G. Loomis Rod Question

[deathb4disco]

... the only rod that fits all my requirements, 5' or less, good quality blank, and high quality Fuji ceramic guides.

Have you considered St. Croix? Any of these would work for you.

Freshwater-Trout Series
- St. Croix Rod

Freshwater-Panfish Series
- St. Croix Rod

Freshwater-Avid Family
- St. Croix Rod

I would pick an Avid over the Loomis 6010.

[R Shackelford]

Have you considered St. Croix? Any of these would work for you.

Freshwater-Trout Series
- St. Croix Rod

Freshwater-Panfish Series
- St. Croix Rod

Freshwater-Avid Family
- St. Croix Rod

I would pick an Avid over the Loomis 6010.

I did not realize that the Avid came with Alconite guides, you just gave me a lot to think about. The other models by them I had looked at had stainless rings in their guides and it immediately turned me off the whole idea.

[deathb4disco]

I did not realize that the Avid came with Alconite guides, you just gave me a lot to think about. The other models by them I had looked at had stainless rings in their guides and it immediately turned me off the whole idea.

Avids are sweet and cheaper than the Loomis.

[trypman1]

Major Craft JDM rods- come with the toughest guides, you will find.

[CrappiePappy]

Shakelford .... correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that you are using braid. That, coupled with the steel/chrome guides on a glass rod, isn't going to take too much use to start grooves in the guides/tip. And if those grooves get an edge or burr ... your line is going to get shredded, eventually. And if your luck is anything like mine, it'll break on the best fish of the day or year or lifetime.

Best "creek rod" I've used is a 5'6" ESP UL rod (ESP™ High-Performance Ultra Light Rods – Norsemen Outdoors ) but you'd be hard pressed to find a store that sells them, where you could hold one in-hand.

[R Shackelford]

Shakelford .... correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears that you are using braid. That, coupled with the steel/chrome guides on a glass rod, isn't going to take too much use to start grooves in the guides/tip. And if those grooves get an edge or burr ... your line is going to get shredded, eventually. And if your luck is anything like mine, it'll break on the best fish of the day or year or lifetime.

Best "creek rod" I've used is a 5'6" ESP UL rod (ESP™ High-Performance Ultra Light Rods – Norsemen Outdoors ) but you'd be hard pressed to find a store that sells them, where you could hold one in-hand.

That is braid and only the tip on the rod is glass, the rest of the blank is carbon and yes i'm aware of what will happen to my line if it continues, I had it happen with another rod, didn't ever break but my casting suffered terribly. I am retiring the pictured rod asap in favor of a better quality rod.

[Super D]

The IMX is a good series of rods, I have a handful of them in my boat, I would also look into St Croix if I were you

[R Shackelford]

The IMX is a good series of rods, I have a handful of them in my boat, I would also look into St Croix if I were you

I am also considering the St. Croix Avid rod but am on the fence about it, I hear Croix rods run a little stiff for their rating, between that and the Avid being a fast action rod i'm worried about ending up with something stiffer than I'm after. I will prolly take a drive out to Cabela's this week and check out some of their rods, they don't sell the Avid at my local one but I can at least check out their other stuff and see what I think. Thanks for the suggestion.

[murdok]

if your determined not to go the jdm route. st croix would be my pick. ive owed the avids, panfish, and eyecons. the icons are my favorite and come in a variety of lengths and actions. the avids are gonna be the most expensive prob. in the $200.00 range. they have come out with an elite panfish rod now that i have not had my hands on but i would suspect its a great rod but its in the 350.00 range. in my opinion though none of these will out perform a jdm.

[deathb4disco]

... I hear Croix rods run a little stiff for their rating ...

That's not been my experience. It really depends on the model. I loved the Avid 6' UL, but the 6.5' and 7' were way too soft for me. Don't let the "fast" action scare you off. They say that about all the Avid UL rods.

Look, if you want a soft, high-quality, 5' UL rod, the Loomis 6010 fits the bill. (It's the only American-made rod that fits the bill, IMO.) I don't believe I've ever handled the 5' Avid, so I can't compare it to the Loomis.