I'm considering buying a new rod. I currently have a lower end St. Croix Premier series rod. I like it well enough and cast pretty well with it, but the bug is biting me to upgrade and get a new rod.

Three that I'm considering are Winston WT, Scott G2 and the Orvis Trout Bum series. This is based largely on reading about them. I did get to fish with a G2 a little bit with a guide on a recent trip and really liked that rod. My son has a Cabelas Stow Away 5 piece rod and I like casting his rod quite a bit. I'm finding that I tend to lean toward a slower action rod. Something about feeling the rod load and the slower pace of casting the softer rods is pleasing to me. I do sometimes cast larger poppers and some bead head buggers, but nothing outrageously heavy.

I know side by side casting is the best way. However the local shop carries Scott and Sage but does not carry Winston or Orvis. Another shop that I've been to has Orvis and Winston, but does not carry Scott so I cannot really compare side by side.

In the Winston line, I'd also like to try out the BII-T rods as well.

Any thoughts on these rods? Any personal experience and suggestions for these or others I should consider?

Thanks,
Jeff