Are they the same company???

I believe Shimano owns GLoomis.

Shimano has owned G. Loomis for over ten years.

thats good to know.

G Loomis despite being owned by Shimano, are made right here in the USA.

I'd like to know what Gary Loomis thought are about the direction of G Loomis....In the interview w/him about North Fork Composites he talks about the direction of G Loomis VERY briefly. With a negative connotation.

G Loomis despite being owned by Shimano, are made right here in the USA.

I'd like to know what Gary Loomis thought are about the direction of G Loomis....In the interview w/him about North Fork Composites he talks about the direction of G Loomis VERY briefly. With a negative connotation.

You're right, it is pretty clear from what he does say, that what he thought GLoomis was about and what Shimano thought, was not the same. That there was legal action and significant legal fees over the use of his name adds fuel to the fire.

It would be interesting to know what the differences were, but I doubt that is going to happen any time soon. Too many lawyers involved.

Ten years (Wow) ,  I have 3 rods prior to the buy out. I feel older thanks to this thread.

Now that Gary is back in the blank business, the timing kind of makes you wonder if his non-compete/non-disclosure agreements are fully expired. :

Little has changed recently, except a planned end to selling blanks. That makes me think it's more of a timing issue than any lack of enthusiasm for the business... that he happily sold for $$$.

... and not to mention that ANY publicity he gets right now has a direct link to North Fork Composites, even when asked about Loomis since they give the NFC story with each mention.  So why not take all the interviews and free pub he can... it just increases awareness to NFC.

And for the record, I still like Loomis IMX and GLX blanks.

Now that Gary is back in the blank business, the timing kind of makes you wonder if his non-compete/non-disclosure agreements are fully expired. :

Little has changed recently, except a planned end to selling blanks. That makes me think it's more of a timing issue than any lack of enthusiasm for the business... that he happily sold for $$$.

Actually quite a bit changed.  Over the last year and a half they've undergone a very extensive retraining program on rod building.  They've taken on the European market.  They've eliminated the normal G Loomis sales reps as of a few weeks ago.  They've also moved everything except production over to Shimano locations/systems recently.

I'm not going to guess about what Gary thinks of any/all the changes, but there are a lot of changes.

Shimano has owned Gloomis since 1997. Sales, service and marketing are all under our umbrella now. Production and development are still in Woodland, WA. This was a decision made by the people at GLoomis and not Shimano. They wanted to focus on building rods again.