Titanium Muscle Meets Flats Finesse

Gear Review: Epic 890Ti Fly Rod

Southflyfisher was provided the Epic Titanium Series 890Ti Fly Rod by Swift Fly Fishing. This review complies with FTC & NZASA guidelines and our Disclosures policy.

Born in Wanaka. Built for Salt.

Swift Fly Fishing, born out of the rugged beauty of Wānaka, New Zealand, has never been a company content with following the crowd. Instead they’ve carved a now well-trodden path through the fly fishing world by producing the Epic brand of rods and reels that feel alive in the hand, and that carry a mix of precision, style, and personality that has earned them fans around the globe.

Starting with their FastGlass range that reintroduced fiberglass to a new generation of anglers, Epic quickly demonstrated that they could merge performance with soul. Over the years they expanded into custom Studio-built rods, the Reference C series of graphite rods, premium Backcountry and hubless Trutta fly reels, the Graphene (G) series, and now a new Titanium Series that dares to combine strength, speed, and a refined aesthetic for the saltwater traveler who refuses to compromise.

From the company that introduced the angling world to FastGlass favorites – the versatile and now-famous Epic 888, the ten weight Bandit beloved for powerful casts with heavy lines and big flies, and the twelve weight Boca Grande that redefined expectations for big game fiberglass – Epic has consistently delivered saltwater rods that blend performance, durability, and personality. Each of these three is instantly recognizable to experienced anglers everywhere as designs that work as hard as they feel good to fish.

Epic Titanium Series 890Ti Fly Rod

The Titanium Series offers five calibers of four-piece rods across six, seven, eight, nine, and ten weights, each carrying the DNA of Epic’s design philosophy: titanium stripping guides that shrug off corrosion while the Torzite inserts whisper smoothly to the line, stainless steel PVD-coated snake guides, durable anodized aluminum TRI reel seats that feel as good as they look, and fast action satin-finish titanium-reinforced blanks that perform crisply without ever punishing the angler for being human. These are rods that do not flinch in sun, surf, or wind, yet manage to cast with a delicacy that feels almost unfair given their backbone. This is where the new Titanium Series will earn its name and reputation.

The Epic 890Ti fly rod asserts itself as the workhorse of the flats – the eight weight you reach for when you want something that carries both authority and personality to pack for your next saltwater destination.

Taking the Epic 890Ti to Christmas Island was like handing the rod a diploma in saltwater performance. This is a place where bonefish run hard, coral bites back, and the frequent gusts demand a double haul.

Day one and my first casts across the early morning turquoise flats immediately revealed how effortlessly it generates line speed, shooting tight loops into stiff equatorial winds and delicately presenting a light Crazy Charlie to tailing bonefish with no hint of wobble or sluggishness. This rod will drive a grin onto your face faster than a Jimmy Kimmel quip. It was after the first powerful run of a bonefish, the Ti truly shone – bending deep into the butt section, recovering fast, and fighting these muscular fish with authority. Standing on that endless flat, watching line scream off the spool, I understood what Epic meant by “when power needs personality.” Over the course of the week, the rod was soaked, dried, scraped over coral, and sandblasted by wind and grit, and by the end it was pristine, the guides untarnished, the blank as lively as ever.

What sets the 890Ti apart is not just its clear strength and the confidence you get from that. It’s not even its speed and recovery in the cast. It’s the way it balances serious saltwater performance with joy in the hand.

Casting is fast but forgiving, presenting flies with subtlety when needed and with authority when the wind, a change of direction, or a late spotted fish (that happened a lot!) demanded. Long fights feel like part of the fun rather than a test of endurance as the progressive blank bends under pressure yet recovers crisply.

As typical, the travel-friendly four-piece build fits easily into its carbon fibre rod tube, making it the ideal companion for long journeys where every gram matters.

Epic have taken what has been a utilitarian category of late – saltwater rods for harsh environments – and imbued it with their characteristic personality, producing a titanium reinforced tool that is as much about pleasure on the water as it is about surviving punishment.

Final Thoughts

There’s one word that I’m left with after a week using the 890Ti – confidence.

I left Christmas Island with a firm conviction that Epic’s Titanium Series 890Ti is not just another rod in the catalogue but a genuine flagship for my saltwater adventures. It’s a rod that will stand head and shoulders above the best eight weights in the world, while remaining unmistakably Epic. It is fast, tough, reliable, and yet somehow playful – the kind of rod that invites long days on the flats and rewards them with more smiles than stress. A tool that truly embodies ‘strength without stiffness’, yet reminds you that when power needs personality, Epic steps up.

For anyone seeking one rod to carry – across flats, reefs, and on saltwater adventures where conditions are harsh and the fish are unforgiving, the 890Ti is it. Built for the salt, born in Wanaka, and ready to turn heads on flats worldwide.

The Epic 8wt will be joining me in Fanning Island and Aitutaki during 2026, hopefully with a 990Ti riding shotgun for Triggers.

A Fresh Test Awaits

The 890Ti will also be in my luggage for an upper Rio Grande expedition in early 2026, to tackle sea-run browns in the tributaries of this storied Patagonian river system. Access onto the vast estancia of Las Segadas Lodge will provide a superb testing ground for this 890Ti’s freshwater capabilities.