Hey,
I was thinking about building myself a new crank bait rod and then I'm thinking maybe I should just buy one. I don't know. I'm a huge fan of the G Loomis CBR series of rods. Loomis (Shimano) has stopped selling just blanks. There are some still available but they don't offer warranty for them anymore. Gary Loomis' new company is very expensive!
Anyway...the question is have any of you guys fished the Loomis rods and also fished another crankin' rod? Do you have any feed back for me? What else is good compared to the Loomis rods?
Thanks.
Cy
What kind of crankin are you doing--deep or med-shallow, larger baits like the DT's or smaller baits like the c-flash 22?
Back when I built lots of rods, I used Loomis CBR 845's quite a bit. But when I wanted a longer rod, they didn't make one like I wanted other than a CBR 903 which is way too limber for me, and the 906 which is a broom handle. So I resorted to extending the 845 blank and it worked pertty well. But they don't sell blanks anymore so that's not really an option. Since then I've been using a Dobyns 764 CB RM. It's perfect for the deep crankin stuff on Erie and St Clair, and also rips weeds well on the inland stuff like Muskegon, etc.
I'm not as familiar with the new deep flex Loomis rods, but the ones I've seen flex further down the blank into the handle (hence the name "deep flex") which may or may not be what you're looking for. I would think the standard 845 would be better if you're ripping weeds.
As for warranty on the Loomis blank, thats a crap shoot. But I've broken only 2 rods in my whole life that I felt wasn't my fault. So if you're set on building, and they still have a blank you like, I'd buy it, built it and fish the heck out of it and not look back. Otherwise look at that Dobyns 764 CB RM for deeper crankin, and the 704 CB or Loomis 845 for the smaller stuff. That 764 is probably my favorite crankin rod ever.
The powell's are nice and I haven't heard anything bad about them yet either. They just came out with a new line too.
I have a CBR 845 and 847 and one of the deep flex rod's, the 7'2 med action. I seemed to always use the 845 for most of my cranking but after getting the deep flex I find myself using the deep flex all the time now. I let a friend use it last year on LSC and he fell in love with it. He could not believe how well it handled the fish he was catching walleye,smallmouth and some big rock bass. He has always used powell crankbait rods but was sold on the deep flex. I have not used a Dobyn's crankbait rod yet but I would like to use one to compare it to the deep flex. It's going to have to be a great rod to beat the deep flex. I have been using DT 6 to DT 14 rapalas and similar cranks on the 7'2 deep flex and it handles all of them well.
Lamiglas Certified Pro Fiberglass Casting Rod
SR 765R 7'6" Med Hvy Cranking
Best Cranking blank on the market. TW is selling them for $200, but I am sure you can make it for way cheaper than that.
I all ready know you are going to disagree, but when thedude gets done with the 2 he is making for me I don't want to see any tears of jealousy because I warned you. 8)
You know what I'm going to say (see below). LOL
i hate your loomis CB rods, IMHO an ugly stick would be a huge upgrade.
LOL!