Everything Direct Drive said; nothing that Swinger72 said.

A word about IM6. Good rods are built from IM6, IM7, IM8 and every other pre-preg (resin impregnated fabric) that's been on the graphite rod market since 1973. It's about rod design much more than which fabric is used in the rod's manufacture. As one poster mentioned, the old Fenwick Eglass FC or FS83 still is a good performing rod. For that matter, any angler worth the label can fish spoons effectively with an old yellow Eagle Claw 8' 2" powerlight, although the new tip over butt ferrules and trigger grip reel seats are a nice modern convenience.

Sg

Now this made me laugh.......I need a chuckle today.....

I have 3 of the XML, from about 10-12 years ago.....2 casting, 1 spinning,

1 casting and 1 spinning-----8 - 15#........spinning one, worked great for twitching in November and December.

The casting 10 - 20 pound, just doesn't get used much.....maybe more in near future, "springers".....

Great rods for the price......

Sage CT 290F and a Revo XST (or Curado 200 series) and you're set!

Budget, schmudget!

Yeah, that.

I wish I had a G.Loomis IM6 driftrod, Ken Wiebe trigger/handle, single inlaid turns in the wraps and quite possibly wrapped by Gary's wife. Yep, true.

Marketing has a way of drumming out the other stuff so your stuff will sell. It shapes opinions, just as it is intended.
If IM6 is OK, then IM7 must be better. Hell IM8 has to be the bees knees !

Side note...
I always understood that the Fenwick Steelhead series (FS) to be of Fenglas which I believe was Fenwick's trade name for S Glas.
Fenglas and E glas were always clearly delineated in any Fenwick printed material.
Fenglas blanks were a different color than Fenglas factory built rods.
The blanks felt quicker to me and perhaps they were from a more advanced process, I don't know.
Lamiglas S Glas never seemed as quick as Fenglas, IMO.

Yep, 1973....the birth year of the graphite fishing rod.
We can thank Don Green and Fenwick for that event.

Fast forward to 1988.
Jim @ Angler's Workshop said to me one day....
"If you want anymore US Fenwick blanks, you had better grab them now. Fenwick just announced they're going overseas."

I'll take a CT 290F and CT 296F please

DD,

I relied on memory, which is occasionally hazardous. I don't recall which, S glass or E glass is the slightly higher modulus. Fenwick gave the higher modulus one the trade name Fenglass. I don't think there was any different production process. Wrapping the higher modulus fabric on the same mandrel produced an ever so slightly lighter rod blank with greater strength (modulus being a measure of tensile strength) and faster action.

When graphite was used to fabricate rod blanks, the big deal to overcome was its brittleness compared to fiberglass. That has continued with each new generation of graphite fiber, they are lighter and stronger, but also more brittle. Manufacturers have done a fantastic job of making graphite fiber more suitable to rod building, but that inherent brittleness, as much as the sporting goods prestige price wars, led to long-term, lifetime, and unconditional rod warranties. Before that, a new rod carried a limited warranty against defective materials and workmanship, and that was the extent of it. But we had to work really hard to break fiberglass rods, comparatively speaking.

Sg

I bought a lamiglas XMG 50 10ft and 8-15. I love it for spoons and spinners, long enough to mend well around boulders and what not, and does really well when feeling for the slow thump of the spoon or spinner blade. Only small downer about it is I find it a tad too sensitive for my liking, if I were to get a different spoon rod Id probably try the herzog 10-20 10ft certified. Seems like it has more back bone in the bottom half. Other than that though the XMG has done very well for all my hardware applications, steelhead and salmon.

And as far as Lamiglas's customer service, not too sure if my next purchase of a rod will be from them. Though most all my rods are quality it makes me wonder why I pay the extra coin for warranty when shimano and okuma have a better deal. Break a rod, walk into Sportco or place of purchase with receipt, they hand you a new rod over the counter.....customer then proceeds to walk out of store with new rod. As compared to the 70$ no question asked policy plus a 25$ shipping fee from lamiglas.

Sudden Breakage

Can't help but think of the Boron X days. A fishing buddy loved 'em but man, did he go through them.
The breaks were always clean as a whistle.....like they were machined.

Xmg 9'6 8-15 one is what I use as my spoon/drift rod. I love this rod. Its light and easy to cast. faster action. you can feel everything that is going on at the end of your line. For the money thats what I would buy again and again. I use a really cheap reel The abu garcia black max like 40 bucks. They will only last 1 or 2 yrs depending on how hard you are on them. They hold plenty of line cast great and have enough drag to stop fish.

I have had 2 rods replaced by lamiglas and never paid a dime. I dont know if thats a new thing or not.

A great rod in the IMX but a bit rubbery/stiff in the GL2...

STR1025C for me, best all around rod for me...

Keith

DrifterWa is spot on. alot of lessser rods feel jsut as good as the $350.00 ones, its just that they break more often because the quality of the graphite is not there...For the money and Buzz Ramsey IM8/ or 7 and the new Fenwick HMX rods cannot be beat. If I was blindfolded I'd never know the dif between one and a higher end rod.

That'll get him on that "divorce list" we were all talkin about real quick. Don't let um throw ya under the bus steeliedrew. Way to be a mentor Stam! lmao

Money being a factor, then sensitivity can't be the main topic for decision... If budget is the driving factor then get what you can afford and make due with it and as you excel through the learning curve you'll have choices to upgrade down the road...

Swinger, You're statement isn't true, if you were blindfolded you would tell the difference between a high end rod and one of those you listed above, matter of fact it would be a night and day difference... Just the difference alone in the 1084 GL2 you mentioned before and that same rod in the IMX version is a night and day difference themselves...

Keith

today's cheaper rods($60-100) range are probably about as good as the expensive ones 20 years ago. you don't need an expensive rod to be successful, but they are usually just more enjoyable to fish with.

I found a killer deal on an 8.6' lamiglas G1000 series 8-12 lb that i'm probably going to pick up. I was thinking of pairing it up with a shimano citica but to stay on track with the budget I was also looking into a pfleuger president that I found for a good price. Does anyone have experience with these reels? Good or bad, lets here it.

Thank you,

Drew

Get the Citica over the Pflueger. Better yet, buy a Revo. It's always cheaper to buy quality in the long run...

That's the exact rod I started with!!

Keith

Get both the 290 and the 296. I did!

The IMX 1025c is my favorite drift rod - but it's too short and snappy for spoons. Great spinner rod, though.

OTOH, gotta have the 1263 for Flydoggin'.....

Gotta have the 1264c for salmon float fishin'.....

Gotta have the HSR 982 for kwikies......

Gotta have.....

Gotta have....