The Search For One... Setting the Baseline With Not Just Any G.Loomis
 

Introduction: Kicking off our “Search for One”, it’s time to discuss that one fishing rod. Imagine decades ago when fishing meant heading to your local waterway with nothing more than one rod, one reel, some hooks, weights, and your bait of choice.  Certainly, in some places, this is still how it’s done, but for those of us who are in tune with our inner tackle enthusiast, a discussion like this cannot begin without a few ground rules.

The Year of the Crank is over... Time to embark on our Search For One.

The Rules: First on the table is what species are we talking about? Even though we here at TackleTour are not JUST bass guys, bass fishing is certainly what dominates the market place and as a result, our reviews. Our themed review years have all been about bass gear. While that may change in the future, it’s not going to change for 2010. Our primary target species then, in our search for that one fishing rod is going to be black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass), but you know we’ll mix in other species during our tests as well.

As with any journey, setting a goals can help you find your way.

Next up is what style of rod – spinning versus casting. This is a rather short discussion because if you’re going to get serious about bass fishing, you need to learn how to use baitcasting gear. There are far less line twist problems with baitcasting gear, you can generally cast more accurately, and baitcasting gear is just more comfortable to use all day long. Certainly there are situations where a spinning combo is more suitable, but for an all-purpose type setup, our vote is for casting gear.

So what's that one rod to set our baseline? Certainly, it's a baitcaster.

So, our “one” fishing rod is going to center around baitcasting gear for black bass and miscellaneous bonus species. Right off the bat, anyone who’s been anywhere near the bass fishing industry over the last fifteen to twenty years knows the dominance G.Loomis once wielded over the fishing rod segment of the market. Arguably, they are still considered tops in the North America, yet just before the turn of the Century (1997), Shimano purchased G.Loomis in a deal that didn’t make any serious waves through the industry until several years later.

Fast tapered is another characteristic of this rod.

That’s right, It’s been over ten years and yet the G.Loomis GLX blank is still considered the cream of the crop. It is rather fitting then, on this tenth anniversary of TackleTour we present our baseline rod from which to draw comparisons for our 2010 Search for One all purpose bass rod. Any guesses? Yes, the MBR783C GLX from G.Loomis has been the unofficial benchmark in the industry for one stick to handle it all for a number of years. As the years go on, its longer sibling, the MBR843C GLX has garnered some of this attention, but the 783 is still the sweet spot for many because it’s not too long, and not too short, but just right.

And of course, it's a medium powered stick as well.

The Baseline: Of course, in traditional TackleTour flair, we can’t let just any off the shelf rod represent our theme for the year, even if it is a G.Loomis GLX. No, what we’re breaking down today is the seldom discussed, little known, special edition, limited production, G.Loomis GLX2000.