New to the Australian fly-fishing community are the RST fly rods. RST is a German
Company located on the border between Bavaria and Baden–Wuerttemberg, which from the start maintained their profile as a small specialised and inventive company.

Their handcrafted fly rods have been one step ahead with the development of carbon fibre composites. This company realised very early the potential of carbon fibre for rod building and they quickly made sure they had the best possible support from scientists and technicians that brought their high technical know-how from the aircraft industry.
This meant RST could stop using ready-made blanks which did not meet the company’s
high standards and begin to produce their own blanks. It also meant they had full control of the building process from raw material to the finished blanks, while maintaining quality control at every stage.

It didn’t take long for fly-fishermen around the world to take notice of these beautiful fly rods and in short order distributors opened up their doors in many country’s quenching the thirst of fly-fishermen wanting that perfect rod.
One day at the Melbourne 4x4 Fishing Show and Outdoor Expo 2008, I was lucky to meet the Australian distributors of these remarkable fly rods. I instantly fell in love with their fast casting action while trying them out in the casting area.
Martin and Anna-Katharina Haeberle are the Australian distributors based in the trout
fishing state of Tasmania and like all the people of Tasmania their hearts are made of gold. They allowed me to try one of their rods in the fishing field with the rod in question being a Tasmanian Fly, 4 piece, 3-4 weight and 7 foot 6 inches long.

I wasted no time in getting to the rivers of the northeast. To really capitalise on the function of this rod I began looking for a rising trout, but none could be found. So I started blind fishing as my first tactic with a weighted caddis nymph. This was accomplished by using the short drift, deep nymphing technique that swings the nymph at the end of its drift. Not long after I began to catch trout, in fact I caught and released 12 trout in total from one run of this river. So this rod really had a fishing workout, and the greatest stand out of this rod was the way the rod worked with your casting stroke. The rod just complements a good casting action by the angler. It also produced pinpoint accuracy, something many other rods lack.

Presentations were immaculate, light and gentle with everything landing as one. During the evening rise such presentations soon had me catching trout on the dry fly. The other stand out was the way this rod played the pulsating fight from these trout. This rod had me feeling every twist and turn, and each time a trout would try to power away the rod would flex beautifully - there’s no way you’ll lose a trout with this rod if you’re gentle in playing your fish.

An additional comment to be made is the way this rod can easily single and double haul a fly line. It achieved the goal remarkably well with the guide placement just perfect and rod construction of the highest order. I guess that’s what you get when you fish with a hand-crafted fly rod.
If you’re a travelling angler fishing overseas destinations then its four pieces reduce to
an accommodating size which can be placed in the overhead luggage compartment as it comes in a rod tube that is as beautiful as the rod itself.
As the setting sun released its last rays of light I walked back to the car feeling very
impressed with this rod. I know from now on that this new RST Tasmanian Fly rod will be with me, for a long time.

The RST Tasmanian Fly series range from a 2/3 weight to a 9/10 weight.
To see the full range of the RST fly rods and for more details go to:

www.rst-fishing.com.au
RST Fishing Australia
Phone: 0466503002
E-mail: mail@rst-fishing.com.au

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