Loomis SAR1265C vs Shimano CENNAN 106MH2

The Loomis SAR1265C has been my favorite magnum plugging and herring rod since 2003. Shimano now has a similar 10.5' stick in the CENNAN line of salmon rods.... got one as a gift the other day.

Pretty rod... the outermost graphite fibers appear to be woven in irridescent brown diamonds the full length of the rod. Nice components. Lifetime warranty. Mounted a reel with 65# PowerPro and stuck it in a FOLBE rodholder for the "wait-till-the-line-peels" flex test.

Action very similar to the SAR1265... perhaps a little more meat. Rod tip moved about 6-7 feet before the line peeled. Seems to have plenty of butt.


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Well, I did a little side-by-side testing of the long Loomis and Shimano sticks today. The Shimano is definitely a heavier rod... I'd say about 15% bigger caliber for the entire length of the rod. Action is definitely "meatier" as well, but still a nice smooth progressive load into the butt section.

I hung an 8 oz cannonball from each, and the deflection of the rod tip measured 22.75" on the CENNAN and 31.25" on the Loomis. With 20 oz, the deflection measured 54" on the CENNAN and 62" on the Loomis.

I tied off to a 5# hand-weight and the Loomis will lift it off the floor, but there is precious little reserve left... the rod feels like it's probably within ounces of exploding. The CENNAN will lift the same weight off the floor and still have a considerable reserve in the butt to "bungee" the weight up and down another foot.

Another workhorse to add to the line-up. I like it!

i think that when shimano bought loomis up, they used their technology to improve their rods drastically(some of the rods they produced after the buyout were actually built in woodland).

i think the clarus is the best bang for the buck rod on the market. i've got a couple for types of fishing i don't do a whole lot of(back bouncing etc). i'll only spend more than $100 on a rod if i'm going to use it a lot.

Great review Doc, and I agree with your test.

I've replaced all my SAR1265c Loomis with the new 10'6" Shimano Cennan rods for this Springer Season, after the fist couple weeks of the season...I'm very impressed.

They have a light enough tip, that trolling prawn spinners and herring is a pleasure.

One thing I noticed on all Shimano Cennan rods, they're a little underrated line wise.

The Cennan 8'0" 1 piece plug rod is sweeeet, fishes as well as the Loomis HSR981c GL3's that I replaced.

OK .... Shimano bought Loomis years ago, right?

So how does that work for Loomis vs Shimano "pro staffers" when the "competition" is made by the same company?

Can get a little interesting, when you leave one for the other.

It is all about marketing, they don't care how many different names are out there as long as they own them all. The mark up is so high on fishing rods, they make money no matter what they put out there.

OK, let's rewind a few years. Let's say a guide was on the Shimano pro-staff because he/she thought they made the best reels in the world. That guide was also on the G-Loomis pro-staff because he/she was convinced they made the greatest rods.

Along comes the buy-out... then a few years later, a new series of Shimano salmon/steelhead rods put up to run against the Loomis sticks. If the guide's loyalties are still with Loomis, does he/she still get to stay on the Shimano pro-staff?

Doc, sent you a pm.

And when Comparing G.Loomis with Shimano Cennan, the Cennan compares with the GL2 line of Loomis rods..

Just an update to this thread,the 10'6" Shimano Cennan have been fishing great the last month.
while a little stiffer than it's cousin the G.Loomis SAR 1265c...the Cennan CEC106MH2 trolles 4-8 oz. cannon balls great and is a treat to land springers on!

So far so good in my boat for the CENNAN 106MH2.

It has comfortably landed kings to 50#... with a little more butt to lift a truly BIG fish than its SAR1265 counterpart.

It is now my diver rod of choice for the side-rigger position.

Had some reservations about the hardware Shimano wrapped on there, but so far, no failures running 65# braided mainline.

Where are these shimano rods sold. I have not seen them around. Although I guess I haven't been looking.

Here's a smattering of the fish that have put my CENNAN 106MH2's to the test. I'd say the rods are alright, boys.... they're alright.

Rumor has it a few more big salmon will likely succumb to these rods in the next few weeks.

I know I have seen them on the shelves at Cabela's.

Ted's in Lynnwood has a few models.

The ones that caught all those fish came from Ted's.
The trick is knowen where to buy the lucky ones...
Mike put a good dose of MOJO JUJU powder on that set...