Welcome to Loop
Loop was founded in 1979 by Christer Sjöberg and Tony Karpestam – two young enthusiastic fly fishers with one goal in mind; to make a living doing what they loved. They wanted to be involved in the developing world of fly fishing and to explore and fly fish in areas previously impossible to reach. From the very beginning they understood that fly fishing was a way of life, and dreams about big money were abandoned and replaced with the passion of pursuing their destiny. Loop was born!
Enthusiastically they started up a mail order business and small retail store. Local courses were held by them to help spread the knowledge about fly fishing. It was all very small scale and kept close to their home. A few years later they partnered with American fly rod manufacture Sage, and luckily fly fishing was starting to take hold in Sweden.
The things that changed it all
Casting guru Göran Andersson joined Loop and designed Sage’s two-handed rods and revolutionary new fly lines (Loop Custom that were cut and adjusted to preferred length and weight) that were adapted for Görans new casting-technique; the “Underhand Cast.” Not long after Kurt Danielsson contacted Loop and noted that the current reels were of poor quality and soon the new team had developed the first large arbor reel. The year was 1984. When the first Loop large arbor reel hit the market most anglers found it totally bizarre and we had little success getting the tradition-bound fly fishers of the time to buy such a weird fly reel. It took a few years for the reel to make its impression, but today over 20 years later nearly all fly reels are built according to the Loop standard.
Speycasting with a DT-line and slow action rod has also evolved over the years and today most of the new casting styles are very similar to the “Underhand Cast” with new progressive rods and relatively short WF-lines. The “Underhand Cast” has indeed progressed and changed speycasting for the better and will continue to be a major influence for years to come.
Pioneers in gear and adventure
In 1990 Christer Sjöberg was among the first pioneers into Russia’s hidden and long forgotten treasures. The exploration of the southern White Sea coast was undertaken and Russian helicopters were invaluable in exploring countless rivers. In 1993 Christer had found what he considered the best of the best and built lodges on the Umba, Kharlovka, Litza and the Yokanga. For years Loop offered what many consider the world’s best Atlantic Salmon programs.
As many know doing business in Russia can be risky, so Loop sold their programs and has focused their adventure travel business in Argentina’s Patagonia. The travel business progresses as well.Christer was among the first Scandinavians to try his hands on saltwater fly fishing. After spending years on the flats the Florida Keys, Cuba, Venezuela and the Seychelles he was able to develop new gear specially designed for this market.
The dream came true
Today Loop designs, develops and manages every manufacturing process of their gear themselves. All our products were designed and built to last and function in the world’s toughest conditions and to last for season after season. Experience, enthusiasm and an unbreakable will has led us to only put the Loop brand on the best products. Loop started out as a dream and for over twenty years Loop has been a leader in the fly fishing industry. Today that dream is evolved into an internationally company focused on delivery dreams to our customers.
