Finally had time to go fish. Paired it with Bates Salty. First fish caught was a 43" Bull red. Handled it like a champ.
This is a beautiful rod with a super comfortable rod butt. Just long enough to fit under my arm without being too long or too short. I was a little concerned with it being a medium heavy as all my other swimbait rods are heavy or x heavy. I threw up to a 5 oz. R2S tactical glide with no problem and I think that is pretty close to the max for weight rating. I also threw an 8 inch magdraft and the rod with a tranx 300 loaded nicely and launched it a mile. Build quality is really nice. If I didn't already have over 50 rod and reel setups, I may have bought a lot more from Old 18.
Bought this rod to use with A-Rigs. Will absolutely launch an A-Rig. The longer handle makes cast a heavy A-Rig super easy. The leverage you gain is awesome. Makes for a way less strenuous day casting heavy baits.
Be careful with this rod because it can spool your reel when you throw an A-rig! The power is unmatched by any other rod.