Rock Star, for only fishing for a few months, you are on a pretty steep learning curve, right on! Basically you have to hold a rod in your hand to get the real picture. Even then, everyone has their own style and some guys prefer one style of rod for a certain application over another. One thing that seems kind of consistent is the modulus rating for graphite rods, lots of times you'll see a rod rated as an IM-6 or an IM-7, the higher the modulus rating the better quality graphite (the way I understand it is the more actual graphite actually used in rolling the blank?) resulting in a more sensitive rod. And that's only one variable in selecting a rod! But I'm pretty sure there isn't anybody regulating manufacturers' claims, so go figure- go to a shop, talk to lots of people, pick up lots of rods, you'll find what you like for your favorite way to fish soon enough. Rod ratings are definetly NOT uniform from company to company, even one company that offers different blanks will vary from one line of rods to the other because of different materials. Soon enough you will have a house full of rods, your chick will be pissed, and you will still be chasing the dragon- welcome to the club! }(