So many mixed feelings on this rod. When it was working it worked really well. It feels good when fighting both large and small fish and the grip is amazing. Problem is that the cheap cost seems to come from quality control. 4th eye from tip had a hairline fracture that only became and issue when rod was really flexed and then it would instantly cut the line. Epoxy around a number of the eyes is also separating. Then came the major failure pictured. Yes it was from a medium sized reef shark, but it survived the whole fight until my wife was going to cut the leader and the shark gave a last ditch shake. It was not a high stick, both my hands were on foam and the rod was barely above parallel. Wife was touching neither line nor rod yet. I wouldn’t have even thought about a shark breaking a rod if it weren’t for the odd strength configuration this rod displays. When trolling a 4oz you can see an odd bend right above where it snapped which is where it changes from solid tip to hollow. The tip seems to be a fair deal stronger than the thinnest part where it is hollow. Their intent was to make the rod less prone to high stick snaps, but it seems to over stress the shaft right there. Rod is a year old, mainly pulls in 20” bluefish and is just the backup to my Penn Carnage Bluewater. Never transported or stored anywhere it could get damaged.
