The Ultimate In Fly Rods? - 05/07/2010

Hardy & Greys is set to reveal what it claims is the most significant development in fishing-rod design for 25 years!

The firm’s new Sintrix material is said to produce rods that are 60 per cent stronger and up to 30 per cent lighter than carbon fibre. What’s more, it’s far more impact resistant.

Steve Peterson of Hardy & Greys explained: “Decades ago when we moved away from cane and fibreglass, carbon fibre changed the way fishing rods were made. “Being remarkably strong for its weight, carbon gives us many advantages for modern rod design. “The carbon rods we use today have advanced over the years, of course, but the trends for lighter and faster blanks led to rods which can be brittle, unforgiving and prone to breakage during use.”

The carbon fibre in a blank is supported by a bed of resin, which usually just holds the fibres in parallel alignment so they flex as the rod bends. But bending a rod beyond its limits leads to these fibres buckling, as they are stronger than the resin, and the rod will break. The make-up of Sintrix rods means they withstand a far higher degree of bending and loading than ever before. Steve added: “A Sintrix fly rod is able to bend further without damage and will also take incidental impacts far better than any conventional fly-rod design. “On a recent test trip to Florida five Hardy & Greys product developers caught around 1,000 fish – from 5lb to 350lb – on Sintrix rods. On some occasions they were using river rods, like 9ft 5-wts, without a single breakage!”

Peter McLeod from international fly fishing specialist Aardvark McLeod described the Sintrix models as: “The perfect rods for the flats – I adored using them. They are light, responsive, have quick recovery, fantastic presentation and huge reserves of power. The blanks were so thin they just cut through the wind.

“The bottom line is that these are, without doubt, the best rods I have ever used and when they go into production I will use nothing else.”

Initial Sintrix developments involve three Hardy fly-rod ranges – one saltwater range and two freshwater ranges that will include double-handed models.

They look set to be available in January 2011.