Finally met Clamdigger last night and we talked for about an hour or so. He has been living and fishing the area I just moved into for more than a few years and knows the area... We talked about a few different things and he dropped off some GREAT photos of the Narragansett Bay area ( and a couple that might have been Block or the Vineyard ;D )... My wife wants to put some of those up...

One of things we were talking about was rods/reels/lures for the Rhody shore area because he's thinking about getting back into surfcasting. I showed him a couple of my outfits like the Sabre 1088/1089s with a 6500CL Big Game and my 10' Lami XRA1205. He was suprised how light these setups were... I would have shown him the 8' Loomis 965 but that was still in my car since getting my first linesider of the season on the way home :P

So, yet again, thinking about the best cost/benefit ratio for 7,8,9 foot rods cast or spin with new gear:

We touched alot on the reels the other day with the ABU 6500 C3/C4/CL Big Game/TCST Trophy Striper reels so we can be brief. An ABU 6500C3 will run about $75-80 less any rebates and a C4 will be around $90. These are smooth reels for a great price (especialy for a C3 around $65 after rebates) and give alot of bang for the buck. The Big Game is a sweet reel but running over $140. The TCST Trophy Striper is a C3 with the big handle of the pricier 6500 reels which is better than the paddle wheel of the stock C3 and C4 for $90. The general consensus is that the drags suck when compared to the Penn Baitcasters or Catcuttas but can be upgraded with aftermarket drag kits like the Smoothies. The biggest drawback on the ABU stock drags is that they get sticky and/or weak when getting larger fish, especially if you're into a few of them. The stock drag on an Abu 6500 is nothing like that of the Calcutta but the Abu reels are one half to one third the cost of the Calcutta.

My recommendation for an inexpensive casting reel would be an ABU 6500C3 for $80 (less rebates) or the 6500TCST for $90

As I don’t use spinning reels much, my experience would be a Penn 6500SS for $90 but I’m sure there are other options…

A nine foot rod like a Sabre 1088 or 1089 (I prefer the 1089 as it is a little beefier, more like the old 1088) or AllStar, Loomis, runs from about $150 up to over $250 custom built. These rods are great for smaller plugs up to 3OZ and eeling but might be a bit light and under strength for live linning herring or throwing big baits and weights…

For schoolies and smaller keepers, I like my 8’ Loomis A LOT. This can throw ½ to 2OZ fine with a 5500C3 reel. The 8’ St Croix Tidemaster is nice too and I know a used one in good shape for about $70.

FW mentions some 7 and 8 foot rods they use that they really enjoy on that other thread. I also like what she says about the poppers and soft plastics in that other thread…

Just to get the ball rolling for ya Clammer… ;D

Hey John,

I know I asked you last week, but what blank did you use to build that G Loomis? Thinkin' about building two of those, one casting and one spinning for Karen.

For those interested, I have thrown John's 8' G Loomis and it is pretty sweet. Great rod for schoolies, but could handle bigger fish in a pinch. He also said it was perfect for Albies and Bonito... I imagine that it would work well for weakfish as well.

In other words, great multi-purpose piece of equipment.

John, you gonna be around on Saturday?

Greg,

That is a SUR965 blank. There might be a problem though. I read on flyfishsaltwaters.com last week that Shimano may make G-Loomis stop selling blanks which if true, REALLY SUCKS. I hope to find out more as I may grab a couple too before they stop...

I'll be around on Saturday IF you and your lovely wife come down here with your daughter. That would make MY wife very happy which would make me more happy too... Besides, you can bring your rod down and we'll fish the toilet...

If you are planning on fishing in your toilet......I dont suggest using "plugs" :O

Yeah, Karen, Britta, and I want to stop down, but per Jenn's suggestion, I don't want to screw up the plumbing in your new house.

As for fishing, we should pick our battles and go the next time when we can hit the west wall or something. Not sure the toilet is worth the grief.

ps... what is shimano's stake in G Loomis? I'm assuming they own them or something... Should probably get that blank sooner than later, eh?

John
The deal with shimano & loomis is
Scence Shimano purchased loomis they have been breaking away from subcontracting rod blanks
EX. most of cabelis blanks are made by g-loomis in the g-loomis factory but not made with the g-loomis materials(just regular graphite cloth) and also not made to loomis quality control standards.
When this deal was made with companies like cabelis were not to use the loomis name in any way for advertising their rods or blanks.
they did not abide by this and were filling their catalog pages with hype about how their blanks were g-loomis.
well g-loomis was not happy and has not renewed any contracts with any company to produce their blanks or to massproduce rods.

G-loomis will continue to provied the custom rod builder with their blanks.and G-loomis will still have their owne rods available to the public.
Sence it is usually cheeper to buy a custom rod built on G-loomis blanks than to buy a production rod they will most likely be looking at a price increase on the blanks to custom builders.

Mike