# Tide master vs greenwater



## Derek Radtke (Feb 24, 2018)

What’s up everyone! Just wondering for the guys who throw spinning gear which rod they prefer the st Croix tidemaster or the loomis greenwater? Targeting reds trout and flounder with soft plastics and top waters. Thanks for the input!


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## Chad Cohn (Mar 8, 2018)

For Spinning I'm partial to my old school All Star with a Penn Fierce II. Have a Cabelas Salt Striker casting rod also that I really like too.


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## matt146 (Aug 18, 2013)

I like star rods and Stradic reels


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

that's nice but nothing to do with his question...


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## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

I love my tide master 3pc. Only gloomis spinning rods I fished are friends nrx and yes they are better but also 2-3x the price. I I haven’t tried the green water


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## Caleb.Esparza (Jan 31, 2016)

My wife owns an E6X inshore and I've thrown it a few times, seemed fantastic for the money. It's a 7'6" med-light and it has several 30lb redfish, a big snook and one 25lb jack to its name which impressed me. I think loomis redesigned the greenwater recently so I know nothing about the current ones. 

Was looking at rods the other day because I'd like to get her a med-heavy stick for jacks and tarpon.. All the st. Croix rods I handled had a massive blank diameter for the same line ratings as the loomis rods and that's as far as I got.


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## C_Wheeler (Jan 14, 2014)

As Caleb posted above, don't overlook the the e6x inshore. I've got a 7'6" med and a med-light. Love them, great rods for the money. Pair great with Stradic 3000's. My buddy has a few of the older 7'6" Greenwaters med. Great rods. Can easily throw anything from a bare shrimp for trout and reds to a heavy gotcha for spanish. i don't have any experience with the St. Croix though.


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## saltydg0089 (Apr 15, 2013)

tidemaster if those are the only two choices. I have several of both. The St Croix Avid is my favorite rod now and I will be buying those from now on.


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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

I make custom spinning rods and I use the Tidemaster a lot for my customers. I mainly use it for snook/jack rods though. Like Caleb said, they are a little beefier blanks, although still lightweight, which is nice in the hand when fighting larger fish. For reds/trout/flounder you would probably like the St. Croix Avid series better, which would be a better comparison to the Greenwater anyway. They are similar price points and are pretty much the same color. Both would be a little lighter and feel better suited for your target species.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

No experience here with the Greenwater, but I really enjoy my Tidemaster for general inshore duty. It's a ML, 7', so a great all-around rod for me. Would be a little light for those monster bulls like 35+, but we don't really get those in the creeks here, and I can throw plastics all day long with it.


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

Pierson said:


> For reds/trout/flounder you would probably like the St. Croix Avid series better, which would be a better comparison to the Greenwater anyway. They are similar price points and are pretty much the same color. Both would be a little lighter and feel better suited for your target species.


Agreed, great rods


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## h2o2sno (Mar 21, 2017)

Stradic CI4 and a Greenwater rod is a great setup! I fish a CI4 2500 and 7'6" medium light for most artificials and it works very well. 25-30" reds....no problem. That setup is great for trout fishing. 7' medium for dragging a minnow. 7' 6" Mag medium for sheeps. I have a couple E6X rods but seem to always pick the Greenwater up. It cost a little more but well worth the money.


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## Derek Radtke (Feb 24, 2018)

Thanks for all the input


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## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

I've never used anything from Loomis but I have three Tidemasters. I will echo what's been said about the power. The "medium" Tidemaster is a pretty damn stiff rod with a ton of backbone. There's no red or trout inshore that will test it unless you're regularly landing some serious bull reds or big snook. I actually just put a 5000 sized reel on it to use as a light tarpon setup this summer. I also have a medium light tidemaster 7'6 that seems to be the sweet spot as far as the action rating for inshore. Again it's fairly stiff for a medium-light setup but pretty good for most of the reds and certainly the trout I see inshore.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

I'm using a 7' medium, fast action tidemaster (bought in 2008) for tarpon < 40lbs, most snook (except at the Sebastian inlet where is use an 8' med/heavy), and anything inshore. But I agree with what has been previously stated: a med/light avid would be my choice for most reds/trout (unless all you're catching is the biggest girl reds, in which case, can you take me fishing?)


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## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

devrep said:


> that's nice but nothing to do with his question...


Actually you are wrong. We that throw spinning rods were asked which of two rods we prefer. He did not ask for those that own them specifically. If you prefer neither then since it is the internet. It is just as easy and important to always answer with what’s really on your mind. Which Matt did.
For my answer to the question. If we were talking in person and I did not reply he would think I was rude or if I did reply with neither brand he might ask. Well why not? I could then answer. For my Internet forum answer, I would reply with Falcon coastal series or Walmart Barbie series.
I’m bored.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I own some of both and both are great rods. The Tidewaters weigh a ton compared to a Loomis greenwater. The greenwaters are also a lot more sensitive than the Tidewaters. But be advised, the Greenwater is a more expensive rod. A more fair comparison might be comparing a Avid Inshore to the Greenwater.


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## h2o2sno (Mar 21, 2017)

SomaliPirate said:


> I own some of both and both are great rods. The Tidewaters weigh a ton compared to a Loomis greenwater. The greenwaters are also a lot more sensitive than the Tidewaters. But be advised, the Greenwater is a more expensive rod. A more fair comparison might be comparing a Avid Inshore to the Greenwater.


You can almost feel the bite before they hit it with the medium light Greenwater. Well worth the money!


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## Derek Radtke (Feb 24, 2018)

Thanks for the advice everyone it is much appreciated. I picked up a 7’ greenwater and paired it with one of my 3000 Stradics. Amazing rod and reel combo. With all the positives about the St. Croix avid I may have to go pick one of them up as well. For those of you who have had to use the warranties with loomis and St. Croix which one offers better customer service? Also has any noticed a dip in the performance of the loomis rods since they were purchased by Shimano?


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I own more St. Croix than Loomis. Quality on them is comparable with comparable models. I've had repairs done with both companies. No problems with Loomis at all but it's nice when you call St. Croix, it's clear you're dealing with a small business. You get some friendly northerner accent guy or gal who takes care of the issue right away. You can't go wrong with either brand, honestly. The only thing I've noticed is that St. Croix always have a slightly heavier action than the Loomis. For instance a 7' MF St. Croix is going to be just a hair stiffer than a 7' MF Loomis.


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## T Bone (Jul 24, 2014)

I'll second the Avid Inshore. I switched all my Tidewaters to the Avid Inshore 7'6" and loved them. They are great rods (i don't spin fish much anymore). Lightweight with enough strength for the redfish/trout/snook fishing i did but with a lot more feel/finesse then the Tidewaters and significantly lighter. 

As for customer service, i have had to ship a few rods in to St. Croix and had great experiences. I even upgraded a few broken rods to a more expensive rod and they were fine with that. Most of the time, the turnaround was rather quick. And if you ever had a question, i would just call and speak to someone in the office. All in all my experiences were great.

Not much experience with the Loomis Greenwater though, for comparison.


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## h2o2sno (Mar 21, 2017)

Derek Radtke said:


> Thanks for the advice everyone it is much appreciated. I picked up a 7’ greenwater and paired it with one of my 3000 Stradics. Amazing rod and reel combo. With all the positives about the St. Croix avid I may have to go pick one of them up as well. For those of you who have had to use the warranties with loomis and St. Croix which one offers better customer service? Also has any noticed a dip in the performance of the loomis rods since they were purchased by Shimano?


I just sent a rod to G Loomis that was purchased 6-7 years ago. It was broken 3-4" above the handle by accident. Not a warranty issue. Cost $100, no questions asked. The rod retails for $245.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

h2o2sno said:


> You can almost feel the bite before they hit it with the medium light Greenwater. Well worth the money!


Agreed. My wife has a Greenwater 7' ML F with an older Stella 2500 (bought used, I'm not rich) on it. She calls it the Elder Wand.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

SomaliPirate said:


> Agreed. My wife has a Greenwater 7' ML F with an older Stella 2500 (bought used, I'm not rich) on it. She calls it the Elder Wand.


Stella - big, big money and being - being modest too - in my best Christopher Walken.. 
Must be nice. HA.

I have been fishing a 7M greenie for - I want to say 20 years+. I have tried breaking it on Tarpon in Florida and Bulls here. It won't break and I wish it would- Corks getting pretty worn and it might be going to a builder to be refurbed otherwise. Tidewaters are good. The Avid blank is really nice. They are all good. Thing is, Smack built me a Custom skeletonized 3 ounce 7ft medium and the loomis/st croixs all feel heavy after I fish the ZC^2. Greenie would be my recommendation with a ballistic LT in 3000/2500.


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

EdK13 said:


> Stella - big, big money and being - being modest too - in my best Christopher Walken..
> Must be nice. HA.
> 
> I have been fishing a 7M greenie for - I want to say 20 years+. I have tried breaking it on Tarpon in Florida and Bulls here. It won't break and I wish it would- Corks getting pretty worn and it might be going to a builder to be refurbed otherwise. Tidewaters are good. The Avid blank is really nice. They are all good. Thing is, Smack built me a Custom skeletonized 3 ounce 7ft medium and the loomis/st croixs all feel heavy after I fish the ZC^2. Greenie would be my recommendation with a ballistic LT in 3000/2500.


Seriously, this Stella is like 15 years old and my wife bought it on Ebay from some creepy Japanese dude for $200! She'll do a drug deal in a parking lot for fishing tackle or baby clothes in a heartbeat. I always end up serving as armed overwatch for these shady deals.


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

SomaliPirate said:


> Seriously, this Stella is like 15 years old and my wife bought it on Ebay from some creepy Japanese dude for $200! She'll do a drug deal in a parking lot for fishing tackle or baby clothes in a heartbeat. I always end up serving as armed overwatch for these shady deals.


Happy Friday- thats some funny sh!t right there.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

EdK13 said:


> Stella - big, big money and being - being modest too - in my best Christopher Walken..
> Must be nice. HA.
> 
> I have been fishing a 7M greenie for - I want to say 20 years+. I have tried breaking it on Tarpon in Florida and Bulls here. It won't break and I wish it would- Corks getting pretty worn and it might be going to a builder to be refurbed otherwise. Tidewaters are good. The Avid blank is really nice. They are all good. Thing is, Smack built me a Custom skeletonized 3 ounce 7ft medium and the loomis/st croixs all feel heavy after I fish the ZC^2. Greenie would be my recommendation with a ballistic LT in 3000/2500.


What is "skeletonization"?


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

yobata said:


> What is "skeletonization"?


No foregrip. Split grip. No excessive wraps. He did mine with the big recoils. Lightness.


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## yobata (Jul 14, 2015)

EdK13 said:


> No foregrip. Split grip. No excessive wraps. He did mine with the big recoils. Lightness.


Can you take a few photos? Sounds interesting


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## EdK13 (Oct 3, 2013)

yobata said:


> Can you take a few photos? Sounds interesting


No Prob. I will text the builder - he will post pics later. My camera is dead and we are off to look at some real estate down south.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

yobata said:


> Can you take a few photos? Sounds interesting


I can take some photos of one of my personal rods which is exactly like the custom I built for Ed minus the fancy trim work I added to his. The blanks I’m building on now are even better and made in the USA but I won’t discuss any of that on here because I’ve brought it up before and caught nothing but internet hate. It’s funny how people will praise cheap Chinese junk because it can be taken back to the local Academy Sports to be replaced with another mediocre clone.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

I wanna see pics also.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Here you go guys. Sorry for the thread hijack but they asked for photos. This is my personal stick. 


















Here is another I built for a guide buddy that is the same grip and seat combination as Ed’s. I did solid Tiger Wraps at his request but I can also keep them simple.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

Derek Radtke said:


> What’s up everyone! Just wondering for the guys who throw spinning gear which rod they prefer the st Croix tidemaster or the loomis greenwater? Targeting reds trout and flounder with soft plastics and top waters. Thanks for the input!


Between those two, I like my Greenwater best. It is one of my favorite rods.


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