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Color Your Thinking about Spey Rods with the Loop Color
Concept Series of Double Handed Fly Rods
Loop Green Line LGL9132-4
Experienced casters will love its raw power and crisp feel new casters will enjoy its forgiving nature.
intro design
components action
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November 1999: Bouncing around the back roads near
Spences Bridge, British Columbia can take it's toll on your vehicle: above the
highway on both sides of the river abandoned cars accent the landscape. We
managed to puncture a tire on Brian Lencho's 4x4, so instead of fishing we ended
up standing around outside the PetroCanada service station in "The
Bridge"
drinking coffee and kicking stones across the parking lot while we waited for
repairs. Ehor Boyanowsky happened along, and
as we collectively lamented the poor
fishing, he mentioned that Loop tackle's Gÿýran Andersson had recently been on the
river. "He was up here a few weeks ago with another fellow. Have you ever
seen him cast? He had these new rods with him, and he was really covering the
water."
The new rods Boyanowsky spoke of were the Loop Color Concept double
handers. Apparently, Andersson had been launching some monster casts on the
Thompson's great pools, and anglers were taking notice. Introductions and
inquiries were made, and Spey rodders learned that the rods Andersson was
swinging were in the final stages of development and would be available the
following spring. For the remainder of the season I would hear stories about
"that fellow from Sweden" and the impressive new rods he was
fishing.
The Loop Tackle company of Sweden has long been known for its innovative approach to our sport. Back in the mid
80s they introduced the Loop reel, a unique large arbour design that
caused quite a stir in the angling community and would later influenced
the designers of the currently popular large arbour reels. For several years
Loop was the European supplier of Sage fly rods, and Andersson was a key player
in the design of Sage's famous 3-piece "European action" two handers.
The Color Concept is a series of four rod lines--Green, Yellow, Blue, and
Black--that provide anglers with a choice of designs, actions, and price ranges.
All models feature double handed rods from 12ft through 15ft, in line weights
8 through 12. top
The Loop LGL9132-4--13ft 2" 4-piece for a 9/10 weight-- is light,
well balanced and extremely powerful: long casts on big water are a special joy
with this rod. It can best be described as medium-fast, with a powerful butt section, and
a relatively quick
tip that is still strong enough to handle the demands of long line Spey casting,
although the rod really shines with short bellied Spey lines and the
Adaptedÿý shooting head kits available from Loop. top
The Green Line is Loop's flagship series, and the LGL9132-4 evidences the quality and attention to detail you'd expect from a premium rod. The cork work is impeccable; the finish is flawless. An uplocking reel seat and hard chrome snake guides are standard. The 13ft 2" model has 2 large stripping guides placed on the second section, allowing for optimum shooting. The sanded blank is beautifully finished in a deep green, complemented by mid green thread wraps with silver accents above the cork. The short bottom handle is common with Euro two-handers, however the butt cap is beefy and sits comfortably in the palm allowing you to use the bottom hand with authority during the cast. The rod comes complete with an extra tip section (a thoughtful touch), a cloth bag and is presented in a tough green cordura tube complete with a handle and lash points for securing it to a boat or attaching it to your luggage--this is definitely a rod designed with the travelling angler in mind. Loop offers a one year warranty against faulty material or workmanship. top
The 13' 2" has a quick, progressive action. The
image of the Underhand cast below illustrates this action quite well:
notice the tip section--the upper 1/3 of the rod--bending above and behind
the caster under load during the forward stroke, while the butt section remains
relatively straight . This gives the rod the fast tip action favored by
practitioners of the Underhand cast using shooting heads. Many North American
anglers are of the opinion that faster action rods do not Spey cast well because
the tip sections are too light and the butt sections too stiff. This is not the
case with the Loop. Its progressive action allows the rod to
load down into the butt section when moving a long-bellied Spey line (a close
look at the image indicates that the butt is also flexed) and still retain the
quick, responsive feel and characteristic tight loops. During test
casts the LGL9132-4 loaded smoothly and progressively into the butt under
increasing load from long bellied Spey lines. top
lines: Loop Adaptedÿý Floating 9/10; Scientific Anglers Mastery Spey
10/11; RIO Windcutter 9/10/11
reels: Hardy Marquis Salmon #1 & #3
Test casts were performed at two venues: in a park using a grass leader, and
on moving water. During river tests winds were variable, providing insight into
how well the rod would perform under actual fishing conditions.
Initial tests were conducted using the Loop Adapted 9-10 shooting head system. This line system consists of floating,
intermediate, and full sinking shooting heads of @ 35ft, backed by @110ft of
shooting line and was designed specifically for use with the Loop Color Concept
rods. The rod cast very easily and smoothly with tight loops out to the full
length of the shooting head. Once the shooting head was beyond
the tip top the rod really came into its own, allowing long, effortless
breeze-beating casts. (When using shooting heads experiment with overhang--the
distance between the
back of the head and the rod tip--in order to find the "sweet spot"
that casts best for you. With the Adaptedÿý line I found that an overhang of a
few feet worked best for me. When you find the right amount, mark the running line with a
waterproof felt pen at the first stripping guide--this will give you a visual
reference that will allow you to quickly get set up for optimum casting
performance every time). The rod performed well at all fishing distances: short
and mid-range tip casts were effortless; Spey and Underhand casts to110ft were
easily achieved.
Tests were also conducted using the Scientific
Anglers Mastery Spey 10/11 and the RIO
Windcutter 9/10/11. Long liners casting in the traditional styles will
prefer the Mastery Spey, while I suspect that many North American casters
unfamiliar with the use of the Scandinavian shooting head methods will prefer
the Windcutter (with the Windcutter, retrieve the belly to within a foot or so
of the rod tip for best performance). Both lines complement the rod.
Various casting styles were employed and all of the standard and specialty Spey casts were used during the tests,
including the single and double Spey, Snake Roll, Snap-T, and the Underhand
Cast: the rod handled all with authority. The rod changes direction easily without the
tip related problems that have plagued many "European action"
rods in the past. When faults were introduced into the casts, the rod
compensated very well, the powerful tip section keeping the line tracking on a
relatively straight path.
The 13ft 2" length makes the rod ideal for medium sized
rivers such as the Skykomish, the Bulkley, or the Dean, but it is powerful
enough to qualify as a big water rod, despite its shorter length. By adjusting
presentation and mending styles, the rod is capable of controllable fishing
casts beyond 100ft. I can see it becoming a favorite on the Thompson and other
big waters where it will allow me to make long casts, move
heavy sink tips, and turn large fish while remaining light enough to use all day without fatigue.
Casters who remain convinced that "Euro
actions" are strictly for overhead casting are in for a surprise when they
cast the Loop LGL1392-4, a wonderful stick that will definitely have you
rethinking your definition of a Spey rod. top
special thanks to Christer Sjÿýberg, Anders Romson, &
Per Stadigh for their assistance in preparing this review
images copyright 2000 Loop Tackle. Used by permission.
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