SpringCantComeSoonEnough

Cork grip does not equal rod quality. Really? I never would have guessed. It isn't hard to see that most "high end" rods use cork, and that his selection may be limited. :

I'll be trying Calcutta Ultra Braid this year. From what I've been reading, it is made of the same stuff that Power Pro is made from, and possibly manufactured by the same people. (It is Spectra fiber from what I've read, but only 50-50 on being made by the same people) Since I haven't tried it yet, I won't vote until I see how it fares with a few frogs and some jigs.

Most higher end rods tend to have cork grips. I have fished nothing but cork for years now, and I'll never go back to foam. Of course, its all personal preference.

Stradic. I've always felt that the Sustain was an overpriced Stradic with a ball bearing or two more. The new Stradics are particularly nice.

Uh...why don't you go a local shop that carries some of the rods that you're looking at and see them up close before buying? It absolutely amazes me how so many people here can buy rods online, without ever even holding them to see what they feel like before purchasing.

I just have one thing to add. If you do use candle wax, make sure it isn't one of those candles that smells like lavender or something like that. If you're fishing with me and I happen to smell that, and find out that its coming from your rod, your gear's going in the deep end of the lake.

You're really supposed to use ferrule wax, but I guess candle wax would work too.

The IMX and GLX rods stand out to me. Before I got my IMX, I fished St. Croix exclusively. Now, I'd have to say that my lone Loomis is my favorite rod. ;D As for the GL2 and GL3 rods, I'd rather have a St. Croix Avid. The GL2s are nice, but they just don't justify the current price. Back a few years ago when the GL2 was closer to $100 I thought they were slightly over priced, but now... They also make some very nice rods in the Bronzeback series, and I hope to get one some day.

I got it from D&D Sport and Marine, which is a soon to be extinct bait and tackle shop that I live near. Everything is half off, but most of the good stuff is long gone. I was kind of surprised to find this last spool of Calcutta braid. I've heard that it is either made of the same stuff that Power Pro is made from, or that it is actually made by the same people for Calcutta. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but it has a similar look and feel to it. I've never used braid before though, so I wasn't sure if anyone liked it or not. Of course, for $7 a spool, I'll give it a try. Its not like the stuff goes bad just sitting there.

A friend of mine has a white or light grey long sleeve Shimano shirt or two.

Well, I picked it up. For $6.99 I'll try it and let everyone here know how it is. Of course, that might be a little while. Right now, there's not enough ice to go out on it, but enough ice that I can't fish from shore.

Calcutta is a brand of Big Rock Sports, which is a decently large distributer of fishing, boating, and hunting items.

Has anyone tried this stuff, and if so, is it any good? If it isn't any good, what braid would you recommend? I can get a spool for $6.99 which is half off, and I want to try some braid this next season with jigs on one of my spinning setups. Thanks in advance.

Just something to think about. If you exceed the line rating on a St. Croix, you have technically voided your warranty.

As SJex suggested, the Legend lines by St. Croix are very nice. Out of curiosity though, why not G. Loomis?