At the risk of ticking off all of you that convinced yourself that spending $600, $700, $800 and up on a glass (oops! I mean graphite) rod, why not save for a bit longer and buy a bamboo? The only time that I don't fish the boo is when I know that I'll be out until after dark or I'm in real Rambo water. I'm sorry but these graphite rod-makers charging what they charge are the ones catching the big fish. RR