Anyone have an opinion on the two of these?  I'm looking strictly for a 1-1.25oz grass jig/punch rod.  So far these are the two on my radar in terms of what they have to offer.

Have you considered the DX795? It has quite the following from what I've heard.

I guess I haven't really looked at that one, no.  Now that you said it, I remember someone else telling me that I need to.

Tough to compare a Champion to a GLX, and just to throw this out there, I have never used that exact loomis rod, and only a few GLXs do I have experience with.

  The 805 is a great rod, but the 795DX is my all time favorite, it's absolutely amazing. Take a look at it.

I've seen, for some reason, the Champion and GLX compared a couple times now, which was odd to me too; hence my asking here.  It sounds like the 795DX is the rod I need to look at.

I will comment on the Loomis. This is a beast of a rod! Don't let the "4" power rating fool you it has more than enough backbone to get the job done. I own a few Dobyns rods (champions) and they are quality rods too, but when it comes to fishing plastics the GLX line is tough to beat (although I plan on trying the Mike Long jig rod). If you look hard enough I have seen a few 954 selling for ~$300. 8-)

Holy cow man.  I got the 954 in my hands tonight and I think I'm in love.  This rod is just wicked powerful, yet deceptively light.  It's amazingly accurate, I'm really not used to anything over 7'2" in terms of pitching, I expected it to be at least a little unwieldy, that's not the case at all.  Can't wait to get my hands on the 795, if that rod is what many say it is, I may end up with both.  Now there's an idea... burn the tax return on them!

I have both the Dobyns 805 and the 795. They're both great rods but I have to give the nod to the 795. Its a better all around rod and is a little more versital compared to the 805.