finesse fishing: G. Loomis Greenwater Series

I received my prize for the opening day catch report on the Lure Anglers Society forum yesterday. Evaldas at Lure-Anglers.Shop.co.uk kindly donated a G.Loomis Greenwater series GWPR842S a 7' one piece spinning rod designed primarily as a saltwater rod. It is described as medium light power with a casting range of 7-14 grams. First impressions were of the usual high quality Loomis finish and the lightness of the rod despite having a full cork handle and a quick bend and a wiggle seemed to confirm the description as a medium fast action rod.

I am currently marking exam papers so fishing time is limited but I was under instructions from Keith to go out, catch some fish , take some pictures and write a report :lol: So this morning after a good session marking I decided I needed a break and decided to go to the river for a couple of hours. I threw a Shimano Exage 2500 on the rod (loaded with Suffix 832 braid) and off I went.

The first area I wanted to try was occupied by a salmon angler playing a foul hooked barbel up and down the pool - it was giving him a right run around so I decided to try another areas I knew often holds a few fish as I didn't have much time. I was using crank baits around 7g which is the lower end of the rods stated casting range and the rod loaded nicely and flicked them out exactly where I wanted them without any fuss. The rod gave really good feel for what the lure was doing -immediately telegraphing when the lure had picked up any weed. The blank was doing everything I needed it to and I soon forgot I was using a new rod. I didn't try anything heavier but it feels like 14g is probably close to the maximum I'd be comfortable casting on it.

It took about an hour to find the first co-operative fish of 4lb 8oz - a great first fish on a new rod. :D