Robin

I primarily fish the Llano River in the Texas Hill Country and spend about half the time fly fishing. I usually fish topwater flies for largemouth, Guadalupe and bluegill. The Llano River offers great fly fishing with a lot of clear shallow water. That being said, I generally catch larger fish on conventional tackle and certainly enjoy both types of fishing.

My favorite is the Kistler KLX 6'9" tops and tails special. It is a 6'9" medium mod-fast rod that is perfect for most jerk baits and topwaters in the 3/8 to 3/4 oz range. Also makes an excellent square bills rod. Great tip and plenty of backbone. Also a very lightweight rod that will not wear your wrists out! Balances great with most reels too.

As mentioned above, the He3 rods have a bit faster action and are a little stiffer than the similar rated KLX rods. That being said,I have two of the KLX MH 7 footers that I use for Texas rigs and I am 100% satisfied with them. The He3 is a better rod and probably worth the extra cost, but you will not have any regrets with the KLX. I am without a doubt a big Kistler fan but also fish a few Dobyns rods (Champion and Extreme). The Dobyns are great rods too, but I keep adding Kistlers to my collection because of their performance and value.

New member with first post. I need to udate my ten year old + collection of rods and am considering some of the Castaway skeleton rods. I have a large number of old Castaways and they have held up well. Does anyone have any experience with the Skeletons? I do not have a dealer nearby so these will probably have to be ordered on-line. I know there are other good options out there, but I have always been a little partial to Castaway based on my prior experience with them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.