Let me start with the fact that the brigand does a good job keeping fish hooked up. I was throwing a Ned rig from the yak and really felt confident bringing that fish in. I want to attribute this to the rod length and action. 
 

But dam that Brigand is heavy. I’m comparing with the 7’ Dobyns extreme 702sf. While I was throwing a ned rig successfully, I know the rod is kinda over powered for a Ned rig. Why wouldn’t folks get a bait caster rod at that power? Is it simply a preference thing. 
 

I initially bought a brigand after watching the review Punch did on YouTube. I however missed his spinning rod weight video so I was surprised by the weight and the rod ended up better for heavier presentation that I would typically throw on a spinning rod. 
 

If you have a brigand, why do you like it? Do you prefer spinning instead of bait caster? Is there something the brigand does especially well that would be better for a spinning set up? Maybe for windy days?
 

Anyway, I was just curious what other Brigand owners thought. It’s a really good looking rod though. I don’t own anything that looks so nice. I almost don’t want to use it. ?

I am a Brigand owner, but not a user (yet). I bought it a few months ago and just havent used it. I hope it will be a good swimbait (3.8" Keitech, or similar) rod. It seems a lot of people like it for bottom contact, like a dark sleeper or small jig, which is not really what I want it for. But, we shall see. 

 

Sorry I couldnt be of more help. 

I’ve seen that the brigand is good for swim baits . Funny enough, I actually purchased a few dark sleepers to test and it’s pretty good. I just wonder why not use a bait caster? Is it purely preference ? @RTipton

I prefer a spinning rod for drop shotting deep water with 10-15gram weights, the brigand is excellent for this. Also does well with dark sleepers and small under-spins in deep water. I like the way spinning rods feed slack to facilitate getting down deep faster vs a baitcaster.