closed rivers and is now a really big tease!   I'm thinking of giving this rod and reel and little try on the whiting and bream in a small south coast estuary I fish and thanks for letting me know that the Series 1 reel is fine in the salt.  I am also mega impressed with the furled leader as it really does turn over well and it turns quite bushy dries over well too.  The rod performs as good or better than it looks, which is saying something special.  I am really looking forward to hooking some fish with this rod as it just has such a great 'feel'. Thanks again for all of your assistance and advice.  Looking forward to catching up with you sometime soon.



Derek McKenzie Outdoors  |  ABN 58 254 390 084 | Melbourne Australia | Mobile Phone 0414.403.687

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