[crobarr]

i went to the sportsman show this year with the almost-sole-purpose of trying out light weight 2 handers. i asked loads of questions, got all the "propaganda" i could get my hands on, and test cast rods. a few questions went basically unanswered do to reps. not wanting to commit to a solid yes or no. so i have decided to question all of you again.

the rods i'm considering:

gloomis 13'4" metolius 5/6wt
Cortland CL 12' 5/6wt
TFO 12'6" 6wt
CND Expert 13' 6/7wt
snowbee torridge 12' 6/7wt

the tfo, cnd, and snowbee rods all seemed to cast well for me, and when questioned about there (the rods) ability to land summer steelhead, all 3 reps. gave them "the nod".

the cortland seemed like an "ok" rod, and it cast "ok" for me. seemed a bit light for steelheading and the rep. kept beating around the bush on the subject even when asked a point blank, strait forward question about it.

the little loomis was a dream to cast. it just felt "right" when i gave it a go. however, it seemed REALLY light for my intended purpose.

i'm mostly crazy and i'm willing to try most anything once, but there's a point where you have to draw the line. i could land a salmon on a 3wt. but it wouldn't be right, and neither would an overly light 2hander for steelhead.

so here goes:

to those who have used/own the cortland and especially the loomis- are they heavy enough to reliably land summer steelhead in a timely manner? i don't care about there ability to throw tips- the rod will be a floating line rod only.

the fish are expected to be in the 3-12lb. range.

thank you all once more for your time.

 

[kush]

I have used neither of the two light rods you refer to, but I have used the 12'2" 5/6 CND Spey Tracker extensively and a good fishing buddy uses the little Loomis as well the Spey Tracker. He landed a 12lb Stilly fish on the Tracker and uses the Loomis on the Ronde.

Are they steelhead rods? I say only in very skilled hands and in the right kind of water. In a large open-water situation where there is no real need to muscle a fish I think 10-12lb fish are reasonable on these little sticks. However, in tighter higher gradient streams where there may be need to "stand" on a fish I think you would be undergunned.

Have you looked at the CND 13'4" 6/7 Solstice? A sweet little rod ( I have landed fish up to 16lb on it :hihi

 

[David Dornblaser]

I would also suggest that you look at the 13'4" CND Solstice.

- David

 

[Etacata]

I own a tfo 12/6 and love it. i was at the show and shook the snowbee trout spey and was pretty impressed with it's feel and the components.

cb

 

[salmo]

If you will be fishing mostly for fish in 6-12 lb range using floating, type 3 sink tips or
Skagit line ( 10’ of T10, T14 hybrid flating/T14 tips) go with Solstice 13’4” 6/7.
If you mainly go after trout 3-8 lb go with Meiser 12’6” 4/5/6 Highlander.

 

[Riveraddict]

Keep this in mind...

...doublehanded rod line ratings have no relevance to singlehanded line ratings. I can tell you that the Loomis Metolius 5/6 throws just a little lighter weight of line (Skagit casting) as it takes to Skagit cast an actual singlehanded rod that is rated as an 8/9 - the 11' 3" Loomis 8/9. Would you use a singlehanded 7 or 8 for the summer steelheading that you plan to do? If so then the Metolius will work fine, except that you will probably have more fun because the rod will flex WAAAY more easily in the upper half allowing for lots of great feel on smaller fish, yet the butt section will have the power of about an 8 weight singlehander.

 

[crobarr]

like they say in the bud light commercials......."i love you man"!!

that's all the encouragement i need. i lust that little loomis rod. i haunts my dreams (yes, i have fishing dreams, once in a while my wife is even there fishing too..). it's been really bad since i actually cast it and it felt so good.

besides, i use 2-4lb line on a noodle rod for summer steelies and do just fine. less than 5 minutes for a big fish in heavy water, so i ain't afraid to put the screws to it.

thank you for pushing me over the edge riveraddict. i owe you one .

 

[Lawrence S]

Light Spey Rods

I also think the Loomis 13' 4" 5/6 wt. is a fantastic light spey. I have cast several lines on it and it is a very easy and relaxing rod to cast! I like the Windcutter 5/6 w/tips, CND 5/6, S.A. Short Belly 6/7 on this rod. It has a very traditional (slow) action but has more power than you would expect from just picking it up. I also have a CND "Spey Tracker" 12' 2" 5/6/7 and Solstice 13' 4" 6/7/8 and they are also fine rods that would probably work well for you. The "Spey Tracker" 5/6/7 is a great rod and I have landed a few browns in the 5-6# range on it with power to spare. Also I can't stop without mentioning the Scott LS2. The 13' 7wt. is a pure pleasure to cast and perfect for fish in the 6-12 pound range. And you might want to look at the 6wt. while your at it. To many choices!!!!! - Lawrence S

 

[Riveraddict]

Loomis Metolius

Have acquired quite a bit of "field testing" experience on this rod the past couple of weeks - chrome bright, fresh, native winter steelhead from 5 to 15 pounds. I have had several "witnesses" that can attest to the fact that this rod performed very well. All fish were released without ANY need for recovery, in fact most bolted away with a defiant splash of water into the releaser's face.This rod is incredibly fun on the smaller fish, but has the power to take on steelies to about 12 pounds, provided that one is not afraid to USE THE BUTT SECTION OF THE ROD when fighting fish. I did land one fish of around 15 on it also - no problem - but also consider that right now our water temps are about 42 degrees and I would not be using this rod for such fish if our temps were 46 or over. I would recommend this rod for fishing where most of the fish to be encountered run between 3 to 9 pounds, along with the occasional 12 pounder. This is contingent upon the fact that the user is experienced at fighting fish and able to use a rod to it's FULLEST capacity if need be. Since you are experienced with noodle rods Crobarr, I don't think that you will have any problems there.
One of the coolest things is that casting/fishing this rod feels like a feather compared to fishing with the more normal 8's, 9's, and 10's. And, with a Skagit setup it will throw 7' (maybe more, haven't tried yet) of T-14 along with lightly weighted 4" long string leeches (try doing THAT on a rod this light with any other casting style!), making it a real potent yet exceedingly pleasant rod to use when fishing inside edges of 2 1/2 to 4 feet in depth, using casts of 75' or less. It will handle winds of up to around 15 mph also. With lighter tips and/or smaller flies I have cast this little bugger out to around 90'. The 13'4" Dredger runs in the same class, being just a bit more powerful in the casting department.

 

[BrentComer]

i lust that little loomis rod. i haunts my dreams (yes, i have fishing dreams, once in a while my wife is even there fishing too..). it's been really bad since i actually cast it and it felt so good.

Well, it sounds like this rod speaks to you. You need to look out for your happiness. :hihi:

That's how I feel about the Solstice 13' 4" w/Skagit 450.

I'll have to try the Metolius at the Spey days.

 

[Rookiespey]

I love the Metolius. I picked one up here in the classifieds that came with a 5/6 Windcutter. Even as a novice the rod is a dream to cast. I let my buddy try the rod on the river & he ordered one the next week. He is a more experienced caster & he laid out some serious line. I haven't tried it with tips yet.

 

[crobarr]

since we're all talking about the rod...........

what size reel are you all finding to balance everything out? i might as well start planning everything out. :smokin:

and thank you all for your replies.

 

[Rookiespey]

since we're all talking about the rod...........

what size reel are you all finding to balance everything out? i might as well start planning everything out. :smokin:

and thank you all for your replies.

I'm still trying to figure out which I like better between my Hardy Bougle 3 3/4 or my Loop Fw 6nine. The reel seat is funky looking so the Loop matches it better in my opinon...but I am a sucker for old school. That's why I can't figure out which I like better.

 

[Grampa Spey]

Ed, would you please compare this Metolius and the Sage 5120

...doublehanded rod line ratings have no relevance to singlehanded line ratings. I can tell you that the Loomis Metolius 5/6 throws just a little lighter weight of line (Skagit casting) as it takes to Skagit cast an actual singlehanded rod that is rated as an 8/9 - the 11' 3" Loomis 8/9. Would you use a singlehanded 7 or 8 for the summer steelheading that you plan to do? If so then the Metolius will work fine, except that you will probably have more fun because the rod will flex WAAAY more easily in the upper half allowing for lots of great feel on smaller fish, yet the butt section will have the power of about an 8 weight singlehander.

Ed, now that you have this great amount of time using this Metolius with your great results.

Would you please compare this Metolius to the Sage 5120, re lines, tips, skagits, casting abilities and ability to quickly and properly land a 3-5 # fish.

Thanks
Dave

PS: You did a great job on the new Rio DVD. Looking forward to seeing you at Speyorama.

 

[Grampa Spey]

Redington CD 9/10 reel would probably work.

since we're all talking about the rod...........

what size reel are you all finding to balance everything out? i might as well start planning everything out. :smokin:

Santa bought me a Redington CD 9/10 reel. It is a perfect match with my Sage 5120 and Meiser's 5/6 Switch Rod. It should be a good match for your Metolius Rod.

It holds over a 100 yards of plain jane 20# backing and the Rio OB 10 wt Floating line. There is still room for a 7' or 12' tip or a 15' Steelhead leader and 2-3' of tippet.

The Rio OB 10 wt Floater at 425 grains works well as a Skagit line with both of the above rods, a dry fly line and for over hand casts.

CD 9/10 1.312" Silver/Black 3.7" 6.2 oz #10 250/20 $149 reel $75 Spool

Below are the Specs for the Reddington 7/8 if the 9/10 is too big:

CD 7/8 1.312" 3.47" 5.9 oz 8 wt 200 yds/20 lb

These Redington CDs are being used by some of the Striper addicted casters in the San Francisco Delta Area and the guides for single handed rods up 9/10. I will be replacing some of my older Redington and Orvis reels for Striper fishing with these reels. I plan to use a CD 9/10 with Outbound Lines and my Rio 350 Grain Striper line and my Meiser 9/10 Switch rod. The reel is several ounces lighter than my older Redingtons and Orvis BK Large Arbor. If you cast 8 plus hours for Stripers that saves a lot weight hauling and wear and tear on the arms and shoulders.

 

[oldstyleoverthe]

balance

Hi Crobarr, glad you have brought up balance, light rods are ok but a well balanced rod is every thing. Loomis rods cast well but do not have the backbone to land fish quick,no good for returning fish. Light but powerful blanks are hard to come by. I am just starting to build rods and I will go for a slightly heavier blank and make sure it is well balanced .Correct size and shaped corks for the individual angler , using the clients reels as a starting point. DONT PAY $800 for a rod you are paying $300 for the name.

Keep looking

Brian

 

[SSPey]

the last post to this thread was 5 1/2 years ago ... might be a new resurrection record on the pages

the idea that Loomis rods overall don't land fish quickly is just plain silly