Dan-K

I fish t-rigged plastics on a Dobyn's 683C (6'8" MH) and a Loomis MBR 783 C (6'6" MH) both rated as fast actions. I tend to miss a lot of fish with the Dobyn's rod. I fished it all day Friday and missed about ten strikes, never hooked up all day. I fished it yesterday and landed one fish but missed three others. With my MBR 783 C (currently broken) I seem to hook up with at least 90% of my strikes. I am running 12 lb P-Line 100% Flourocarbon on both. It seems like the taper on the MBR is a bit slower than the dobyns, although they are both rated as fast. Am I missing something (other than fish:-) )? I also noticed that a lot of the Falcon Cara worm / jig rods are medium fast (or moderate fast) actions. Would a slower action rod help hook up with fish better, or a faster action (say extra fast)? BTW, the dobyns is a solid small jig rod...

I know I am going to take a hit, but I only paid list price for my MBR844, I shopped around patiently and made good purchases on the other four. I will be sending the broken rod back as a warranty claim, not under the expiditer service. I was told by the customer service rep that if it is denied warranty I will be presented with my other options.

I am looking at purchasing some new rods, as the title says I have narrowed my choices down to three unless others have comparable rods to suggest. I am looking for the best in wieght, sensitivity, castability, fishability, price, warranty/replacement, and looks (yes, I like my rods to look good).

If needed, I will start a new post leaving out anything negative about any company's policies. I would like to add, I called Loomis and voiced my concerns. I will be sending the rod back under WARRANTY and will wait to see what they say.......

Just to clarify, I don't feel that my rod broke out of neglect or clumsiness on my part. Even though it did not break on a fish it does not mean it was out of neglect. Just because it broke while removing it from my boat's rod locker everyone is assuming it was neglect. I have other high end rods in the same rod lockers and they have never broke. I do not drop my rods, step on them, slam them in doors, run the trolling motor over them or do any other abusive actions to them. I admit to sitting on a Berkley Lightning Rod, I broke it in two places, and that was all my fault and when I was a lot newer to bass fishing. The best way to describe how my IMX broke is this; place the rod tip about one inch under the lip of a table and raise the handle. The rod snapped before I even felt resistance on the butt end. I should send it back to them under the warranty, but I understand the possibility of it being the manufacturer's fault in some way is less than 1%. I do know for a FACT that I have never abused this rod in any way, but that does not rule out the possibilty that some knuckle head did not abuse it while it was on the racks at the dealer. I was OK with paying the $50 to Loomis for the expiditer service for several reasons: I am a humble person and acknowledge that rods don't just break, so it was more than likely not G Loomis at fault; I thought G Loomis and Shimano were great companies to the extent that I was converting my entire collection to Loomis / Shimano equipment; I liked the fact that I could call Loomis and have a replacement in my hands before the next weekend / fishing trip; And, in the big picture $50 is not a lot to spend to replace a $270 rod but $100 is (manufacturer's fault or mine).....

Might I add, the G Loomis reputation was built on the $50 expiditer program. When I got into bass fishing heavily, all of my "mentors" in the sport advised me to just bite the bullet and go with Loomis because it was a life time investment into my gear. Now that has all changed..... When I started this thread I was unaware of the new one time replacement limit, that just adds fuel to the fire!!

Hmm, last I read Loomis has a warranty program where an angler could send their rod in for replacement if it was a true manufacturer's defect and then they have the separate and distinct expeditor service which is a no questions asked replacement program. Loomis made no changes to their warranty program. True about the "Warranty" definition, but you are splitting hairs here. People are using the word "Warranty" in lieu of "expidieter service". The problem with the warranty is, how do we as anglers know if it is a manufacture's defect which caused the rod to fail? We are taking a gamble by trying to use the warranty, where as with the expiditer service it was basicly $25 more and you get the rod replaced with no questions asked.....

True, but the advertised $50 expiditer service does......

To me, 50 bucks is hardly a substantial altercation when you're paying 400-500 bucks for the product. If I were to go out today and buy an NRX rod I would gladly pay the $100 if I broke it. That is simply not the case nor the discussion here. I payed less than list for an MBR783C when the replacement cost was $50. I broke it, whether it was my fault or manufacture defect, it should be replaced for $50. It's the principal.

IMX - $285. Replacement $100 = $385 Cara- $169. Replacement $80 = $249 Shimano ???? Dobyns - $219. Replacement $60 = $279 any way you slice it, Loomis comes up short. Don't look at it as they raised the price $50, look at it as they increased the price by 100 percent.

that's funny because of the two loomis dealers in my area, one had no idea about until they recieved a letter around the first of the month. The other shop had no idea until told them. This was also the most recent loomis stick I purchased, the others were within the past year. To contradict what you are saying, there is no denying that the $50 expiditer service has been a huge factor in the sales of loomis rods in the past. I'm not saying that loomis' quality is not great, I just can't see spending $100 to replace a $230 IMX rod. GLX and NRX makes spending one bill seem more "do-able". Anyway, the intent of my post was not to get into a heated debate. I am a consumer in a free market society. I am no longer happy with a particular company so I will likely spend my money elswhere.

you are missing the point and I am not clumsy with my gear. I work too hard for my fishing equipment to be clumsy with it. This rod should NOT have broken the way it did. I broke a Dobyns rod trying to retrieve a snagged jig by pulling it up like you would fish. It broke just above the handle. The loomis broke at the last guide before the tip while I was removing it from the rod locker. The tip hung up on the inside lip of the locker and it snapped. The rod should have bent rather than broke, which leads me to beleive it was due to a manufuring defect. This rod was new, it had only been fished 4 times. The other rod I have broken was a berkley lighning rod and that was my fault, I sat on it.

that's my point. But even if they replace this rod for $50 what's going to happen if it breaks again? I have already invested in loomis gear with the intent to keep it for the long haul. I will call loomis/shimano tomorrow and request they replace it for $50. I will post the results. On a side note, I really like the Falcon Caras from the looks and sounds of them, but I need to fish one to see if I will build my arsenal around them.

My car is not a graphite fishing rod. Nor does Toyota offer/advertise a flat rate repair or replacement program for a set price. If they did and my car broke, I would expect them to replace it for the price they advertised as the replacement cost at the time of purchase. If I were building an arsenal of rods today, I would shy away from Loomis simply because of the $100 replacement cost. I will however call Loomis in the AM and express my concerns, in hopes of only having to pay $50 to replace it. I doubt I will get far but we will see.

As the title says, I am looking for alternatives to replace my collection of loomis rods. I began purchasing higher end equipment this year and thought loomis was the way to go, I was wrong. I broke my first loomis rod Friday removing it from the rod locker. The last four inches or so snapped off when the tip got hung up on the lip of the locker. I called my two local loomis dealers and was informed that they no longer do over the counter exchanges via the expiditer service, no problem right? I went to loomis' web site and learned that they have doubled the price of the expiditer service to $100!!! That got me a bit upset, I purhased 5 IMX rods with the expectation that if I broke one I would be $50 to replace, not a bad investment. Now I learn they have increased the price, even to those who purchased their rods with the understanding that the replacement cost is $50. Seems it would be better business to mark the newer rods in some way and anything purchased before they raised their prices, the $50 service should be honored. Sorry for the rant but I am a little upset with the situation. I will no longer purchase loomis rods and will be selling the IMX rods that I already own. Now I am in a quest for a new rod company. I want something comparable to IMX in sensitivity, weight, and fishability. I am also looking at price point, the less expensive the better. I was on tackle warehouse tonight and like the looks of the falcon caras, but I have neve fished one, let alone even seen one in person. I could not find anything on their warranty either. I have a dobyns champion, which is nice but doesn't match well with my curados. Please voice suggestions if you have experience with rods in this category. Thanks.

Thanks for all of the replies. I ended up finding a 1999 bass tracker pro 185 with a 50 HP merc and service records for 4 k. Super clean boat too!!!!

Advertised on CL http://sacramento.craigslist.org/boa/1768133173.html This looks like a steal, but I am apprehensive because it is so cheap. What should I look for when checking it out?

I did not need a receipt for the no hassle warranty.

To answer the OP's quaestion: yes I have.... I broke a Champion 703c and took it back to the tackle store I purchased it from. Paid the $60.00 and got a new rod from the store inventory. I had no wait and no hassles. Very smooth...

How do they compare sensitivity wise? I did a search and I learned that IMX and GLX rods are carbon scrim where mossybacks are not. What I want to know is how do they compare in real world fishing situations?

x2 to J. Francho's advise. Also, after you cast close the bail by hand and NOT with the reel handle. This will help reduce some future line twist.

Powell Max.... For the uses you described I would go with either a 704c or 734c for your flipping pitching, C-rigs, heavy cover T-rigs; 683c for spinner baits, worms, lighter jigs, senkos, jerkbaits; for the cranks I would recommend the Okuma EVX crank bait rods, they are not a bad rod at all....... But, if you are set on staying with the same brands, Powell does make a cranking rod, I just don't have any experience with it so I won't recommend it. If I were you I would read some reviews on it and make a decision from that. Check out Tackle warehouse they carry Powells.

I would say anywhere between $500 and $700, but that is California prices

Thanks for the input! I spooled the reel up with 10# trilene flouro tonight, can't wait to hit the water again!

Let me add, it will be 10# test.