I received the rod on July 9 and fished with it yesterday - for the first time - on July 12. I was suspicious of the strength of the rod due to the construction of section between the rod butt and rod grip. Every time I cast, this section of the rod would twist and make a crackling sound. Sure enough, on the 6th cast, those section snapped. I was casting a 6th Sense popper. Safe to say, I unlikely to purchase another Daiwa rod - even though I only use Daiwa reels.