Wes you make a good point. I have lost a lot more fish after hooking them on the 12" slammer vs the 7" and 9". My favorite 9" Slammer is made from a pretty light blank and I really like that because the fish almost never ever get off that one.

That fact plays into the rod that you use because while I like my 800L for a rock solid hookset, it does make me a little nervous fighting the fish. It hasn't cost me anything yet but I could see a fish that was barely hooked getting off because the tip is just very stiff on that rod. I'd much rather have a big fish hooked on a 7" plug on my Rainshadow SW967 blank than on a 12" plug with the 800L. I think the 800XL is a good compromise in this regard because of the glass tip with a graphite butt section. There's always tradeoffs I guess.