G.Loomis Asquith Fly
G.Loomis's flagship fly rod — Shimano-engineered Spiral X Core blanks from Kumamoto, Japan, hand-finished in Woodland, Washington. Steve Rajeff's swan song.
Editorial
The G.Loomis Asquith is the result of an unusual industrial pairing. Shimano makes the blanks at its Kumamoto, Japan facility using a proprietary carbon-fiber technology called Spiral X Core; G.Loomis finishes them at the rod-building shop in Woodland, Washington that has carried Steve Rajeff's signature for almost forty years.
The 2026 redesign is the second major revision since the line launched in 2016 — when it became the first mainstream fly rod to break the four-figure base price barrier. The current Asquith covers weights 6 through 12, with saltwater and two-handed variants priced above the base. Rajeff, who has been with G.Loomis since 1986, is approaching retirement; people inside Loomis call this his swan song.
Spiral X Core uses three layers of carbon laid in alternating directions — an inner spiral, a longitudinal middle, and a crossed outer wrap — held together with Toray's Nanoalloy resin. The structure resists torsion. The blank stays narrow without going oval under load. The fly fishing trade press treated the rod's price as the story; the construction was the actual one.
Why It Matters
Fly fishing has built its identity around boutique American rod-makers since the late nineteenth century — names like Winston, Orvis, Sage, Hardy. The Asquith pushes a different premise: that the gap between fly rods and high-end conventional rods has narrowed enough for cross-application engineering to lead. Shimano-owned manufacturing brings tooling Sage and Winston don't access; Loomis's heritage finishes it without losing the fly rod feel. Whether that proposition holds in long-term casting is what the redesign is for.
Best For
- Saltwater fly anglers wanting the lightest 9-12wt blank available
- Casters who prioritise tracking and torsion resistance over traditional flex feel
- Anyone reading the trade-tool divide as artificial
- Collectors building toward a fly kit that bridges conventional engineering
Technical Snapshot
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Line weights | 6 through 12 (single-hand); two-handed and saltwater variants priced separately |
| Construction | Spiral X Core carbon-fiber (Shimano patent), Toray Nanoalloy resin |
| Blank origin | Kumamoto, Japan |
| Rod-building origin | Woodland, Washington |
| Stripping guides | Fuji T2 Black Titanium SiC |
| Snake guides | Black PVD recoil |
| Reel seat | Custom fixed-hood, redesigned curved architecture with knurled lock |
| Handle | Extended cork with angular hood (new for 2026) |
| Base price (USD) | $1,000+ |
| Designer | Steve Rajeff (G.Loomis chief rod designer since 1986) |
Collector / Field Notes
The 2016 launch was notable for breaking the four-figure base price for a major fly rod line — a ceiling that other manufacturers had circled for years without crossing first. Loomis took the heat for being first and absorbed it, betting that the Spiral X story would sustain the premium. The 2026 redesign confirms the bet has held: the line still sits at the top of the price tier, but is no longer alone there — other brands have followed.
The co-branding (G.Loomis + Shimano on the same blank) was a wager that fly fishing's brand orthodoxy would accept the lineage. Initial fly shop reception at the IFTD trade shows did. The TacklingFish counterpart to the Asquith on the conventional side is the Shimano Stella SWD 14000XG — same parent company, same Kumamoto-engineered carbon language applied to a saltwater spinner. For the fly reel pairing, the Penn International Fly Reel carries the historical line; for the modern equivalent, see the Tier 2 candidates Abel SDS and Nautilus CCF-X2.
FAQ
Frequently Asked
- What's special about Spiral X Core?
- Three layers of carbon laid in alternating directions — an inner spiral, a longitudinal middle, and a crossed outer wrap — held together with Toray Nanoalloy resin. The construction resists torsion under load, which means the blank stays narrow without going oval and tracks straighter on long casts.
- Where is the Asquith made?
- The blanks are manufactured at Shimano's facility in Kumamoto, Japan, using Shimano's patented Spiral X carbon-fiber process. The rod-building, hand-finishing, and final assembly happen at G.Loomis in Woodland, Washington.
- What weights does the redesigned Asquith cover?
- Single-hand line weights 6 through 12. Two-handed (spey) and saltwater variants are priced above the base.
- How does it compare to Sage R8 Core or Winston Air 2?
- Three premium American fly rod platforms in the same price tier. Loomis emphasises low torsion and Japanese carbon engineering. The Sage R8 Core emphasises axial-fiber feedback and hand-to-rod sensitivity. The Winston Air 2 leans into a slower, deeper-loading feel that has defined the brand since the 1970s. They are competitors, not substitutes.
