Rod builders and factory rods

[ECobb91]

Have any of you rod builders ever picked up a factory rod and thought “wow this is truly something special”?

the other week I was in a tackle shop in Saranac Lake and was just looking at a bunch of rods that I’ve never seen in person before. Even with my very limited experience in building, I felt that most of the rods I’ve built were either equivalent to, or better than those i was holding.

Then I picked up a Loomis IMX and that rod felt perfect. Perfect balance, great handle assembly, very lightweight, loved the action of the blank etc. that rod raised the bar of how I want my rods to feel. It made me realize I need to do a much better job than what I’m currently doing. I wish there was an exceptional rod builder nearby that I can bring my rods to and have them critique the crap out of them so I can become better.

[shfishinsticks]

If Loomis still sold blanks, that's probably all I'd build on, however, their production rod build quality doesn't impress me. I've done too many repairs/modifications on them to see how they're put together. Excessive epoxy in the grip/seat assembly, excessive finish on the guides, crooked guides, poor wraps. I'm sure they fish just fine, but they could fish better.

[harrys]

Scott, doesn't Loomis use a lot of NFC blanks? I agree with your comments above on not see manufactured rods that compare with good custom builds I have also fixed many new bought rods, loose reel seats and crooked guides seem to be the biggest issues along with not enough and improper spaced guides.

Two questions, when you say excessive epoxy on seat assemblies do you mean like its squeezed out onto handles and not been cleaned off? The second what do mean by excessive finish on guides....to long of wraps, to thick epoxy? I ask these questions with full respect to your comments I am trying to learn by them, I tend to go thick on my thread epoxy and I squeeze a lot of glue out when I slid my seats and handles on and try to be sure they are full but then I do a lot of clean up right away to be sure none is on the handles or seats when I am done?

[JJohnSind]

If you can’t beat a Loomis IMX on a custom build, you still have some building experience to develop. There are plenty of great rods out there though, and seeing them inspires me and gets me new ideas.

[ECobb91]

It was more about the feel of the rod that impressed me the most. The quality control wasnt on par with the price that’s for sure. But I also fully acknowledge I have a ton of building experience I need to develop. I’ve only built 8 conventional rods. Each one gets better than the one prior but I still am not where I want to be yet.

the rods I’ve built have felt good, very light too, but no where near where I’d consider myself proficient or even an experienced/quality builder. I’ve built on RG Carbon2 blanks, MHX color series, CRB, Mudhole OEM, and NFC XRay blanks. They feel better than comparable factory rods but still not 100% blown away by them.

[shfishinsticks]

Scott, doesn't Loomis use a lot of NFC blanks? I agree with your comments above on not see manufactured rods that compare with good custom builds I have also fixed many new bought rods, loose reel seats and crooked guides seem to be the biggest issues along with not enough and improper spaced guides.

Two questions, when you say excessive epoxy on seat assemblies do you mean like its squeezed out onto handles and not been cleaned off? The second what do mean by excessive finish on guides....to long of wraps, to thick epoxy? I ask these questions with full respect to your comments I am trying to learn by them, I tend to go thick on my thread epoxy and I squeeze a lot of glue out when I slid my seats and handles on and try to be sure they are full but then I do a lot of clean up right away to be sure none is on the handles or seats when I am done?

No. Loomis doesn't use NFC blanks. The excessive epoxy on the seats and grips is pooled up internally. The excessive finish is in the form of footballs and finish running up the guide leg.

If you want to get a thinner coat of finish, once all the wraps are coated, stop the rod for a couple minutes to let the finish droop. wick the excess off the bottom and rotate the rod 180. let it settle again and repeat. Then, let the rod rotate til cured.

[ridgerunner6901]

Alx rods still impress me. I cant build something comparable much cheaper than they will sell them to me. Not in the sense of perfect, fancy and ornate, just fumctionality with good quality build and componants.

[Solitario Lupo]

I’ve bought a rod thought how great is this feels nice solid. Great all around in the store but when I brought it out into action and caught some fish on it thought this rod really sucks. A 300$ rod now just basically sits cause I built a better one and saved some money.

[ifishinxs]

I stopped building fresh water rods when Loomis and St Croix stopped selling Blanks. Nothing on the market comes close. You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig. North Fork would be my only choice now. The blank and action are the heart of the rod.

Loomis rods are made in Washington state. They do not scource rods from anywere. The rods are wrapped by hand. Having said that they are still massed produced and will have some slight imperfections at times. Custom rod builders can do a better job in this regard consistantly.

[Spoonplugger1]

You can attribute the feel to the blanks, but you I believe would be off base a bit, Gary Loomis has always been a proponent of ergonomics, his rods felt right because they were built right from that prospective. Look at the popular bling reel seats being built, 16 mm, and yet you look at the grip assemblies on the Loomis spinning rods they are between 23 and 27 mm in size depending on what is used. Is it cheaper? Nope. Is it better? I think that has been answered above.
Look at the Edge rods, the same philosophy still being done, spinning reel seat of their own design made in the US that fits seamlessly to their 27 mm rear grip, the same size grip as any standard trigger reel seat to 20 mm out there. Look at their trigger reel seat, it is on the long-loved Wiebe designed offset seat, the hole through the seat is offset towards the trigger about 3/8" and centered in the front, you can see the angle at the back of the seat. This rises the grip up so round and low built reels alike can be better palmed and manipulated while fishing. Another US design, built in the US for Edge, the old Loomis IMX and GLX rods had this trigger reel seat. Cheaper? Nope. Better? I'm a fan and have been for decades.

[willwork4fish]

Most Megabass rods I've handled. If I didn't build that's what I'd be using. I've got a Levante Shaky Head that I got in a trade that I use quite a bit.

I also have one Carrot Stick Wild Black ML spinning rod that was on closeout at a tackle shop for $89 probably 10 years ago. It's honestly not all that well built but it feels great, super light and is an awesome Ned rod, I don't know that I could build one that feels as good for $89.

[dv616]

I just picked up a Steez Compile X 76mml to see what it is all about. Now, I want to see what blanks I have that are similar in power and action and compared finished projects. My builds are pretty basic and without extra bling though ( intentionally)

[Jfish]

You can attribute the feel to the blanks, but you I believe would be off base a bit, Gary Loomis has always been a proponent of ergonomics, his rods felt right because they were built right from that prospective. Look at the popular bling reel seats being built, 16 mm, and yet you look at the grip assemblies on the Loomis spinning rods they are between 23 and 27 mm in size depending on what is used. Is it cheaper? Nope. Is it better? I think that has been answered above.
Look at the Edge rods, the same philosophy still being done, spinning reel seat of their own design made in the US that fits seamlessly to their 27 mm rear grip, the same size grip as any standard trigger reel seat to 20 mm out there. Look at their trigger reel seat, it is on the long-loved Wiebe designed offset seat, the hole through the seat is offset towards the trigger about 3/8" and centered in the front, you can see the angle at the back of the seat. This rises the grip up so round and low built reels alike can be better palmed and manipulated while fishing. Another US design, built in the US for Edge, the old Loomis IMX and GLX rods had this trigger reel seat. Cheaper? Nope. Better? I'm a fan and have been for decades.

Totally agree, the old IMX and GLX rods were way ahead of the competition during their day.