thanks folks, I just got back into corvallis a few hours ago recovering from a weekend of drinking. thankfully didn't cause TOO much trouble. I am liking the rod but i think we need more time to bond.... COUGH COUGH lol timing was a pain at first until i figured it out. after that i was able to lay out 20-30 foot cast to the fish. This line just flies through the rod which I love. Much better than the 6 wt.