G-Loomis / Billy Pate

[TUGBOAT]

Any Fly Guy's Here ?I Meen Fly FisherPeople ,I recently acquired(?$?) a G-Loomis Fly Rod 9' 9 Wt. Cross Current Pro 1- 1 piece Fly Rod & a GLX 9' 8 WT. 1 piece.I also have 2 Billy Pate Fly Reels (1)tarpon/(1)Bonefish
Heres My Deliema ,1 Piece ! Man0Man ,I can break a 6' Stand Up Trolling Rod, is there an advantage to a 1 piece over a 2 piece besides breaking down /storage etc.?I wanted one to try a lil flying offshore ,lil' more than I expected.I have NO Idea of Fly Fishing, The last time 've used one was in Louisiana at bout' 8 years old & it was used as a fly/flipp'n'/cane pole etc.
Should I swap ,are they matched to the reels OK ?
Thanks for Ya'll 's Help. ???
Scream'n Reels' [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Finster]

Brad,

I am not familuar with the cross current but I know the GLX's and have never seen a one piece, usually three and sometimes four for the travel rods. Accually, I've never seen a one piece flyrod. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
As for the Pate reels, they are considered as one of the best.

Feel free to give a call, Mark my have some insight as well.

[TUGBOAT]

They are definatly 1 Piece .I looked them Over & Over,Even after I read on the sticker pro 1 -1 piece.Thats what I don't like ! After 1 trip with Me they'll be one Hell u va'
Stand Up Fly Rod !
Sceam'n Reels' [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

[Mark]

I used to fish a lot of Sage rods (mostly RPLXi's but some XP's as well) in addition to some T&T's and Powells. Then I had a chance to try a Loomis Cross Current when they came out - anybody notice a bunch of rods on eBay about two years ago?! Those Cross current rods are now my favorite and I have a closet full of them. I have fished three of the Pro-1 rods (the one piece version) but due to my current living situation, they are not portable enough for me so I have the 4pc GLX models of the Cross Current series. The advantage of the one piece rod is the tremendous savings in weight. The one recommendation I would have regarding the Pro-1's is to line them up one size: fish a 10wt line on the 9wt rod and it will load a bit better, as well as a 9wt line on the 8wt (all this goes out the window if you are using sinking lines offshore). I found them to be slightly underrated as to line designation. Otherwise, they are fantastic. Additionally, the "expiditer service" that Loomis has for warranty repair/replacement is the best there is: you get a new rod in 48 hours, regardless of whether a fish or your car door caused the breakage (for little more than the shipping and handling that other manufacturers charge).

As for reels, the Billy Pate series by Ted Juracsik are about as durable and smooth operating as production fly reels get. The Bonefish model will match up nicely with your 8wt (consider using 50# spectra backing to increase capacity over dacron). I personally think the Tarpon model is too big for the 9wt and think it would feel unbalanced. I would try to either get another Bonefish model, or maybe a Tibor Riptide, which is also made by Ted Juracsik.

At any rate, you have some top of the line gear to play with.

have fun/
mark

[Finster]

Mark, interesting. I'm not at all familar with those rods. I have several Loomis Nauticos rods which I don't care for much anymore. And I've had Sage RPL's which I couldn't get rid of fast enough. Not that their bad rods, they just had no backbone and couldn't load for crap with a heavy fly.

I do like the RPLXI. But for now prefer the Scott STS series over most else I've tried. The first time I picked one up I was sold. Ever try one?

[Mark]

Chris,

I fished a few Scott STS rods in Belize several months ago. I think after a while it boils down to what best suits the individual users' arm and casting stroke. There are a number of nice rods to choose from in the marketplace. Not all Cross Currents are my favorite rod in that weight, but the overall series is very strong and the 8wt 4pc GLX Cross Current is the perfect rod for my own right arm (and I fish 8wt's a lot). I also use the 10wt and 12wt quite a bit in my travels.

Now, for some specific applications, the 10/11 GLX Mega series is more suited (although discontinued)to such activities as tossing poppers on floating lines to big jacks and such. And some bonefish destinations really call out for the 6/7 Mega, but those are pretty specialized uses.

For the real heavy stuff (14wt +) I sold the various rods I had and switched over to the Cam Sigler rods that have spigot ferrules and swivel gimbals already built in. The Cape Fears are interesting but once again, they only come as a single piece rod which makes travel difficult.

I still have a handful of misc. fly rods from various manufacturers and will hang onto them for the right situation. However, until something better comes along, my next rod will be another Cross Current.

I'll spare the readership any more boredom, I could go on with this for pages.

You have my direct email if you find yourself with little else to do but type/
mark

[joey]

Capt.Brad,If you have an interest in selling those reels let me know.Also,I have a few 9wt rods,so if you would like to trade for a 2 pc Sage,I'm in the deal.It is a rather soft rod,easy to learn how to throw with.Joey

[RS]

...I recently acquired(?$?) a G-Loomis Fly Rod 9' 9 Wt. Cross Current Pro 1- 1 piece Fly Rod & a GLX 9' 8 WT. 1 piece.I also have 2 Billy Pate Fly Reels (1)tarpon/(1)Bonefish .... Should I swap ,are they matched to the reels OK ?... [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Keep the reels and ditch the rods. Those are fine “specialty” casting tools and not suited to a beginner, not withstanding the one piece issue. I don’t think you’ll get any satisfaction learning on those. They are light weight casting cannons best suited to the skilled fly caster. You need something a little more user friendly. I suggest the TFO Series 1. They are not beginner rods, just fine all around casting tools.

If you find you need a rod with much more backbone or have the skills to really put the rod to work, consider the TFO TiCr series.

The best part of all this is that the Series 1 retails for about $100 and the TiCr 4 pc is about $230.

BTW, golf would be as complicated as fly fishing if 1) the holes were hidden, and moved around based on the time of day, 2) the size and color of the ball mattered, and … well you get my point.
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