Re: If it had to be a loomis?

Loomis has a large pro-staff of qualified casters at all of the events and claves. They could give you a great deal of practical hands on help and advice. You could probably contact them through the spey pages forum also.
There is nothing like trying various setups yourself, because what I like might be wrong for you. Expert casting advice also will shorten your learning curve, it takes awhile even if you are a proficient single handed caster. Let us know how you are doing.