and figure out exactly what each rod was, according to Loomis's specification. The problem, if it is one, is that Loomis rods are notorious for casting just about any line, especially heavier than their listed weights. I chose two 4 piece rods that looked to be in the 6-10 wt category, settled on 5 regular 2 piece blanks, two in the 10 1/2 foot length, two in the 9 foot length, both with different butt diameters. One was a Winston graphite, just out of curiosity. An excellent fishing buddy goes into rapture over his Winston's, and I have had good luck with their rods in the past. Glenn's approach to components is in keeping with his general style. He will sell you snake guides by the hand full, all sizes mixed, for loose change. He has a large number of complete rod seat-handle combinations, some of them in excellent quality with fighting butts and everything, for $5. The hooker is that they were cut off a broken rod, so the original butt is still in the grip and seat. You need to drill it out slightly, and they work best on rods smaller than the original, according to Glenn. My mind was still swimming with possibilities. I passed on the componnents for the time being. In all, I left with 6 blanks, and the complete salmon rod, and wrote a check for less than any one of the rods would have been complete. I won't know what I've got until I get them all completed. But then, I can trade these off, even give them as presents. Hell, for this price, I can almost pick my teeth with them. Glenn was all laughing and smiles, a really nice guy who seems to be enjoying his version of retirement. Selling people good fishing equipment at rock bottom prices seems to agree with his disposition. He gave me a few cards to pass around. I told him I would probably be able to send some buiness his way. It seemed the right thing to do. Heck, if we could find out when he gets his next fresh shipment from Loomis, we could plan a club outing right there in his barn. I left shaking my head. "My, my, what I just discovered. Wait till the guys in the club hear about this." Trump Doyle, McKenzie Flyfishers, January 1992 Addendum: Now, 11 years later, things have changed only slightly. The blanks are mostly Cascade, an excellent Sage wannabee, and are now $30 and $50. Most of the components are new rather than reclaims, but still dirt cheap. And the rod blanks are MARKED for weight, so the guessing is over.
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