New Primal RAW and MEGA CCC | Review by Yoshi Nakagawa
The Primal RAW and its saltwater brother the Primal MEGA were the original two series for the Primal brand which launched in 2018. Since its introduction five seasons ago the Raw series has literally taken the world by storm and gained a following not just in New Zealand and Australia but have become one of the biggest selling rods in Europe. The Mega on the other hand has become one of the go to saltwater rods for Australian anglers catching everything from black marlin to bonefish.
New for this season Primal have updated the RAW and Mega series with a new technology called CCC. The CCC stands for Compressed Carbon Chain technology that utilises an exterior carbon wrap on the blank that shrinks at a rapid rate during the curing process to create a denser rod wall. From a fishing perspective this makes for a crisper rod with less vibrations throughout the cast and a much stronger construction especially when it comes to lifting power in saltwater and impact resistance when casting heavy nymphs. The blanks still maintain the Nano resin and Carbon helical of the original models and carbon fibre is supplied by the Japanese company Toray, so in short no cost has been spared in their construction.
I first cast a prototype rod with the CCC technology two years ago with Rene Vaz Primal's rod designer. Over the past 2 years the team have taken their time to refine the technology, work on the action of every model and design some stand out componentry and tubes to really elevate the rods. Both series of rods are massive, Raw runs from 5 to 8 weight but also includes 9’6” and 10’0” models in #6 and 7 weights. The Mega runs from 9’ #6 through to 12 and also includes a couple of 8’ models which would be perfect for kayak anglers in NZ. In freshwater the two most popular models will most certainly be the 9’ #5 and 6, both of these balance an easy loading tip and mid section with an incredibly powerful butt and rapid recovery. The result is a rod that is incredibly accurate and easy to cast when sight fishing yet has the power to handle big casts and big fish when it matters.
The saltwater models are surprisingly not too stiff making them perfect for throwing heavy flies and a variety of fly lines. Its also perfect for flats fishing where a quick cast is a good cast. That easy casting style is backed up by powerful butt sections for lifting fish or locking up on a big fish as it heads for structure.
The new CCC models have updated handle shapes, custom reel seats, high quality SIC stripping guides and titanium coated snake guides. All rods are 4pc and come in a new moulded ABS plastic rod tube which look pretty sweet. The rods are available individually for $599.99 or as well appointed combo’s offering a significant saving for $999.99. Like many I’ve always been a fan of the Raw and Mega series, its great to see their update being such a significant lift in everything from blank construction and action to components and the finer details.
About the Author - Kiyoshi Nakagawa
Simply put, Yoshi is the man. Head of Fly Fishing at North Shore Hunting & Fishing, Yoshi also guides throughout the world and has a particular penchant for a wee stream in the Rotorua region. Hit him up on instagram @NZYoshi as he's a dab hand at photography too.