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The fly rods that I use when fishing in the tropics for the likes of barramundi, mangrove jack, GT's, queenfish and tarpon are #10 weight Redington Predator fly rods. At only 8 foot 3 inches long they are relatively short rods that have turned out ideal for tropical fly fishing amongst the snags in rivers and also around the inshore reefs and headlands. These rods are more than capable of throwing big flies good distances and handling all the species mentioned above and hopefully many more.

Sage performance taper WF-400gr-F

I have tried a number of floating fly lines in the tropics but this is by a long way the best so far. The first line that I trialled before settling on the Sage was a #10 weight Rio Clouser line. That line was bright yellow which was always going to be a problem for me but the bigger problem was that it was so stiff that in Central Queensland it never became flexible enough to comfortably cast. I have fished with the Rio Clouser in Weipa in the middle of summer where it was a little better but I am hopeful that the Sage will outshine the Clouser even there. I also tried Cortland #10 weight tropical floater and that was just too soft even in winter in Central Queensland. The first Sage performance taper that I tried was a 290gr fly line and the problem with that line was that it was not heavy enough to handle big flies on #10 weight fly rods. A little investigation encouraged me to jump the next level and try the 400gr and I am please I did. I have fished that line for a full season now and it handles big flies well and has landed several barramundi, GT's, queenies and even a double hook up of 60cm Tarpon.

Scientific Anglers #11 weight Mastery Series Tarpon clear intermediate WF-11-I

My intermediate line is generally my 'go to' line when fishing in the tropics. I went one weight up on this line because I wanted a line that will load up quicker and handle windy conditions and bigger flies. This line has a 350gr head whereas the #10 weight only has a 300gr head.

Scientific Anglers streamer express Fast Sink WF-400gr-FS

I love fishing with this line and it gets a run most times that I fish deep water, particularly when its windy. It easily shoots 80 feet of fly line and a big fly into the wind and if you get the timing right comfortably turns over a big fly.

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