jeb2

LOL! I hear you. I always tell folks it was hard to justify spending the money on my first high end rod. But it was not difficult at all on all the ones that followed!

Great deal! My first GLX Loomis, a CR722, came off a "red sticker" sale rack at a Gander Mt store. 1/3 off of 1/3 off. Came to $99. It was a good day!

I've done well with them on C-rigs, but not as much on T-rigs. I got some big bass on 6 and 7 inch Senko/Dinger on 1/2 to 3/4 ounce C-rigs this summer. Not a huge numbers producer, but almost always good quality fish.

I do the same. Having only one knot to tie when on the water makes it faster and less likely to get in a hurry and mess one up. Check your line often. Knots are not an issue. 8-) Same here. I use these "tackle tamers" from Cabelas to keep them ready to go: Tackle Tamer

I was reading my most recent FLW mag and one of the pros in there stated he didn't use the C-rig because of all the possible points of failure. And I understand that. They are high maintenance rigs to fish, especially in the rocky lakes I tend to fish. I just put up with it since they just plain work for me. I fish the C-rig a lot. I check them/re-tie them often.

Glad you're happy with them throwing smaller baits, at least so far. I didn't say it wouldn't do that, just that it is quite fussy doing it, especially with FC line, it seems. Any little change in wind direction or small changes in lure weight meant adjusting everything on the reel or risk backlashes. My Premier's are much less fussy that way, and throw the same lures at least as far, and usually farther. The core is a decent reel and all. But it just not excel at throwing smaller baits compared to other reels, in my experience.

And the fact that Walleye is the king of fish up in that area. I know when I lived in MN and fished bass hard, very few others were doing the same. If there were others back in the bass waters, they were fishing for sunnies or pike, mostly. I live in NW Ark now and fish Beaver Lake a LOT. 4 days a week on average. It's a huge lake, but gets a lot of pressure and has a lot of tourney's, several a week often times. I don't fish competitively, and do pretty well on the lake overall, IMO. I catch my fair share of bass most days, and the occasional (stocked) walleye by accident. Caught a 19" walleye yesterday (takes an 18 to be legal here), and a 2 3/4lb Kentucky, or spotted, bass. I spent 2 months fishing in Wisc this summer on a small lake that was loaded with nice bass. First bass in the boat was 5.1lbs! And, just like down here, I had awesome days and I had days I had to work like crazy to get a fish or two. Overall, I'm not sure which I'd call "easier". Both usually demand that you put thought and effort into it to consistently catch fish. The quality of the fish I was catching in Wisc was high, though. Many, many 3+ pounders all summer long. But I think the reason for that is I was fishing in the deepest parts of the lake, way off shore. I think most bass fishermen up north are not comfortable doing that and pound the banks. And that describes me well when I lived up there, too. But fishing Beaver has given me a raft of deep water skills and confidence which paid off up north this year. And it's not that I don't catch big bass here. But it's tougher for me to put a lot of bigger fish in the boat on this lake, especially in the heat of the summer.

Add Dobyn's Rods to the list for a better warranty/service program than Loomis, too. I think Loomis's parent company, Shimano, has a better replacement service on their higher end rods, too. Over the counter, AFAIK. Kind of odd, that.

I bought mine to throw light stuff on my Loomis GLX BCR852. But it was just not happy doing that. Very fussy in that employ. People tell me it's better with mono for throwing light stuff, but I don't fish mono as I want my line to be invisible. One of my '10 Revo Premier's is now filling the light bait throwing role (and the other Premier is being used for med-heavy), and the core is on a BCR803 GLX now, throwing mid-weight lures, 3/8 to 5/8 mostly. It's fine for that, but overkill. Had I known it was not going to handle light lures, I'd have just got another Premier. Or another Curado. The core is small, which is nice for folks with small hands. Since I don't have small hands, it's really not a plus for me personally. I do not regard the purchase as a good bang for my buck.

I like the original Stik Jackets. Very easy to put on and take off and they do a great job of protecting the rods.

You should try the '10 Revo Premier. I don't own a Zillion, but the new Premier is the smoothest of any of my high end reels, by far. As you say, like oiled glass on glass. Incredible. Not on the new Premier. I had one of mine apart again yesterday for cleaning. Main gear is alum, worm gear seems to be brass. But is for sure metal of some kind. Given my experience with other reels with DBS, I'd almost agree with you. Except that I own 2 of the new Premier's with their DBS system and it's nothing short of stellar. The two systems truely work in concert with each other, or can be completely disengaged. The first DBS I've seen that really works. The Premiers work awesome for light or heavy lures, depending on the rod more than anything else. My E7 is a good workhorse reel, but not really in the league of the new Premier. And it does not cast small lures nearly as well. It's a more "fussy" reel, if you will.

thats exectly what i'm talking about Interesting. I never notice that, so I guess I hold my reels differently.

That's the first I've heard of any issues like that with a new Premier! Was this the older, 6 bearing black anodized one or a new 2010, 10 bearing one? I've been fishing my 2010 Premier's pretty hard since I bought the first one around Xmas last year. I fish 4-6 days a week, and have even boated a 19lb striper with one of them (no sweat at all). It has shown zero signs of wear or any problems whatsoever. I don't know about any black Premiers, these were all gray. The new ones are pretty much still under warranty, so I won't get any sent in for service yet. I see all kinds of broken parts, on many different reels. For whatever reason, I had a bunch of Premiers on the bench. Not what I'd use myself, but I still think they're a nice reel, especially when they're on sale. Sounds like they're older ones, then. It'll be interesting to see if you have many of the newer ones come in.

Sorry, I don't understand. The only nut that is exposed on the reel is the one holding the handle on. Is that what you mean? I just went out to the garage and compared my E7 to one of my '10 Premiers, and the E7 has a rounded nut keeper on the handle where it's more exposed on the Premier. I read a post by one other guy saying the swept handle on the '10's cause him to catch that nut with his finger. Just shows we're all different and have different ways of holding/reeling our reels, I guess. I've never once contacted that nut on any reel I've ever owned. But I guess it might be a good idea for Abu to think about a Shimano style keeper for the handle nut since it does seem to be an issue for a few folks.

That's the first I've heard of any issues like that with a new Premier! Was this the older, 6 bearing black anodized one or a new 2010, 10 bearing one? I've been fishing my 2010 Premier's pretty hard since I bought the first one around Xmas last year. I fish 4-6 days a week, and have even boated a 19lb striper with one of them (no sweat at all). It has shown zero signs of wear or any problems whatsoever.

Which is the kind of thing I was afraid of when I heard the Loomis customer service center switched from Loomis to Shimano.

I agree with you. The lack of personal responsibility in this country is a very sad statement of where we are at these days as a country. It's all the "what's in it for me" or "get mine while I can" thing. I have no idea how many Loomis customers abused the xpeditor policy. I've never even used it once personally. But it does not seem right of them to throw the baby out with the bath water on this, either. Oh well, it is what it is. Good excuse to try other brands, I guess.

You would if they said that was part of the deal when you bought the gun, though.

I only own the Premier's. I gather the STX is just a heavier version of it, so it should still be a great reel. I guess it comes down to if the 2+ ounces are important to you. I have some heavier reels in my lineup, like a Calais DC. And it's sure noticeable when I put it down and pick up a rod with a Premier on it. But I can't say the lighter reels make any difference to me as far as fatigue vs the heavier ones. Still, if it were me, I'd spend the extra on the Premier again.

I think many would agree with you. If that were the only change. But add to that the once in a lifetime thing, no xpeditor service on discontinued rods, no xpeditor service on the new NRX (!), Loomis customer service calls now being handled by Shimano and it starts to put Loomis in a different light for many of us. My plan exactly. And from the sounds of the forums, many will be voting on this one with their wallets.

I've heard the 2010 version is much improved. Much like the Premier line was also improved.

Boy, I hear that. I bought an 09 SX on closeout last year. Piece of junk. Worst reel I've ever owned, personally. And I've been buying baitcasters for bass since the late 70's! My 2010 Premier's are so far and away better, it's hard to believe they were made by the same company.

Why should you have to do that in order to get everything you want in a reel? All of my Shimano reels are bone stock and will handle any fish you want to catch. Good question. I've never had to do anything to my 2010 Premier's except the normal clean and lube thing, like my Shimano's. They fish awesome right out of the box.

It's critical in this discussion to understand exactly what year Revo folks are talking about. I have 2 of the newest, 10 bearing Premiers and they are fantastic reels. I also have a Curado 200 E7. It's a good reel, especially at the price point. Nothing special, but a good workhorse. Not as smooth as my Premiers, the drag is weaker and it does not like light baits nearly as well. The Premier has dual braking, is very adjustable, is much easier to adjust on windy days and is just a great, great all around reel. The older Revo's, even last years, did not get near the positive reviews. Abu really stepped up this year and improved the line dramatically for most of the reels.

You may not factor in the "warranty" in your rod buying purchase, but many other people do. I don't see why anyone would NOT factor in the expeditor service when purchasing a high end rod. If 2 rods are equal in sensitivity and one provides a replacement program for $50 per breakage then that one makes much more sense financially. And now after MANY people have used the expeditor service as a factor in their purchase Loomis doubles the price and restricts it to ONE replacement. Everyone who purchased a Loomis rod with the expeditor service has every right to be upset about it. That's a pretty drastic change. Very well said. There are several very good rods out there, so the warranty/replacement policy for sure plays a part in my decision. It used to be a no-brainer. GLX is a great rod with a great warranty/replacement. Buy more GLX's! Easy decision. Now the door is thrown open for me since their policy is now just average. I'm also looking at St. Croix as they get a lot of accolades and have a great warranty/upgrade program on the higher end stuff. One of the reasons for the increase, according to a ShimLoomis customer service rep on a different forum, is because folks were "abusing" it. While I understand that, I'm insulted that their policy now assumes I'm an abuser. And there's nothing to keep them from doubling it again in 6 months or whatever when they decide there are still too many "abusers". Just bad policy, IMO. Grandfathering in the older rods, only allowing Xpeditor once or twice a year, not doubling the price, giving more than a 2 week notice on the change, etc would have gone a long way to making this a less bitter pill for loyal Loomis owners.