In this review we take a look at the latest fly fishing rod from Hardy, the Marksman.
The Hardy Marksman is the follow up rod to the now discontinued Hardy Ultralite, which is going to be a tough act to follow! Sitting at the top of the range, this flagship Hardy rod was designed by and developed in Alnwick England during Hardy's 150th year in 2023.
I believe World Champion Howard Croston was behind the development of the complete Marksman range. Howard, if you didn't know, is one of the most talented all-round fly anglers in the UK. Anything he has a hand in, whether Hardy or Greys, is always going to be excellent in my opinion, but of course the best way to find out is to get out there and do a test.
We don't have a casting pond at Garry Evans, but with a park just a short stroll, I headed off with the 9’6 #7 weight model of the Marksman with an Airflo Switch reel loaded with the new Vision Hero 95 line in a WF7.
The cosmetics of the rod are certainly impressive; the rod is a smart matt brown colour (which Hardy call ‘golden olive’) nothing too flashy but nice and understated, with some fine black and green detail in the whippings. The reel seat is no nonsense, not quite as flashy as the Ultralite was, but still with a really nice premium feel. It locks sweetly into position too.
You do of course get a beautiful aluminum rod tube, a high quality cloth bag and the little machined insert plugs that go into the rod sections when in storage, which is a nice little touch from Hardy.
There are some changes over its predecessor, with ‘proper’ stripper guides replacing the flexible titanium recoil guides found on the Ultralite, which were sometimes prone to damage and to be fair, were not to everyone's taste.
The handle is nice and comfortable, not too thick and just right for being able to feel the rod flex through to your hand.
Onto the casting….
First off, I started with a few shorter casts. Immediately I can feel the rod. It's smooth, with a great recovery rate. It loads sweetly with just a few yards of line out. That is really encouraging, as I prefer ‘fishing rods’ rather than ‘distance pokers’.
I then had a good play with it, extending the head of the fly line and really winding the casts up. Even with a lot of line in the air the rod felt stable, smooth and never overgunned, with a reserve of power still there in the butt section, which I’m sure a really competent caster could take full advantage of. I managed to shoot a full fly line out on a couple of occasions, it really was easy to hit a good cast with this rod. (The Vision Hero fly line is excellent by the way! A bit like an Airflo 40+ but not quite as heavy in the head.)
I have to say, the Marksman is a really pleasant rod to use. Your timing doesn't have to be perfect, it's quite forgiving and it feels light in the hand with abaundant feel. I’m sure it would handle sinking lines with no issue, although you'll probably want an Ultralight X for the really heavy Di8's and Booby Basher lines.
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Overall, I think Hardy has produced another superb ‘fishing rod’ here, something that most anglers will be able to get straight into, it's very user friendly and just a pleasure to cast.
Would I use one? Most definatly. The 9’6 #7 would be the perfect fly rod for bank fishing on a stillwater fishery, or on a medium sized reservoir from the shore. I’d imagine if you hooked a good fish the blank would curve nicely, yet you’d have some decent power in the butt to play a fish hard when needed.
I will try to get out on a lake and catch a fish on this rod soon, so look out for an updated review on the Hardy Marksman fly rod later in the year!
Hardy Marksman fly rods are available on our website or in-store. For the latest deals, drop us an email or give us a call.