The reason the Xrays are cheaper is they are trying to get a good roll out with a minimum of designs in production. If the materials price is similar priced it shouldn't be demonstratively different in price. Delta is not IM unsanded, it isma multi modulus design like many over the last decade or lo...

Older lMX rods from the Gary Loomis era had Pac Bay match guides in them, the reason yours has the 4mm spinning guides and small tip top.. When Shimano bought them they went to all japanese parts for the guides and Fuji quit building match guides in the the early 90s I believe. Pacific Bay still mak...

Short trout rods leave a lot to be desired. Long rods drift bait more naturally and deeper in a river, or stream. They also cast further and easier, lastly any fish you catch will feel larger and be therefore more fun to catch on a long rod. The only time I would think a short rod is an advantage is...

Remove the finish with a citrus paint stripper, sanding cuts fibers, especially near the tip. No blank needs a finish, the shelf life of the cured blank is 5000 years. Something people forget when giving an opinion on what is best, is informing the people on exactly by how much your improving it. Ma...

I look for performance, could care less about looks. Until we all do the same that little bit of performance, weight reduction, etc. will always elude us. I haven't had a fore grip on a bass rod for over 15 years, for what purpose does it exist?

Gary Loomis has been making a light X fast rod for decades, the first was the IM6 SJR700. The light wading rod is getting very popular in Texas, Castaway made a 5 ft 4 in version, Get Bit still had some last I looked at a great price. The length people use seems to have started at 7 ft, but has gott...

They weren't around long, production costs were high. The boron crystaline structure is formed on very fine tungsten wire that's many time harder to work with than an upset porcupine. Requires special gloves, etc. Has a bit of a comback in the last decade, a small amount of the material is used in t...

You want a 2 power for that weight class.

Rainshadow XMB944.5-TC, or XMB874.5-TC. New Numbers IMMC73H, or IMMC76H.

My G Loomis demo and my Sage demos both have DEMO handwritten, or stickered on them under the epoxy.

Not true, the old GLoomis IMX blanks were the first rods in the world that used graphite scrim, back around '94. G Loomis brought out the GLX, at the same time they discontinued the IMX, brought out the GL2, GL3, GL4, and of course the GLX. All 3 lesser G Loomis lines had fiberglass scrim, and some ...

The Core technology has been used and explained in detail in it's use in the high end G Loomis fly rods, coming to the bass and other rods soon I bet. Bring a XL wallet. Nothing really new here that I see, the aviation industry has used this for many years, not surprising our grahites come from the ...

Lamiglas LSJ901, a custom, custom the blank never saw a production run because they were removing their XMG50 bass rod line. They were beautifully finished in the old Espirit root beer red. Still have one blank left, in case the worst happens. Blank is built light, with a larger diameter and thin wa...

I have a G Loomis demo rod that's over 30 years old and gets used all the time, by far my favorite rod. A spinning rod being sold in a fly shop, got a great deal. Warranty? None, none needed, if it broke tomorrow I have so many great memories with that rod. If warranty is your driving force you know...

St Croix has always made 2 piece bass rods in spinning and casting models. MH, high modulus? It's in there. CTS makes blanks multi-piece in just about any style, or configuration. My 3 piece peacock bass rods are built on standard production blanks from Batson/Rainshadow.