Yak Fishing Backup Rods from Nitro

Author: Daemon

Category: Kayak fishing tackle

Created on Friday, 06 January 2012 23:15

Written by Daemon de Chaeney

How many times have you gone out with bream & whiting rods and having  no luck, wished you’d taken something heavier so you could hammer the flatties or jews?  Or conversely, have you ever found your yak full of medium to heavy gear and wished you had a light rod to cast the flats or racks, because the conditions weren’t right for your original plan? It’s happened to me, despite having six inboard rod holders on the Pro Angler, so I can only imagine that it happens to you too, sometimes.

However, there’s a very convenient yak storage space friendly solution in the form of Innovator Nitro’s outstanding travel rods.  These have been around for quite a while and they’re the product that first drew people’s attention to Innovator rods, but we rarely think about them in the context of yak fishing. Think about it though; a multi-piece rod that packs up in its case to a very compact form, and assembles into a fully fledged Nitro quality fishing weapon. A perfect way to keep an extra piece of backup kit, outside the range of your regular or planned arsenal.

 The strength of them doesn’t come at the cost of weight though. They’re light, slender, responsive, and have the same outstanding feel as their more conventional brethren. Nitro make a big deal out of their butt over tip ferrule and the quality of their graphite for good reason; the action on these rods is outstanding. They have a curve as smooth as the best two piece rods money can buy, and better than all but the very best one piece rods.  All of them have crisp actions, perhaps only slightly slower than an equivalent Loomis and the equal of the others in the Nitro range ; it’s a signature action I prefer to that of Loomis to be frank, especially when using braid. All of this is no small achievement in something that has five to six pieces and fits in a backpack.

The  007 Traveller is a 6’ 6”, 2 to 4kg spin stick with a 1 to 9g casting weight, and is genuinely able to effectively flick bream weight lures, while having enough but strength to pull a big saratoga with ease. This is the perfect back up rod to pack in your yak if your rod selection is towards the heavy end on the day, to give you that extra range of options if conditions force you into the estuary or make you want to flick for bream near the rocks. This rod matches well with a lightweight 2500 to standard 1000 sizes reel. I use a 2500 Certate on mine for the added casting range.

The 007 Magnum Butt  is a 7’ 6”, 4 to 6kg spin stick with a 9 to 40g casting weight.  This thing can gentle trevalley away from the weeds, handle a ballistic queenie, wrestle a mad mangrove jack or put the hurt on a jewie that grew out of soapyhood years ago; I’ve done it all with one of these. It’s strong, yet sensitive and casts inside and slightly above its weight range like a bullet. This is the perfect thing to hide out of the way in your yak when you’ve decided to go out light for bream or whiting, and you don’t want to risk your Vapor when it doesn’t pan out and you decide to hit the flathead or troll the break wall for Mulloway instead. The rod pairs nicely with a 2000 to 3500 sized reel, and I use a 3000 Certate with it.

The 007 Undertaker is a 5’ 10”, 4 to 6kg baitcaster with a 11 to 28g casting weight. I’ve pulled 78cm barra’ with one of these and skull dragged jacks out of the sticks, then flown it home and tickled bass from under the tree shadows with wee fake cicadas. The rod has a beautiful action and an amazingly sensitive tip that can stand a fair amount of high stick stupidity. I don’t usually use overheads from a yak but if you think you just might like one sometimes, then this is the thing to hide away in the bilge until that right moment comes. Any light baitcaster will sit nicely on this rod, and I use an Alphas R low profile on mine.

The other rod in the range is the 007 Viper. I don’t own this one, so I can’t comment on it one way or the other, but I do own the two piece conventional Viper, and so does Josh, and we both love them. A good reel choice would be 3000 to 4500 sizes and I use a Saltiga 4000.

These rods really are the equal of a one piece or two piece counterpart, and as such I really do believe that you, like me, will find them to be an outstanding back up to increase the alternatives in your yak fishing journey and what the hell, why not pack one when your missus makes you take her on holiday. Just remember, they’re tools not jewels; get ‘em out and fish with ‘em now and then. They can take it.