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Fly rods for big bass, steelhead, and striped bass have come a long way.
Rod makers are constantly making their rod designs lighter, improving their strength and incorporating better materials in their rods.
There has never been a better time to be looking at purchasing an 8 weight.
Best 8 Weight Fly Rods on The Market
M MAXIMUMCATCH Starter Fly Rod
- Everything You Need To Go Fishing: Includes a performance...
- Exclusive MAXLINQ Rod Technology: Pure IM7 24T plus 30T...
- Distance and Presentation: A fast action design rod blank to...
The Maxcatch Extreme Fly Fishing Combo Kit provides you with everything you need to get started.
The rod is made of Pure IM7 24T plus 30T carbon fiber. This is an extremely strong rod, with five mixed layers of carbon including a reinforced muscle carbon layer. The pre-spooled eco fly reel is packed within a neoprene-style bag.
A high-density waterproof plastic fly box keeps your flies dry. Inside are a dozen hand-tied dry and wet flies. You even get an extremely durable Cordura rod case with reel pouch.
Orvis Encounter Fly Rod
- 4-PIECE KIT: This fishing kit includes a rod, reel, line,...
- READY-TO-FISH: This fly fishing kit includes the Encounter...
- 5-YEAR GUARANTEE: Covered by Orvis's 5-Year,...
It has a graphite construction fly rod blank, encounter reel, weight-forward trout fly line, backing, and a leader, professionally rigged and loaded to fish.
It is more than an entry level fishing rod. This extremely affordable rod is built for the serious angler. This four piece rod is beautifully balanced and evenly weighted to provide a crisp cast and smooth in the water performance.
The Orvis trout fly line, dacron backing and tapered leader combine with the high end rod to provide you with everything you need for a great day’s fishing.
TFO Lefty Kreh Weight Fly Rod
- Smooth and powerful, medium fast rods
- Black matte finished blanks, gold logos for style
- Anodized reel seats with aluminum inserts
The Temple Fork Outfitters Left Kreh series of fly rods are medium fast and progressive action rods that provide a smooth cast.
These rods are extremely powerful and very forgiving – and they are available at a very attractive price point! The rod features black matte finish blanks and gold logos.
Alignment dots are color coded by line weight. This rod also has premium grade cork with burled accents and oversized stripper guides. You also get new adonized reel seats with braided carbon fiber inserts.
KastKing Anglers Of Honor Fly Rod
- Special Tribute to our Heroes – The Anglers of Honor Fly...
- Premium Performance Fly Rod – The KastKing Anglers of...
- CNC Machined Aluminum Fly Reel – Each 4-pc fly combo comes...
The KastKing Anglers of Honor is a special edition fly rod in honor of disabled veterans. This four piece fly fishing combo rod in four sizes; 7’6” 3 wt, 8’6” 4 wt, 9’ 5 wt, 9’ 6 wt or a powerful 9’ 8 wt.
You get a high spec CNC fly rod with disc drag that is pre-loaded with BackKast fly line backing and propel WF floating fly line. The Anglers of Honor rod comes in a beautiful travel case.
For those who already have their own favorite reel, you can also buy the rod separately. This is a medium fast action four piece fly rod which is ideal for most fly fishing styles, from nymphing to delicate dry fly and streamers.
8 Weight Rod Uses
An 8 weight flyrod is perhaps the most versatile of all flyweight rods. It will allow you to fish for the following species:
- Bass
- Carp
- Large Trout
- Pike
- Salmon
- Steelhead
- Bonefish
- Snook
- Redfish
That is a lot of fish compared to most rod weights. An 8-weight rod will permit you to work with heavier flies than you would be able to with a lighter weight rod. You can even work with most weighted flies.
With an 8-weight rod you get the sweet spot between having enough power to sink down a full sink line and the ability to work more delicately with floating lines.
An 8-weight rod will allow you to work with both heavy and light lines and flies. They also allow for the faster action required in windy conditions that you will encounter when saltwater fishing.
How to Rig an 8 Weight Fly Rod
Rigging a fly rod refers to getting the rod ready for a day out on the water. The components that you will be putting together are the fly line, backing, leader, and tippet.
The first step is to attach the reel to the rod. Then run the backing through the rod guides. Tie it to the spool or arbor using an arbor knot.
Now make use of the backing, which is a Dacron line designed to give extra volume to the reel. You need to wind the backing onto the reel. Keep the line tight with thumb and forefinger.
Be sure to evenly wind it around the spool. Next, cut the line two feet from the rod tip. Now attach the end of the line to the end of the backing.
Then spool the line onto the reel, leaving around two feet hanging over the tip of the rod. Now attach a monofilament leader that is 8-12 feet long to the end of the line.
Next, attach a tippet to the end of the leader using a clinch knot. Wind up any slack and attach the fly hook to the fly keeper. Now get out there and catch some fish!
Weight of a Fly Rod Explained
The weight of a fly rod does not actually refer to the actual physical weight of the rod, but rather to the weight of the line.
Specifically, it refers to the weight in ‘grains’ of the first 30 feet of the working portion of the line. This excludes the tip on the taper of the fly line.
Weight classifications range from 000 to 15. An 8-weight rod is designed to be used with an 8-weight line. It is very important to correctly match the weight of the rod and the weight of the line.