Loomis or not

[Kush]

After many arguments with Madam Moneybags I am allowed now to go and get a new Bream rod. I have about $500 to spend and have heard only good things about Loomis. How do the others compare, Ian Miller etc.

Kush

[Bear]

Kush,
As biased as I may be, the Black Diamonds are well worth a look. Steve Ross was the man behind the Loomis Bream rod here in Aus and was the assembler for Loomis in Australia for many years b4 going out on his own.

Let me know if I can help out.

The SJR720 IMX is a TOP quality rod for breamin, particularly for HB chuckin. You can downgrade to the GL2 which is not so stiff and is highly capable of use with both SP and HB. They'd be my suggestions for Loomis.
The Strudwick range of rods is great. The new TPS is rapidly becoming a VERY popular rod.
The Black Diamond range are also good. As bear said...Steve knows his DohDohDohDoh, and it shows in quality rods!
I suggest you find people who have these rods and ask for a chuck of each. It all depends on how they feel in your hands.
All these rods should be inside your price range.

HTH

Dave

Mate, in that price range go for Black Diamond or Loomis they are simply the best, I use Black Diamond and they would be my first choice, I also own 12 Loomis rods so you know what my second choice would be lol.

There are other good rods on the market, but if you can afford it, then by the best:)

Cheers Samurai

Kush, where do you live?

Samurai

[dantheman]

Try them all out see which one you like best,,
just keep an open mind, get a few diff opinions,
cheers Dan

[Richo]

I agree get ahold of them all at some stage and have a cast, one just may feel better than the others. Im a fan of them all Struddie, Loomis and BDiamond, they`d be the 3 Id be selecting from.

cheers

[Mick]

As the other guys said, have a play with as many brands and models as you can. I currently use struddies and diawa rods but have had the opportunity to play with a number of other rods in the past including different loomis models, BD, Remington and Bream Busters.

The pick of the bunch was easily the Bream Busters with a few others following close. I know struddie are bringing out some new models paticularly aimed at bream spinning and I'm looking forward to their release.

Good luck with your choice.

[peter bear]

:D i had my first play with my new breamreaper over the weekend, all ican say is SENSATIONAL casts a SP and HB with no effort what so ever .
my loomis is now my backup rod .

good hunting kush on a new rod ,with that sort of money you have a lot of choises.
peter. ;)

[Mossops Morgan]

Kush,
In your price range I would check out CBR841 Spin. It is an awesome rod and is brilliant for both hardbods and softies. They retail for around the $400 mark. You would have no trouble catching bream bass flatties trevors queenies jacks squire etc etc. And always remember with G.Loomis you get your Lifetime Expediter Warranty plus one of the best rods in the world.

:cool:Jay(MOSSOPS)Morgan :cool:

[Strewth]

Have an IMX 842-2 (made up as a light baitcaster) and a GL3 842-2 (as a spin stick). Great rods. Can throw SPs or harddbodies all day and 7' is a nice length. Handled everthing from 53 cm Bass to 45 cm Bream with no dramas.

Haven't seen the BD range, so can't comment.

Strewth

[wandtheswan]

be sure to check out the Daiwa Heartland Z range also. the guides on them are awesome:D
But yeah, find something you are comfortable with
cheers

:cool:

I'll agree, the Heartlands are great rods...
beware though...the lack of warranty may sting when the inevitable happens!:mad:

Dave

[tryhard]

What I want to know is how you managed to get $500 out of madam moneybags - a few tips wouldn't go astray !!! :D

[chris_lemess]

Kush - it's the same old story. You ask this question, about a specific rod brand, and you're inevitably subjected to bias from long-time users, sponsored individuals etc.

This is all well and good and every scrap of information is definately usefull, but the best thing is to go out and play with a few yourself. I've sold rods to many a people, and it's crazy that people come in and despite it being the first light bream rod they've felt, say "oooh yes this is nice" and snap it up straight away. You really do need to compare. And that can mean a fair bit of travelling around. Perhaps the best way to decide is to head to one of the BREAM rounds and ask to feel and play with a few of the rods. I'm sure most people would oblige.

For $500 you should be able to get a very nice custom rod built; with "awesome" (as wandtheswan calls them) guides - ie. standard framed Fuji SiCs or higher - plus you can have top Fuji componentry throughout the rod as well. You'll tend to find that off-the-shelf rods often lack quality in the componentry and charge an arm and a leg for relatively simply components, whereas when you buy the bits and pieces yourself or through a rod builder you get a better deal. (Having said that; rod builders often charge an arm and a leg for labour, which puts many people off: also the fact that you can't try before you buy, you just gotta trust 'em!)
The advantage of doing this is that you can select a quality blank (Loomis offers some great ones even in the lower-end GL2 range) that is perfect for the job you want in terms of length, action etc (easy after you've tried plenty of built-up rods from different manafacturers), and select exactly how you want it built; eg. so you don't end up with a foot of useless cork sticking out the back of your reel seat on a supposedly single-handed flick rod.

Well when put on the subject of rods I do tend to ramble on, but I hope this has helped in some manner; remember to try plenty of rods - do some fishing with them, and don't succumb to the first nice *expensive* rod you try.

I'm sure you'll get plenty more recommendations of everyone's favourite rod brands; in terms of blanks, check out the full Loomis range, GraphiteUSA, Rainshadow, and any other high quality graphite blanks.

Good luck - remember, don't play around with that sort of money. I blow heaps on my gear, but a fair bit of thought goes in first, and I tend to try and work it out for myself; although others' opinions do often help!

cheers

Now there's the voice of years of experience:D :D

Samurai

[Bear]

The beauty of a forum such as this is that you can at least find out what other rods are available on the market. Shops tend to be very brand specific and you could waste a lot of fuel running from one to the other.

Chris has a great suggestion of going to the comps and ask some of the guys to have a look at theirs. On top of that you should also be taking your reel in with you when you check out the rod you wish to buy.

A rod with no reel can seem very different once you have you reel on it. The balance is all important.

If you can, PM some of the guys who have these rods and see if you can get out for a fish with them, if they don't mind.

In the end, it is a very personal choice and one that should not be taken lightly given the dollars involved.

One thing that no one seems to have mentioned is that you should take good care of any graphite rod you purchase. They are NOT indestructable and should be treated with the respect they deserve. A little care and maintenance will mean a long and happy relationship.

[chris_lemess]

Yeah that's the one Samurai... :) Showing my age? Maybe we should listen more to old b@stards like yourself. ;)

[Cindy]

There have been mention of Black Diamond and top quality Rainshadow USA blanks. Those who know our product know we are Rainshadow's exclusive dealer in Australia and that we build our rods on their blanks. There will be alot of new info released in the near future on Rainshadow/Forecast/ Batson's collaboration with Black Diamond. There are some exciting things up ahead.

On the issue of Warranty/Replacement Programs, we also have such a deal like our competitors that takes care of accidental breakage. No one need fear in buying a Black Diamond. We are a company that cares about our customers and reflect it in our fair policies.

Cheers,
Cindy Ross
Black Diamond Tailored Rods Pty Ltd

[bparker]

Can some of you who have had tried out the top end rods spell out some of their attributes and qualities...for example, what makes a Bream Buster better than a Strudie?

[cyclops]

I'm also a rodaholic, who owns rods built by just about every rod builder mentioned so far. I'm not recommending any particular rod, but would like to congratulate Bream Master for demonstrating how information about products should be shared by fishing enthusiasts without censorship by moderators.

Bream Master is setting the standard for forums on the Australain net.

Congratulations Bream Master

pete

[Geoff R]

He may be Young, but i doubt there is a Techno Nerd out there that can Match him:D , Chris spends hours at work in the tackle stores pouring over all the bits of paper you get in the box of your reels. Loading rods up out the back of the shop to see how tough they are, and he is more than passionate about fishing, he knows his stuff, if ever i have a technical question he's the man i go see.
He's like one of those 15 year old computer hacker whizz kids, except he is 18-19 and love's playing with his tackle:D
Regards Geoff

[Geoff R]

Mate i think it would be wrong to get guys to say why they reckon one rod is better than the other, Rods are such a personal choice I don't think you would be getting practical answers.
We are all differant animals with differant tastes, and bear in mind i don't believe there is a perfect all round Bream stick, most of us are carrying a quiver of rods nowadays to cover all aspects of our sport.
The rods Spoken about here are some of the best, i don't believe you can compare quality, it's more about the feel of each. That is something only the user can decide upon.
Good luck
Geoff

[bparker]

Geoff P...

Fair point..I think I phrased my question poorly. I'm not really concerned about comparing one rod to another

I still wouldn't mind knowing what it was about a particular rod that made you choose it..more than just that it 'feels right' anyway.

It's not always easy to find some of these high-end rod's in the shop to try them out ...getting a detailed appraisal from those in the know is the next best option.

Spot on Geoff, there's nothing like tackle shop testing:D beat doing it in the field anyday:D

Samurai

[chris_lemess]

Heh heh... :)

[Dave W]

In reality, if you go to the local tacklo with your own reel, and they won't let you put in onto a rod, take it out to the carpark with a casting plug (cut down to simulate the weight of a jighead) and have a few casts then don't give them your business - the good shops certainly let you :)

[Shauno]

I appreciate all the opinions as well! thanks Breammaster and it's forum fans!