G. Loomis Asquith II 2 Review - 2026 New Fly Rods - Model-by-Model Review Coming Soon!
The new Asquith is finally here in 2026! Note that I cannot confirm or deny the name yet, but at any rate it replaces the current Asquith in the G. Loomis lineup. All the details will be updated on the 9th and I will post it all here along with my first impressions and later a model-by-model review. As of this morning, G. Loomis has taken down the current Asquith page from their website (it showed all models sold out last week). And of course their own teaser emails - pictured above - state that we will find out on January 9th (Friday). I will update with the tech specs and all that good stuff, plus first impressions and later a more detailed review with model-by-model info and commentary. That's my homework for the weekend. As always, I buy my own rods for reviews and I am not sponsored by any company. I give my honest opinions and impressions. Doesn't mean I am right, but in theory I have a pretty good background in this business to have a well-informed opinion. I sell a ton of saltwater fly rods and I have lots of great customers who provide valuable feedback (people of all skill levels).
I would love to sell G. Loomis fly rods in my shop but I have been unable to get a response from the rep group. If someone from G. Loomis corporate would like to help me out getting signed up as a dealer, it would be much appreciated.
In my opinion, these will be very popular rods. But the competition is tough in this segment. All of the top rod brands have their flagship rods of course. Most of them are excellent. And with the rumored very high price tag on these new rods, it should be interesting to see who delivers the best value and "performance-for-dollar" in 2026. I will contrast that with the "best fly rod for any price" category which many of my customers fall into, so a few hundred dollars more than other options is not going to deter them at all really. The rumors are somewhere around $1,500 price point. This is purely speculation though.
Keep in mind, the original Asquith came out in mid-2016 so it's been nearly a decade without an update. Typical product cycle is 5-6 years for the flagship rods but it varies somewhat by manufacturer. This is a pretty big deal and the last time they dropped a rod it was the best one on the market at the time, and still very competitive 10 years later with rods coming out 8 years after the Asquith's debut. Impressive stuff.
This is a "rolling" review so I will be adding and updating as I test each rod. My first impressions are coming soon, then later a model-by-model review when I have enough time.
*Please note that I am not currently a G. Loomis dealer (used to be actually for years at my family's original fly shop). This is only due to a biased sales rep who wanted to keep me away from G. Loomis to help his little buddies who own another fly shop. Yes, the fly fishing industry is full of stupid people. He said this directly to me, I am not making it up or anything. We will see if the new rep for 2026 is a bit smarter and ready to do business. Or if any of the G. Loomis corporate team reads this, please note that I have been asking to be a dealer again for years and this one guy has prevented it. Talk to your rep group, they are turning down my $100,000 opening order for fly rods. Waiting on you guys. I do sell a ton of high-end saltwater fly rods and I have lots of great customers who should have access to as many good options as possible so they can make their own decisions.
