Heartland

Definitely not a one or the other thing for me. Both serve their purpose and make fishing more enjoyable.

Almost effortless with a tube

Slower in gear ratio, but often higher in I.P.T. due to the large size of the spool arbor.

Looks like a juvenile Bluefish to me.

I have motorcycles that cost far more than most rifles and pistols. You kinda have to keep it apples to apples or it becomes meaningless.

How heavy are the ones you are going to fish?

Washington Bluestone

I have the Champion 703 and 734 and as an all purpose rod I prefer the 734. I think the 734 is one of the best rods in their line up.

They are have having big problems with Ultrex. Lots of posts online with similar stories.

I agree, the Monsoor jigs also typically use a thin wire hook VS the thick hook you see in the CA inspired swim jigs.

I would say that their is a pretty big difference, but not sure how much of it is in terms of performance compared to ego.

Perfect! LOL

The void between the OD of the rod blank and the ID of the cork.

Before long they will have a rod holder that is controlled by the fish finder that automatically selects and positions your rod to the location of the most promising fish. These electronics have made the SPORT of fishing less fun to watch in my opinion.

Sounds about right to me, when walking a frog the rod works the bait and the reel picks up the slack line.