Looking for an 8 weight fly rod? 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. Below we show you the best selling 8 weight fly rods.
In Hurry? This Is Our Top Pick!
M MAXIMUMCATCH Starter Fly Rod
- 【Everything You Need To Go Fishing】 –We offer this full kit with...
- 【ONE-YEAR-WARRANTY and LIFETIME Repairing Warranty】 - MAXCATCH as...
- 【Exclusive MAXLINQ Rod Technology】 – Pure IM7 24T plus 30T...
Why is it better?
- Fast rod action
- Carbon fiber
- Dozen hand-tied flies included
4 Best 8 Weight Rods For Fly Fishing
With that in mind, let’s now take a closer look at our top picks.
Let’s dive into the specifics and review each rod individually. You can use the list below to jump and review specific models, or you can read along and go through all the information.
- M MAXIMUMCATCH Starter Fly Rod
- Orvis Encounter Fly Rod
- TFO Lefty Kreh Weight Fly Rod
- KastKing Anglers Of Honor Fly Fishing Rod
Best Overall: M MAXIMUMCATCH Starter Fly Rod
- 【Everything You Need To Go Fishing】 –We offer this full kit with...
- 【ONE-YEAR-WARRANTY and LIFETIME Repairing Warranty】 - MAXCATCH as...
- 【Exclusive MAXLINQ Rod Technology】 – Pure IM7 24T plus 30T...
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
- ENCOUNTER FLY ROD OUTFIT provides performance for serious anglers....
- ACCESSIBLE FOR BEGINNING ANGLERS and is the perfect fly fishing kit to...
- 4-PIECE FLY ROD AND REEL COMBO packaged with an Encounter large arbor...
The Orvis Encounter 8-Weight 9’ Fly rod provides you with an Orvis Encounter Fly Rod Outfits feature a graphite construction fly rod blank, Encounter reel, weight-forward trout fly line, backing, and a leader, professionally rigged and loaded to fish.
The Orvis Encounter Fly Rod 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.
Your purchase of the TFO Left Kreh Weight Fly Rod comes with a logoed rod sock.
KastKing Anglers Of Honor Fly Fishing Rod
- Special Tribute to our Heroes – The Anglers of Honor Fly Rod &...
- Premium Performance Fly Rod – The KastKing Anglers of Honor Fly...
- CNC Machined Aluminum Fly Reel – Each 4-pc fly combo comes complete...
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 Fly FAQ
WHAT IS AN 8WT FLY ROD GOOD FOR?
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.
WHAT DOES THE WEIGHT OF A FLY ROD MEAN?
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.
HOW DO YOU RIG A 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!
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