Fishing a Grand Slam with G.Loomis E6X Rods at La Perla Ranch (continued)

We started fishing Lake La Perla, the largest lake on the property, and it didn’t take more than another 20 minutes for us to start getting into some nice fish in the 3lb. class. The water at La Perla was stained in color and visibility was right around two feet in most areas. The lakes are relatively shallow in depth but the cover is very diverse, making for an ideal testing ground to experience firsthand how the new G.Loomis E6X rods felt.

Chris fishes with the new E6X rods

Chris and I proceeded to fish an area of the lake where there was a lot of soft cover so I changed out my crankbaits for plastics and a bladed jig. The bladed jig was the ticket and I started boating a lot of fish up to four pounds. Chris was also catching fish but the bladed jig that I was fishing was definitely the hot bait. I asked if Chris wanted to give the bait a shot as I had brought one more of these lures with me. He tied one on and we talked about the new rods as we continued to fish down the bank.

La Perla offers plenty of different types of structure

We talked about how the new G.Loomis rods felt different when it came to their tapers and one of the biggest things I was noticing immediately was just how much more sensitive and responsive they felt versus the current GL2 Series. A lot of this has to do with how much lighter the new rods are, they just handle better. Just as we were talking about how powerful the rods are Chris set into what he immediately knew was a bigger fish. The rod bent beautifully as he played the fish back to the boat and we landed a largemouth that weighed in between 6 and 7 pounds. Not a bad way to start out the trip!

Chris kicks things off nicely at La Perla with a quality fish

That evening I got to sit down with the team at Shimano and G.Loomis as well as some great writers that were also here for the event which included Ken Duke (Managing Editor at Fishing Tackle Retailer), Jay Kumar (Bassblaster), Jody White (FLW), and Brad Wiegmann (Outdoor Writer and Professional Photographer). We were also joined by two B.A.S.S. Pros and Shimano Prostaffers, Jonathan Van Dam and Jared Lintner, who like us were getting their first hands on look at the new E6X rod series.

Bruce Holt (PR and Communications G.Loomis) and Pro Anglers Jared Lintner and Jonathan Van Dam kick back at the lodge

It was at this time that I learned that Shimano was also preparing to unveil a number of other new products at the upcoming Classic, including a slick new bluegill imitator swimbait from Jackall called the Gantarel, as well as making the Zodias rod and Aldebaran reel available to U.S. anglers. Even better, they had a few samples for us to check out at the event. Suffice to say I didn’t hesitate to rig the Zodias and Aldebaran for the next day.

Bruce pulls a fish away from submerged structure

After a Texas sized dinner (Bruce from G.Loomis always likes to give me a hard time about how much I eat, though it is warranted), we geared up for the next day. The forecast was for some nasty weather, but as you might expect with the group that we had here in attendance there wasn’t anything that was going to stop us from going fishing.

The fish here are extremely clean

The next day I fished with Bruce Holt and Scott Kinney from Loomis in the rain and we put the E6X to the paces against both largemouth bass and Wipers, a hybrid of striped bass and white bass, and are known for their aggressive strikes on reaction baits. It was during this time that I heard that on “Waterworld,” the smaller of the two main lakes there was yet another species here at the Ranch… freshwater Redfish.

The Jackall Gantarel swimbait proved to be a quite a hot bait at La Perla

The chances of catching one of these elusive redfish was low but they are there. At La Perla a grand slam is catching all four prized species, a trophy largemouth, a giant bluegill, a big Wiper, and a Redfish, all within a 24 hour period.

Writers Jay Kumar and Jody White fish with Jared Lintner

Next Section: A 30lb. Redfish?