Thursday, March 17

Finally got to work the Loop rod out.

Although it was a fantastically beautiful day, and I saw some rises on the Upper Yaphank, I couldn't get any takers. But they were getting 'beat up' pretty good by the rusties. I'll just have to get there tomorrow before they wake up. :)

I had a chance to spend three hours with the Loop rod, a 9 foot 4 weight Adventure rod. If I'm not mistaken,
I don't think Loop makes it themselves but has some other country do it.  The price was right. The first time I
practiced with it, I was unimpressed. It felt very mushy to me. That's my way of saying it was really a slow rod.
Today though i had the opportunity to really put it through some paces. 

I first started off with a very long tapered leader, but the wind was blowing pretty good, so i chopped the leader down to about six feet from about twelve. After that it was pretty nice.  Loop control was very nice on the short casts, and when I'd shoot line by really loading deep into the balls, it threw those crazy looking two-point loops. Angle on the bottom leg and the 'curve' was decidedly angular. The rod performed nicely on single-hand spey casts and I could really lean on it with the roll cast (not the traditional roll, more like what
Carl McNeil does in "Casts that Catch Fish") and do over sixty feet no problemo...I can see how a rod that was a little faster would be ideal for me...maybe. I've been using a TiCr and TiCr X, so everything else I have
is decidedly slower.

The finish on the rod is top notch and each section is labled with identifiers. The grip felt a little skinny in my
large hand, but it transmitted very nicely. Beyond 50' though in the wind, I just could not generate sufficient line
speed to go any further. However, with the wind at my back, 90' was no problem either. I was impressed with how smoothly the line left the rod tip, and how nicely it could set a fly down on the water. 

I was hoping to catch something on this rod as it still hasn't been baptised, while every other rod I have has been...so, I'll stick with it until something bites. All in all, the rod came with a free RIO line with several choices, nice velvet bag and hard tube case with the distinctive Loop logo and identifiers on the end cap of the case. 99.00 USD plus shipping equals excellent deal. Definitely recommend this rod for beginners because of the line feel while the
rod is loading and unloading. It's slow enough that you can coordinate your casts. I guess that's what they mean when they say it is a 'forgiving' rod... :)

Stay tuned for more reviews and stuff.

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