id stay away from favorite, have heard a lot of horrible things about them. Haven't heard anything great about the googan rods either. I used to fish the old micro magics and I liked them a lot. the only problem I ever had was the inserts sometimes popped out. I've also used the ghost from duckett and would not recommend. unless they've changed the guides from when I last had one. Any type of line I used with the ghost would make grooves in the top guide from reeling in baits causing break offs and making the rod unfisable. A couple rods i've liked a lot that are similar in price to those are the dobyns fury and shimano curado. definitely recommend them plus dobyns comes with a lifetime warranty.