The OL 25

Photo: CRAIG MITCHELL DYER

Gary Loomis: Fishing industry pioneer

A fishing-rod innovator and one of the country's premier fishing conservation leaders, Gary Loomis is generally regarded as the industry's pioneer of modern carbon-graphite rod technology.
Loomis began his groundbreaking career in 1974 at Lamiglas, where he operated its blank facility and was the first to use graphite technology in rod production. In 1980, he launched Loomis Composites Inc., and soon thereafter founded Loomis Franklin, a Taiwanese company that eventually became the world's largest producer of graphite fishing rods.
In 1982, Loomis started his own company, G. Loomis, Inc., designing and building his production equipment from scratch. Among the innovations spawned under his direction are the IMX and GLX series of rods, which use proprietary G. Loomis graphite. Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary, the company is a recognized leader in high-performance fishing-rod production, with five major product lines and a new line of fly reels.
In recent years, Loomis has spent increasing time and energy on fishing conservation projects, helping to expand the Coastal Conservation Association and founding the nonprofit Fish First organization. With its mission of "More and better fish in the Lewis River with no politics," Fish First focuses on the quality and quantity issues related to salmon, steelhead and their habitat, without getting into the heated issues surrounding fish harvest or other potentially divisive subjects. Projects currently under way include net pens, ecosystem restoration and habitat improvement for the entire Lewis River system.

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