Notaro - trust us - you don't want or need a rod that big. Back when I was young and st, err, impressionable
, I assumed - FALSELY - that to look the part & be the part, ya needed a big stick. So I went out and bought a 12 foot fiberglass Daiwa Eliminator and a Penn 8500. Boy was I stupid. That thing, while maybe a decent setup in some cases, was way overkill for a 5-11, 200# guy (OK - this was a few years ago
). I could not cast the right objects anywhere near friends were throwing with their custom nine footers.
So a friend of mine wanted to buy it from me even after I told him it would be a miserable choice, but he bought the rod outright and swapped me his near new 6500 Penn for my 8500 Penn. He no longer fishes it and now uses 9' graphite sticks and smaller conventionals. I oughta bug him about it again
Not only is it a bear and not too efficient to cast once, it weighs so much it takes a toll on you at the end of the day and you're not that big enough physically to punnish yourself for no reason. It also will not improve your casting ability or efficiency. Seriously, don't do it. And if you do, I'll bet my little wussy 9 footer against it any day
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