Regaining His Edge : Bass Rods by Gary Loomis

[Hapi Hooker]

Just read the new article on Edge Rods by Gary Loomis. Cal did a great job and I can't wait to get my hands on these. It will be interesting to see if they release a spiral wrapped production rod. Hopefully the pricing will be reasonable.

[Teal101]

I'll probably stick to the NFC blanks so I can run full Fuji SiC guides and matagi parts. If he does make them without REC, I'll consider a production rod.

[SLM]

A contemporary iteration of the Schaefer/Wiebe Super Sticker? I never thought I'd ever see its reintroduction on a mass produced rod line. Very nice...

[dragon1]

I agree on the Recoils...hoping they offer both mixed and SICs only. SICs with revolver wrap + that Weibe rebirthed seat would be like buying a factory made "custom" with manufacturer's warranty for me.

BTW SLM, thanks for sharing abou Schaefer...did they also contribute to the Weibe seat design?

[Tokugawa]

Do they have a website already ?

I could not find any mention of the rods on the North Fork web site, I guess we'll have to wait.

http://www.edgerods.com/

I'll hold judgement until I see the rods. I can say for sure that the blanks are the real deal but it always seems there's something about off-the-shelf rods that turns me off. My first hint from the article that I won't be buying one of these was "a mix of REC and Fuji K-Series guides." Maybe Cal could tell Gary that nobody wants Recoils

I think I let out an audible, "oh man" when I read the guide train design.

I agree on the Recoils...hoping they offer both mixed and SICs only. SICs with revolver wrap + that Weibe rebirthed seat would be like buying a factory made "custom" with manufacturer's warranty for me.

We can dream - yes?

[dragon1]

I hope that these Edge rods will give me the same feeling I had when I purchased my first GLoomis rods...it was indeed a very special experience that I will never forget.

Even at full retail, to be able to hold a GL3, IMX, GLX and then to actually own these rods and put them on the water, all the while immediately validating that these rods fished better than anything I had ever owned up to that time...was and still is priceless!

[SLM]

BTW SLM, thanks for sharing abou Schaefer...did they also contribute to the Weibe seat design?

Ken Wiebe sold his inventory to Gary Schaefer and the design was renamed Schaefer Super Sticker. This was around 2004/2005 or thereabouts, maybe even before. I was working in retail and when Wiebe was visiting accounts I asked him if the Super Sticker was still available--he said he sold everything to Schaefer.

[dragon1]

BTW SLM, thanks for sharing abou Schaefer...did they also contribute to the Weibe seat design?

Ken Wiebe sold his inventory to Gary Schaefer and the design was renamed Schaefer Super Sticker. This was around 2004/2005 or thereabouts, maybe even before. I was working in retail and when Wiebe was visiting accounts I asked him if the Super Sticker was still available--he said he sold everything to Schaefer.

Kool beans on the notes SLM...also, is the correct spelling Weibe or Wiebe?

[SLM]

It's Wiebe

[Eric Walsh]

From the pics of the wiebe handle, it looks as if they left the reel foot nut the same.(It was a real paint scraper. )
Wish they could incorporate a cushioned hood style with the rest staying within the classic wiebe style.

[DReihl9896]

I agree on the Recoils...hoping they offer both mixed and SICs only. SICs with revolver wrap + that Weibe rebirthed seat would be like buying a factory made "custom" with manufacturer's warranty for me.

BTW SLM, thanks for sharing abou Schaefer...did they also contribute to the Weibe seat design?

I believe that is the purpose of the build your own program they have on the website. It isn't supposed to offer the range of customization that you'd get with many custom builders, but does allow you to tweak a few things to your liking. For instance if a particular factory rod that they offer is nearly perfect to your tastes in every way, but you wish they'd gone with different guides, choose a different set of guides for it. You can also have them build a rod from any one of their blanks that isn't available in one of the factory models yet.

The website hasn't been updated with specs and model listings for their bass rods yet (which makes sense given, Cal's article said they were still prototypes), but they do have their salmon and steelhead lineup listed. Though I understand that steelhead is where it all began for Gary and it makes sense to start with bass rods because bass anglers make up the largest share of the market, I'm wondering how quickly they are going to expand into rods for other target species and applications.

[SLM]

From the pics of the wiebe handle, it looks as if they left the reel foot nut the same.(It was a real paint scraper. )
Wish they could incorporate a cushioned hood style with the rest staying within the classic wiebe style.

I've had a few standard Fuji seats that weren't able to secure reels very well so I'll take the slight paint rubbing for a secure reel any day. The metal ring locks up rock solid. It's only at the front corner/edge of the front foot that gets a bit of paint rubbed off so I don't mind at all.

[dragon1]

From the pics of the wiebe handle, it looks as if they left the reel foot nut the same.(It was a real paint scraper. )
Wish they could incorporate a cushioned hood style with the rest staying within the classic wiebe style.

I've had a few standard Fuji seats that weren't able to secure reels very well so I'll take the slight paint rubbing for a secure reel any day. The metal ring locks up rock solid. It's only at the front corner/edge of the front foot that gets a bit of paint rubbed off so I don't mind at all.

Agreed...I put electrical tape on all of reel "feets" for protective good measure anyway.