One Piece

Whether sitting down with friends remembering the good ol days or collecting objects that help remind me of special moments in my life, I have a fondness for all things nostalgic. Anyway, not too long ago I had the opportunity to file away another item into my collection of memories and do something that I found to be quite remarkable. After 8 years of hard use- I retired a fly rod. Mind you, this was not just a rod that I have used, it was a rod that I have put in hundreds of peoples hands over the years and it pretty much remained in my skiff since the day it arrived in the mail. You might ask why this is such a significant event and the answer would be that, after thousands upon thousands of casts and after catching what I estimate to be well over a couple thousand fish- the rod has never broke or lost a guide and will still throw a fly line better than I will ever be able to make it. The rod I am talking about is an 8 wt. G Loomis Crosscurrent Pro 1.

This rod is such a magnificent piece of equipment that I am thinking it might even need to be given a name. I was thinking about calling her Betsy but I think that name was taken by Davy Crockett when he spoke of his rifle. All jokes aside I will get to the point and that is- What is so special about this rod that it warrants the consideration of a name? Well, outside of the fact that it has been abused by countless fish and by anglers with skill levels that range from fly fishing legends all the way to those who try to hold the tip of the rod to cast- the rod is still a delicate, precision tool that performs flawlessly. I believe that the secret to this rods long life lies in the fact that it is of one-piece construction.

After years of visiting the Florida Keys, G Loomis chief rod designer Steve Rajeff started noticing a trend and that was that most of the guides had started gluing together the ferrules of their fly rods, essentially creating one-piece rods. The premise was, since they rarely took their rods apart, why not just make them solid, which in turn reduced the breakage that was usually associated with the loosening of ferrules through use. Rajeff took the idea back to the factory and it was well received by his design team and the Loomis Pro Staff so, in 2001, the Crosscurrent Pro 1 was brought to market.

Mind you, the concept of a one-piece fly rod was not new. Fifteen or so years earlier, Fisher Rods had built fiberglass fly rods that were one-piece but it was Loomis who built the first out of high-performance graphite. A design of which, makes an extremely light-weight rod that casts insanely well and is, to say the least, indestructible under normal circumstances. I mean if my high-sticking customers (not all of them) cannot break one, they cannot be broken, outside of stepping on it or closing the car door on it. I guess what I am trying to say is that they are a very durable rod and wise investment for the Texas fly fisherman who spends most of his time in his own skiff. It goes without saying though, if you are a traveling angler, you need to look at only four-piece rods.

While the popularity of one-piece rods has been building for the last ten years, other manufactures such as Hardy and Lamiglass have recently jumped on the bandwagon and begun to market their own versions of the one-piecer. I have cast both of these rods and have to say that they are exceptional and I have landed a couple of tarpon between 70 and 90 pounds on the Hardy. It is tough but, in my opinion, not as forgiving in the cast as the Crosscurrent Pro 1.

Recently, G Loomis decided step it up a notch and introduced the new NRX Pro 1 at this years ICAST show. Using the Nano Silica Resin technology developed by 3M that was used in their award-winning NRX rods introduced a couple of years earlier, Rajeff and his team developed a one-piece rod that was even lighter than the Crosscurrent Pro 1 that started the current one-piece revolution.

One of my customers and good friend, Jake Battle, and I had the opportunity to put an 8 wt NRX Pro 1 to the test recently on some upper-slot fall redfish and we were both very surprised at the heat we could put on these fish utilizing the backbone of the NRX technology combined with the one-piece construction.

After this trip I gave Rajeff a call and asked him point blank- is the NRX stronger than the Crosscurrent Pro 1. His reply, They both survived the torture test. But the NRX is lighter.

I asked him what he meant by torture test and he explained that when they deadlifted weight vertically that the tip of the rod could actually pass below the handle of the rod before breakage would occur. I am thinking that if I ever saw one of my customers do that, even to one of their own rods, I might have to smack them with the push-pole. All joking aside- it is apparent after having fished the rod, it is ridiculously tough.

I have now been fishing one-piece rods almost exclusively (with the exception of travel) for 8-9 years. I truly believe that they are in fact more forgiving not only in a fight, but also when casting, assuming that a person chooses a fly line that not only compliments their style but also ability. And, having cast them all and having fished with 3 of the 4 models available, I have to say the NRX, in my opinion, is by far the best of the best. However, if I had to choose between all of them based on performance and value- the original Crosscurrent Pro 1 will blow the rest away.

So if you are looking for something to ask for Christmas, you might consider asking for a one-piece fly rod. I would be surprised if you were disappointed.

Wishing you and those that you love and cherish the Merriest Christmas and the Happiest of Holidays and of course stuff like that!