Shane Dyason
Being self-employed fitting irrigation systems and landscape gardening, Shane can suit his working hours around tournament angling and his passion is the ABT Bream tournament circuit around the country.

Fishing journalism and tournament fishing allow me to travel around the country and, fortunately, I get the chance to experience some great fishing in many different locations.  One main aspect of traveling with fishing gear is being able to transport it with minimal fuss, especially rods.  I find it a major advantage that no matter what models I will be fishing with from the Nitro range, I know they will be at least two piece and that is always an advantage especially when flying can restrict the length of rod tubes you can carry.

These days I would have to say that 90% of my fishing time is spent casting lures, whether it is in a tournament situation or just fishing socially.  I spend a lot of hours on the water and usually make hundreds of casts in a session so it’s important to have rods that are not only light,  but are comfortable to use for long durations, yet still have enough power to stop hard running fish when I need it. Nitro tournament rods fulfil all these requirements.

I am fortunate enough to have been involved with Innovator since the start of the Nitro range and it has been exciting to watch the range grow into the product it is today.  Apart from there exceptional blank quality and components used, the main advantage the Nitro range has over many competitors is the company and brand is Australian owned allowing each model to be specifically designed and built to suit Aussie fish in Aussie conditions.  Go and fish with one, you won’t be disappointed.

Neil Grose
Neil Grose was one of Tasmania's leading trout and bream fishing guides and is a highly regarded fly casting instructor and the author of two highly acclaimed books on fly fishing. He is currently the editor of The Tasmanian Sportsfisher magazine - here he talks about Innovator and their rods.

There is only one choice for anglers looking for a fly rod for Australian waters- a fly rod designed and refined by Australian experts - and that choice is Innovator.

The Innovator brand is synonymous with quality, commitment to customer satisfaction, and value for money. Add to this an unparalleled level of service and you can see why this Australian fly rod company is such a success. No other rod company has such a level of commitment to Australian anglers.

There is an Innovator fly rod to suit every fly-fishing situation, from casting tiny dries to fussy stream browns, chasing trout chasing mayfly duns, to drifting the lakes loch style, or tackling blue water pelagics. Each rod has been carefully designed to give you the angler the best performing rod for each occasion and at great value for money. Not to mention that unbeatable Rod Insurance Policy. These rods will maximise your potential, and to help you to catch more fish. And we all want to catch more of those!

There are many rods in the Innovator range, from the incredible value of their entry level Distance rods to the stunning new Velocity rods which, once the basics have been mastered, will have you on the cutting edge of technology. So which rod will suit your personal situation? An extremely good question, and as you would expect, Innovator can match you to the rod that best suits your fishing situation.

There are three main aspects to Australian fly-fishing, stream fishing, lake fishing, and salt-water fishing. And while there is always an Innovator rod that allows you to specialise, Innovator also has rods that allow you to fish effectively across these separate methods.More from Neil Grose at www.tasmaniansportsfisher.com.au

Paul Dolan
Paul Dolan from Fraser Coast Sportfishing provides his opinion on the Innovator range of spin, Baitcaster and Fly and why he believes these rods ensure a steady return clientele to his guiding business.

I have been using Innovator Nitro rods on my Charter Boats in both fresh and saltwater for the last 3 & 1/2 years and have found them to be fantastic fishing rods. They have handled the rigours of charter fishing and still show no signs of undue wear and have landed many great captures for my clients and have had quite a few purchase these rods for there personal use after trying them.

During my guiding the clients are provided with the Ultralight spin for bass and bream, the Dominator Extreme Barra and Viper for large impoundment barra. I utilise the Viper and magnum butt for open saltwater angling chasing longtail tuna, Mack tuna, Mackerel, Golden Trevally along with reef and bottom dwelling species.

I have found the versatility of these models to be outstanding during my guiding as they cover such a broad range of situation from casting metal slugs and soft plastics to surface feeding pelagics allowing incredible distances to be cast with their sensitive tips but then having the low down grunt in the mid to butt section to subdue these powerful tuna.

I have found the Viper a great rod for working plastics for reef species like snapper, coral trout and other reef dwellers, as they have the sensitivity in the tip to feel the most timid bites but then have that incredible power in the mid to butt section when needed to stop these rampaging species from finding their homes amongst the reef.

I also use the Innovator Fly rods range for my flyfishing clients and have landed many good Golden Trevally to 12kg along with big Queenfish and Longtail tuna to 20kg on them.

I would not hesitate for a second in recommending these rods to anyone looking for top quality fishing rod for all of the above mentioned species and more.

As a professional guide I cannot afford to use inferior products as my livelyhood hinges on client's success and I truly believe these rods give my clients the edge while on board my boat to a successful days angling.

You can see for yourself the fish these rods have captured, and continue to capture, in the photo gallery on my web site. www.frasercoastsportfishing.com

I have been using just about the full range of Nitro Rods for the past four years and have experienced nothing but satisfaction,useability and reliability- what more could any angler ask of a rod.

This Testimonial is especially for two of my most used the Undertaker (Classic Barra/Cod) and the Dominator (Extreme Barra) both are 6’6” . These rods have had several trips to Weipa and many trips to Queensland's Barra Dams and have survived everything asked of them without failure or any hint of a problem.

Both rods are super strong and offer exceptional fish stopping ability, coupled with a good quality reel they are extremely light and accurate to cast and allow even us older anglers to cast for many hours without fatigue.

I was fortunate to be part of the Nitro Tournament Rods team that participated in the recent southern rounds of the ABT Barra tour held at Lake Awoonga and Monduran dams and these rods ably assisted the team to take first place at the Monduran two day morning event.

Whether casting plastics into crazy bust ups in the rip at Port Philip Heads or chasing Snapper in Corio Bay. One thing is for sure, you need kick ass rods! Our choice is the Distance Spin 7’6”and its big brother the Magnum Butt 7’6”. We have been using these rods for 3 seasons and I love them with a passion (slightly over the top, I know)!

The Australian Salmon and Kingfish can be spooked if you get the boat to close. This is when the Distance Spin comes into its own. Having the ability to cast light jig heads and stick baits long distances is often the difference between catching fish and not catching fish. The high-modulus graphite and the extra length, gives us the ability to be able to present our lures and then the finesse to be able to twitch these lures through the schools. On hook up is when you really feel the quality of the rods, in my opinion many rod builders these days concentrate on accuracy and distance, and forget the most important part, you need the gutts to be able to stop fish and put the hurt on! The rip at Port Philip heads can scream out at up to 10 knots, it is crucial the rod has the balls to turn the fish and these rods have!

We also use the Nitro Distance Spin 7’6” to work soft plastic and hard body lures when chasing Snapper in Corio Bay. The Bay is well known for its massive Snapper, on many occasions we found ourselves under gunned. That was until we started using the Distance Spin, the light tips on the rods give you the ability to feel even the smallest of knocks and most importantly allows you to impart the action required to make the soft plastic as deadly is it is! When you hook the Snapper of a life time and he screams off into the backing, you have confidence in these rods, you will stop him, no doubt!

Firstcast Fishing Adventures has built its reputation by using only the best products across the board. In my opinion Nitro Rods are second to none when it comes to this type of fishing and I would absolutely not hesitate in recommending them to anybody that wants the best.

Want some proof? Check out our website at www.firstcast.com.au

I might be a relative newcomer to using Nitro rods, but over the last nine months I can tell you I’ve made up for lost time! I fish the wonderfully rich and expansive Gippsland Lakes area, and plenty of regular sorties into Far East Gippsland. My love for hauling big nasty four pound bream out of snags is challenged only by doing battle with even bigger estuary perch. To have any success over these brawling opponents, you have to use tough, extreme, hardy and reliable gear. I have to use 8lb gel spun main line and 16lb leaders.

My biggest asset however, has now come with my use of Nitro rods. In particular the Ultrabream Finesse 6’6” and the Ultralight Spin 6’6”. These rods have a flexible tip for pin point casting into tricky structure, but reinforced with an incredibly strong backbone for horsing out spiteful snag dwelling fish. To make matters worse, I fish out of a kayak and at times when doing battle with these fish it’s hard to know who has who! I need the pulling power of a Mack truck to turn fish before they even know they are hooked. Nitro rods have the horse power I need, yet allow for finesse presentations.

When it comes to fishing, I do not suffer gimmicks lightly and I don’t like to follow trends or fads. I fish hard, long and often so I just want gear that works. I even admit to being a little sceptical in the past that any rod would suit my needs - and at the right price. Well I now admit to being wrong, and I have even had great success chasing flathead with the Powerbream Finesse 7’0”. This rod enables me to make super long casts over vast sand flats to efficiently cover large areas. Also, my love for surf fishing has seen me use the Distance Spin 7’6” for casting heavy ¾ ounce soft plastics way out into the surf for Salmon and Tailor. Again both these rods have the right balance of a tough backbone and the flexible tips for easy and efficient casting.

My final comment is simple - Thanks Nitro.