muskie on 909 shooting head fly rod

R.B. Meiser 909 CX Two Handed Shooting Head Rods

… The flex and power of the two-handed 909 rods are far different then that of conventional single hand fly rods. These are not your dad's fly rods ... !!! And although these rods will allow extreme distance deliveries with only a minimal amount of expended energy ... Extreme distance is not their primary goal. Their primary goal is to minimize the physical burden of repetitious single hand delivery of extreme shooting heads by allowing the caster the logical advantage inherent of two-handed deliveries ...

… By definition: These are short two handed rods that are designed specifically to eliminate the physical burden of single hand double haul deliveries … And especially to aide anglers in repetitious search casting with extreme shooting heads and big bugs.

The continuous single hand delivery of heavy shooting heads with monster flies in tow can weary any caster’s arms, wrists and shoulders over time. Using a tool that will allow an efficient two handed overhead delivery will without question minimize this physical burden.

We have found that it is very common for fly anglers to bring their single handed athletic memory into the two handed realm. This being especially true for those anglers with a long history of single handed shooting head delivery. For these casters it becomes quickly apparent that their most efficient deliveries will come about by disciplining themselves to actually back-off on the throttle. We’ll always recommend that these casters slow down, minimize expended energy, and shorten their stroke. Simply utilize their entire upper torso to generate the required power source, allowing the rod do all the work. Spreading out this physical burden is far more efficient then continuously attempting to source this energy from a single arm and shoulder.

… The bottom line is that using a two handed rod for overhead deliveries is a logical, intelligent and efficient means by which to deliver a heavy pay load.

Most anglers will use these short two handed as boat rods. They have great advantages in this application as they are short enough to be used as levering tools to manage explosive fish at the gunnels, and powerful enough to turn large fish on burst speed runs.

These are ideal rods for large game fish that will only begin an explosive battle at the first sight of the boat like Muskie or Monster Pike …

muskie on fly rod

… For turning a Giant Trevally before he can reach jagged coral heads.

giant trevally

… Or for stopping an aggressive burst speed run of an adult Tarpon.

tarpon

…. One of the most common applications for the 909 series has been among our boat anglers for targeting Musky and Monster Pike.

pike

Flies used for these magnificent game fish are among the largest used in the fly fishing community often exceeding 20” in length, and it does take some serious graphite and massive shooting head grain weight to efficiently deliver them.

Another characteristic of both Muskies and Pike are that they will often follow your fly right to the boat, and while the angler has their attention, they will attempt to entice them by swimming the fly with the rod tip in a figure eight right at the gunnels … Very much like teasing a cat with a ball of yarn.

This can generate violent strikes, but it does take a lot of tip power to accomplish this. Pike and Musky do have notoriously boney mouths, and a solid hook set is critical to maintain connection. This too does require a very aggressive rod with a lot of backbone and massive tip power to successfully drive the hook at the set.

There is also the obvious situation of successfully managing and defeating 30 + pounds of angry, freshly hooked Esox beating you up at the gunnels.

This can be a full-on, stand up fistfight in a phone booth with these big guys ... You can’t chase them down a bar like a river hooked Salmon or Steelhead.

You’ve gotta just stand your ground right there in the boat … And duke it out one on one …

… But after all <> Therein lies the joy and challenge of fishing for these toothy, big pot-bellied ass kickers … And why fly anglers hold them in such high esteem as among the world's finest fly caught game fish.

The 909 will take on all of these tasks with ease: Exactly as they were designed to do.

Rod/line marriages for the efficient delivery of these aggressive short two handed rods will be very specific, but this issue has come a long way in recent years. Several of the major line manufacturers do now have shooting heads that will marry to these rods very well for both fresh and saltwater environments. We do design and build all of our own lines as well. We can supply custom built, grain matched line systems for these unique powerful rods, and they can be designed to specifically meet your defined fishing environments.

R.B. Meiser 909 CX Two Handed Shooting Head Rods

ModelLengthSectionsGrainsLineHeadHead WtStandardCustom
S2H90967CX-3 or 49’9”3 or 4400/550618’/30’400/450830.00980.00
S2H90978CX-3 or 49’9”3 or 4450/650718’/30’450/500830.00980.00
S2H90989CX-3 or 49’9”3 or 4500/700818’/30’500/550830.00980.00
S2H909910CX-3 or 49’9”3 or 4550/750918’/30’550/600830.00980.00
S2H9091011CX-3 or 49’9”3 or 4600/8001018’/30’600/650830.00980.00