Sensitivity: Throwing choppers and pulling big baits in the Amazon River is hardly a fair test for any rod in terms of sensitivity, so to put the GL2 through a bit more rigorous tests, I fished it back home on Clear Lake, CA as part of our Creature Fever themed year. Here I tied on jigs and Texas rigged a variety of plastics to drag along the rock piles and pitch into the tules of one of America’s most popular bass fishing destinations.

A little soft plastics fun back home on Clear Lake.

How did the GL2 804C JWR perform? I’d rate this stick about average in terms of sensitivity. I’m not sure if it’s all the cosmetic changes, the painted blank, or something else, but I was really hoping for more feel out of these new blanks than what I was able to discern and this was fishing with the new Power Pro Super Slick braided line.

And it makes a good wood chopper rod too!

Power: Otherwise, the GL2 804C JWR is every bit the four power rod we expect from G.Loomis despite its more conservative lure rating. The extra fast tip transitions nicely and quickly into a good backbone that’s able to battle peacock bass as well as measly little largemouth. With its shorter, 6’8” length, this stick makes a wonderful tool pitching and skipping baits into heavy cover, under docks, and down to gnarly rock piles.

But when it comes down to it, the GL2 804C JWR was designed for fishing jigs and plastics.

Application: I touched on this briefly earlier, but given the rod’s relatively short length at six feet eight inches (6’-8”) in a market where straight up seven foot rods are becoming more and more difficult to find, it still makes a great choice especially when targeting areas of restricted access. What this stick lacks in length, it makes up for in power as you can swing to your heart’s content and rely on the 804C JWR’s backbone to not let you down.

And again, in this role, it performs pretty well.

The folks at G.Loomis designed this stick for use with jigs and soft plastics, but down in the Amazon, this stick performed very well with half ounce hair jigs and topwater chopper baits. That tells me it can also be relied upon back home with baits like the MS Slammer, Black Dog Bait’s Punker and Punker Jr, and other similar lures. Naturally, you have to judge for yourself if it’s worth stepping outside the rod’s ratings to throw these baits, but the GL2 804C JWR feels like it can handle them all and thanks to its shorter length, you’ll have an easier time working these baits without hitting the water all the time with the rod tip.

Conclusion: You can take a high end rod out of the hands of an Enthusiast, but you can never take an Enthusiast's love for higher end gear out of his or her heart. The newly G.Loomis revamped GL2 sticks are not targeted towards consumers like me, but I can appreciate the company's efforts to update this entry level series so they can remain relevant in today's mid to entry level market all while providing a product that is wrapped here within the continental United States.

If you're looking for a mainstream rod, made in the USA with contemporary styling, you may want to look into the new G.Loomis GL2.

At $190 there is a lot of competition both a little bit above, and a little bit below this price point, but the great majority of those rods are built overseas and then shipped here for distribution. In fact, I can only think of two rod lines off the top of my head that are comparable and still built here in the US. They are St. Croix's Avid (~$190) and the Lamiglas Certified Pro (~$210). Last time I checked, both lines featured rods that were more conventionally styled, so if you're looking for a mainstream rod, made in the USA with contemporary styling, you may want to look into the new G.Loomis GL2!

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