I have been fishing some of the new Okuma 7'11 swimbait rods and I cant tell you how much I like them. They are extremly light for their size and have a perfect action to them. They have a more parabolic bend to them but they still have tons of backbone. I can cast my baits farther now than I have with any other rod. You guys are going to love these. I believe they are going to cost around $100 each and are underpriced for what you get. They will come in a MH wich is perfect for my little baits and med wood baits. A hvy for med sized baits like Hudds and large wood baits and a xhvy for big 10in and bigger baits. They have a new trick butt design that makes casting easier and more comfortable. They will be at ICast. I highly recomend these rods!
 

www.mattlures.com

I have the Lamiglass 807 rod and I like it a lot. I believe it is just a little light for Hudds but real good for 8" wood baits. For throwing your baits(and I have plenty)I like the Lamiglass 806. I would love to have a rod for Hudds and other baits that weigh around 6 oz. From Oregon I don't have many lures over that size but there are a few. Would an Okuma XH be too much up here?

I have not demoed the new 7'11 XHVY just the med hvy and hvy. If the Xhvy is similar to their current Xhvy then I would thik its a little too much for the mediumsized baits(Hudds). I would recomend the Hvy it truley is a "hvy and is perfect for medium sized baits.

www.mattlures.com

I've been demo-ing the 7'11" XH and I've fished some with the 7'11" H also.

I thought the XH would be broomstick like the 7'6" XH but surprisingly it was not. I put a hudd on it and it felt perfect from the first cast. You definitely get more casting distance with the 7'11" and within 10 minutes of using it I decided that's my hudd rod from now on. In the past I'd been using the 7'6" H for most of my hudd fishing.

The 7'11" H is going to be a great heavy wood bait rod. This is your 10" triple trout or 12" slammer type rod for sure.

Hope that helps in your rod selection process :)

Thanks for the reply from both of you. I would love to get my hands on a couple of rods in a store some where near Portland so I could fondal them. Up here a heavy rod would get scared seeing a Hudd coming out of a tackle box and break before you could get it tied on! I have to have a heavier rod so I will probably take the plunge on one of the new Okuma's soon.

It's going to be pretty hard for you to see them in Portland. About the closest place you will be able to see them is in the Bay Area. Your best bet is to take the advice or Rob and Matt (They know about rods) and pick one up from Tackle Warehouse. I beleive that they still ship for free if you place an order for $50 or more. These rods are going to retail for $99.99 and still come with the Lifetime Warranty.

I just checked the production schedule.... I should have all of the new 7'11" rods in my warehouse around the Middle of September.

are these the same rods at tacklewarehouse rite now?
the Okuma Guide Select Casting Rods?
:o

The ones that Tackle Warehouse has currently are the 7'6" versions. The 7'11" rods should be available from Tackle Warehouse around October 1st.