The Loop AEG Series

The Loop AEG Series 9' 5wt fly rod.

AEG was formed by a group of fisherman who sought to make change in the world of fly fishing entertainment. AEG’s first film was shot during a 5 month trip throughout the Argentine region known as Patagonia. The 4 man crew hop-scotched from river to river, lake to lake, and just about every piece of fishable water they could find. 3 months into their trip, they found themselves at the doorsteps of Estancia Las Buitraras, a fishing lodge operated by Christer Sjöberg of Loop. The crew was welcomed into the lodge and Christer listened to the stories of the road and river. He loved the idea of the project, and from that point forward, made a commitment to support AEG.

Here is a short video clip of Christer, shot this January in Argentina, talking about how we met.
http://tv.aegmedia.com//view_video.php?viewkey=70fd093ee8a9bf8ae7d0

Fast forward 4 years to the fall of 2007. AEG has now filmed in Iceland, New Zealand, and Mongolia, all using the rods and reels from Loop. Christer came to us and asked us to develop a rod that we would put our name on. We said we would love to!

The fall of 2007 and early winter of 2008 was spent testing different rod tapers, durability, and trying to come up with the perfect balance of important elements.

'Product Testing' - A first generation AEG Series 5wt, Argentina

One the most important things we kept coming back to was a rod that could stand up to months and months of fishing abuse. On long trips, fly rods see the elements every day, sometimes avoiding the security and protection of a rod tube for weeks. The combination of sun and water, wet and then dry, can often lead to a traditional cork rod handle falling apart.

The Result : A blend of cork and composite material which only gets better with time.

We ended up using a process that blended cork pieces with composite and synthetic materials. The final product is one of the most consistent, durable, and sensitive handles on the the market! After months of testing, particularly the past month in British Columbia, where we encountered non-stop rain, the handle is only getting better, smoother, and best of all there isn't any cork filler to pop out and expose the imperfections in cork that are so common in fly rod handles today.

Aside from durability, we wanted a series of rods that worked for each situation. Have you ever noticed how certain rods in a series are 'sweet' while other are just 'ok'? Instead of making rods that all share the same feel and compromising on the ups and downs, we wanted to make a series where each is considered 'best in their class', where every rod feels a little different, but is specifically tailored to a fishing situation.

The 9'6" 6wt & 9' 5wt rod tubes.

Here is what we came up with...(in product description form)

9’ 5wt 3pc - $370

The AEG Series 9’ #5 3 piece is the result of countless days of on river testing and tweaking to the existing rods in the ultra-specialized Loop lineup. Dry flies, nymphing, streamer fishing, this rod can do it all. We call the action, Fast with love, meaning the rod has the stiffness to effortlessly handle big fish and throw a long line, but it is also easy loading for the ‘normal’ fishing conditions that we are faced with 95% of the time. We are convinced this rod offers the best combination of performance value on the market and many have commented that is feels as good or better than many $600 rod . Give it a cast and see for yourself.

9’6” 6wt 4 pc - $390

The AEG Series 9’6” #6 4 piece is a big trout, summer steelhead, and bass machine! It loves to throw streamers, sink tips, and indicator rigs. It’s Medium/Fast action is a pleasure to cast, even when weighted down from the sub surface techniques often required to pull the largest trout. Lake and estuary bound anglers will love this rod for it’s ability to cast an intermediate line nearly a mile, and bass anglers will see right away that no bug is too big. If you’re only going to own one rod for medium sized fish, this is your stick.

The finished rod. Graphite finish, green wraps.

Each piece has rod info and rod alignment dots.

If you are interested in testing out a Loop AEG Series rod, shoot me an email - justin@aegmedia.com and I will get you in touch with the boys at Loop for a demo. You will be hard pressed to find a better rod out there!

If you would like to purchase one of the rods, or any Loop products, please visit the Loop Tackle Online Store Here.