[Gillie]

I'm searching for an extra long rod (16 - 17'). I have narrowed down choices to T+T 16', CND Thompson, and the new Loomis 17'. The reason I'm looking is for on one of my home waters I have two long runs that I like to fish but require deep wading. As discussed in one of the recent threads here the deep wading effectively shortens my rod significantly.

My question revolves around lines for these rods. I really only need to be able to cast around 70 - 75' and I don't have much experience with long belly lines. Can these rods be effectively loaded with a Delta or Delta long ?

I am particularly interested in the new Loomis 17' 10/11. The line charts only discuss Grandspey and XLT. I doubt many people have actually used this rod yetm but if it's loading with Grandspey 9/10 or XLT 10/11 at 90' of line can any one out there make an educated estimate of how shorter bellies might load this rod ?

If it changes your advice I almost always fish this water with a sink tip.

Gillie

 

[Jacob]

NEw Loop Rod

Hi!

There vill be a new (of course many more thaht this) Loop rod thaht is 17´ designed by The syrstad Brothers. They have allso desgined a new special shootinghead for the rod. Its will be avalible in Scnadinavia in Mars/April 2005.

 

[Willie Gunn]

I cast the CND Thonson Specialist and I liked the rod, I had misgivings about the reel fitting but I have seen worse on other American rods. With a long rod you need a decent sized belly 70 ft + but I feel there is no need to go to extremes GS & XLT.

 

[fredtrout]

Since you´re going to wade really deep, why not try the Loomis 17´ with a shooting head? In terms of easy casting while wading deep, I guess that would do it.

 

[Gillie]

I'm looking at the Loomis 17', I;m just not sure that it will fish well with shorter heads or shooting heads.

Gillie

 

[fredtrout]

How come? Some people tell me that my B&W *only* works with long bellies or even DT:s, which of course is crap.

Unless G Loomis are putting out a series of soft spaghetti 'retro' rods, the 17´ should handle a shooting head, but maybe it won´t be the ultimate line for the Greased line series. But since you will be casting only mid distances, it should work, shouldn´t it? I bet an uncut (about 13 meters) 10/11 Guideline Power Taper would travel like a maniac on such a rod! Swwwoooosh!!! And with ease, too!

Of course, just my .02 cents...

 

[flytyer]

I have been using the T&T 1611 for the last 8 years and when I got it there were no long-belly lines on the market. Therefore, I first used it with the 10/11 Acccelerator, and it loaded the rod just fine. I've also used it with the 10/11 Accelerator cut at 22' and added 15' of 10wt line at that point and then looped sink tips to it to get a long-belly type of line. I have used a MidSpey 10/11 and a Windcutter 10/11/12 with a 9/10/11 RIO Upgrade added in place of tip 2 to get a longer belly with each one; however, the rod worked and loaded fine with the 10/11/12 Windcutter or 10/11 MidSpey. The bottom line with the 1611 T&T is any of the 10/11 lines work on the rod. And the new GS lines that were redesigned to fit the new long-belly spey line standards would also be best in the 10/11 size.

 

[fisshman26]

My 17 ft Loomis will be here next Wedns. I will let you all know how it is

 

[juro]

Gillie -

Regardless of brands, I suspect you really wouldn't need more than 15-15 1/2 ft of graphite to throw 70-75ft casts with shorter belly lines. If you are targeting fish that average in the 10 pound class you are probably fishing in the 8/9/10 class of lines rather than the 10/11/12 range.

If you really wanted to up the odds, use the trick of removing the middle section of an over-lined windcutter on a 14.5-15.5ft rod (or of course longer) and you will be able to easily flick casts 75ft even while wading deep.

As a general rule, I avoid wading so deep that my arms can't hang comfortably by my sides without getting wet. If you have to keep your arms bent between casts, you will get tired in a hurry. It can also be dangerous, but that goes without saying.

Good luck with your quest.

 

[Gillie]

I realize that I don't "need" a 15+ rod for what I'm describing. But, how many of us really need the toys we want. I'm intrigued by the long rods and this stretch of water is ideal for playing with one. Although I'm talking about 70-75' right now the water does have seams that require closer to 90-95'. It's just not the water I'm fishing now. The truth of the matter is I'm looking more for water to fish a big rod rather than the bested suited rod for the run. I just want to play.. :hihi:

I'm fishing a T+T 13' 9 nweight now and I have taken many fish with this rod. The water is deep and requires an aggressive sink tip. Circle spey and reverse circle spey have been my best casts on this water to date.

I have rigged the rod with a WC 8/9/10 and taken both tips off then fished a Big Boy 400 grain. This has been one of the best casting setups for me. I'm thinking about moving up to the next Big Boy.


Fisshman26,
I'm eager to hear what you think of the 17' Loomis my experience with GLX is that it should throw tips well. It's just that everyting Loomis has written about the rod is about floating lines.

 

[juro]

I understand completely! If I only had what I 'needed' I don't even think I'd be in hot water about my rod collection :hihi:

 

[fisshman26]

Hello Gillie, well I have had the 17ft`r now for a bit and have test driven it pretty hard. In a word all I can say is awsome! It feels much lighter than the other big rods out there right now and wont wimp out when you push it. As far as tips go I have been casting a xlt #9 cut back and 17ft of lc13 and am sure that it would toss more just havent tried it. The shortest line that I have tried is the delta long but see no reason why the rod wouldnt handle heads.
Another thing that I wanted to mention is just how pretty these rods are and ummmm did I mention Awsome??????
Hope this helps, if you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

 

[t_richerzhagen]

Thompson

works great with the AirFlo 10/11 long delta, both floating and cut at 15 feet for tips. 100 feet with tips is not a problem.