2021 was my inaugural year of both Fly Fishing and Salmon Fishing. I started out the season with a beautiful 2nd hand Scott A2 8wt fly rod and an inexpensive Okuma reel. Unfortunately half way through our Lomond River salmon fishing trip I slipped while crossing the river breaking the tip off my rod in the process. As I had to ship the rod to the U.S. for repair I picked up this LOOP Q-series kit from Atlantic River Outfitters.

There are many options available in both 1-hand and 2-hand setups, the set I chose was a 9foot 7wt. This is a size lighter than my Scott A2 which I figure will make the rod more robust for both Salmon and Trout fishing. Another selling point having just broken a rod tip was walk-in/over the counter parts availability at AROC. Broken parts are covered under warranty for one year, and replacement rod sections available for out of warranty replacement for a reasonable cost.

The beauty of purchasing a kit is that you get the rod of your choice, reel, line, backing and even leader all tied and ready to use right out of the box. The kit also includes a matching rod/reel case for even better value. The best part, is that all components are factory matched to work optimally together for peak casting performance.

The fit and finish of all components is extremely impressive especially at this price point, the Q reel is a huge improvement over my inexpensive Okuma in both style and function. Importantly, the Q reel features a fully sealed drag system and indexed set points for easy fine adjustment of the drag setting.

I immediately found casting this setup much easier than my other set up, I attribute this to all components working well together vs. the components I paired with my Scott A2. The A2 is a better rod on paper than the Q, but I paired it with an inexpensive reel and what I now believe a fly line not suited to that rod. Both these positive and negative aspects were amplified by my rookie skill set, so I believe the balance of the Q-kit makes me look like a better caster!

Cheers, Mike