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G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2017 7:37 am
by karstopo
Just ordered this rod and a Nautilus X to go with it plus some SA 9wt Titan taper. My 6/8 Minimag is on its last legs. The handle is disintegrating, the finish is worn off. It looks bad, still functions, but for how long I'm not sure. The Pro X 4 Short Stix will hopefully fill the niche that the Minimag has occupied, that of a kayak riding, wind busting, heavy lifting redfish tamer. Maybe it will feel lighter in the hand and have even more casting power when called upon. I've never cast one which keeps my record perfect for never casting a rod before purchase.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 11:40 am
by Piscator
I considered that rod. My Christmas gift was a Marshfly Nano 8/9wt, 7'6" one-piece fly rod. Another gift was a 3-Tand reel. The rod came with Royal Wulff Bermuda Shorts fly line. Short shooting head. Finally got to use it last weekend and really like the rig. This is the first time for something other that WF line and I like the shooting head. It 'throws' that line out. Now to catch something with it. By the time I switched to the fly rod I did not see anymore fish. I should just take fly rods next time.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2017 3:41 pm
by karstopo
That Nano ought to be nice. No ferrules to mess with. I think the RW Bermuda Short was a line listed somewhere as good for the Short Stix, too. I think the SA Titan (also on the list) has about a 10' longer head than the Bermuda Short. I read somewhere longer heads do better than shorter heads in the wind. I don't fish a lot of giant flies, but do try to angle into the wind some. I've got a lot of lines to try if the 9wt Titan doesn't cut it.

I've enjoyed my 8' and 7'6" rods. They are great in the salt if you are standing in a skiff or kayak and especially for solo fishing on a boat, skiff or kayak. Easy to manage, easier to land fish, easier to store. They are nice to swing over extended periods, too.

There seems to be a just a few of them out there. There's a Orvis Recon at 7'11"I believe. I think there's a Redington, the 5 or so in G. Loomis Short Stix line up, the 2 TFO minimags. Sage has the BASS line up. Scott makes a 8' 4" skiff model Meridian, the 3 Nano rods (website says they are sold out). There are probably others I'm not aware of. I know the real heavy weight offshore rods tend to be shorter as are many of the 3 weights and under, but I'm talking about that 6-12 weight zone and really the 6-10 weight stuff.

I like my 7'6" fiberglass CGRs too. They have a nice feel from the fiberglass and are great touch rods, but not as good for me in strong winds. I'd like to add another fiberglass rod in that 6-8 weight range that is a little less flexing into the butt than the CGR and has oversized stripping guides rather than the tiny ones the CGR has. I don't want to go to 9'. 8'4" is about as long as I want to go in My Commander and 8' and under is better. Otherwise, the rod tip extends too much outside of the bow tip.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2017 11:10 am
by karstopo
I got to use this once. Put 9wt SA Sharkwave Saltwater Titan on the Nautilus X I got to go with it. The line casts great, but it's very slippery. Missed a set with the line slipping from my fingers.

The rod is powerful. Very little effort needed to shoot line out in a hurry. I got out on an afternoon where the wind really picked up. It did well in the wind and I think I'll do even better with it once I get more time using the rod. Feels lighter than my 6-8wt TFO Minimag. Put a few fish on the rod, but nothing to test it.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 1:59 am
by StrykerDM
Karstopo, you'd love my Epic 6wt or 8wt if you're looking for a fiberglass rod with some backbone.

Which nautilus is that? I love my nautilus nvg but haven't seen the x before.


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Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:34 am
by karstopo
StrykerDM wrote:Karstopo, you'd love my Epic 6wt or 8wt if you're looking for a fiberglass rod with some backbone.

Which nautilus is that? I love my nautilus nvg but haven't seen the x before.


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http://www.tridentflyfishing.com/nautil ... Apnq8P8HAQ

I picked the Nautilus X because it's so light weight and read it would pair well with the short Stix. The reel supposed to be low maintenance. Looks like it should handle anything I'm likely to come across. I put a bunch of 40# power pro braid I had laying around on it as backing. The worse thing I think I will ever see is a big Jack creveale. So far, I've busted the tippet or bent hooks on those before they really got out much line. I've never had on tippet heavier than 20 #.

I looked hard at those Epics. I still think I want a fiberglass Rod in that weight range that's more like 8'. The 6 wt epic is 8'6" and would be the one I would pick. I like dragging out any new rod search process. Seems like there was a blank maker in North Carolina that caught my eye but the name escapes me now. I still enjoy my line up of CGRs.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:05 pm
by StrykerDM
I like the looks of the nautilus. I just got a Ross momentum on sale the other day (not making the model anymore) in 8wt and it's a nice solid reel. Wish I had gotten another size now. Bit on the heavy side though.

I was looking at those short stud and they look nice. Never tried a shorter rod in my yak, but I should. I was googling around for a short graphite rod blank to build myself one but I don't think anybody makes them other than the sage bass series and those blanks are pricey. I checked tfo but they don't sell the mini mag blanks.


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Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 9:35 pm
by karstopo
This short Stix way has more punch than my minimag. I cast them side by side today in the wind. I know the short Stix is an 8/9 and my minimag is a 6/8, but the short Stix swings lighter, is much crisper, and has so much more power. It's kinda of ruined the minimag for me.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:46 am
by karstopo
Another thing that I like about the short Stix is it has a lot of feel as compared to the minimag. I didn't get any short shots at redfish with the short Stix, but took several medium to medium long shots at a small, fast moving school of reds on a shoreline. I was mostly hitting my spots, but not giving the fish enough of a lead. It was a chase type of deal, fish tight to the grass shoreline in about a foot of water and moving away at a good pace and me in hot pursuit in the kayak. I was making the heat of the moment mistake of hitting the target of were the fish were and not where they were going to be. I finally caught up to them at a little bend in the shoreline and the short Stix delivered a ~50' cast exactly where I wanted it to go. That got me the take from a 21" red.

Minutes earlier I had been using the minimag on the same shoreline and had a much harder time getting the rod to do what I wanted it to do. It might not be a fair comparison being the minimag is a 6/8 and the short Stix an 8/9. But the minimag felt much harder to control at even the medium distances. It felt clumsy and heavy and dull. These are negative qualities I never had noticed until I got the short Stix.

Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 8:50 am
by StrykerDM
Man, you could be a g loomis sales person. I feel like I need one of those rods now. $400 isn't bad at all.


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Re: G. Loomis Short Stix 8/9

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:32 am
by karstopo
StrykerDM wrote:Man, you could be a g loomis sales person. I feel like I need one of those rods now. $400 isn't bad at all.


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IDK, I haven't had a lot of experience with higher end rods, not that $400 is a high end rod kind of price these days. But I think the blank on the Short stix is something like the once top of the line G. Loomis GLX technology that the lighter weight, higher modulus NRX replaced. Anyway, It was eye opening to cast this rod, especially side to side with my Minimag. I've never felt like I "needed" a higher end stick and that was just wasting money, unnecessary, blah, blah, blah, etc. but I am going to revise that position. Maybe my casting is maturing, although not great(something I can work on, I get sloppy) , is good enough now to appreciate something better.

The fact that I really like rods not much more than 8' feet when fishing off my kayak is going to greatly limit my choices. Maybe I'll have to revise that thought process towards the 9' standard. Scott make a skiff model Meridian in 8'4" that would work and I'm going to see if I can find one to try out. I think I want the 7/8 Short Stix too. The only downside to the 8/9 Short Stix is that a lower slot red isn't much of a test for it and kind of spoils the fight some for me. That's the best I've gotten on the rod in 2 outings, although I had a bigger fish on for about 5-10 seconds, but not long enough to get even a taste of what an upper slot might be like.

Anyway, there is always something to move towards in this sport. I still like fiberglass, but lately it's been mainly windy fishing and I do better with these graphite rods in the wind than glass.