I looked at a bait shop today at rods. They had 2 loomis rods one was 8' the other was 9' with a wierd black handle, they also had the Shimano Calcutta rod (cl-820XFA) which seemed pretty nice. I found the Calcutta rods on the net for $189, but also noticed a St. Croix rod in the new Cabela's Salt catalog that is rated the same as the calcutta 8' and 3/4 to 3 oz. for $160, they list the weight at 7.some oz. which seems light.