I regret not buying what are now the older GLoomis 982s.....

And, it's been 8 years since I last fished for river salmon with dedication, etc.

Now, I get to start up again and I need new rods.

I see that Lamiglas makes a "kwikfish" series now. In 2011, it was the XCF, now it's XCC for 2012 with a blend of graph/fiberglass.

I plan to use braid for line and I will be fishing from a boat employing the usual techniques.

Where I fish, I typically use as little weight as 3/8 and as much as 4 oz. Fish size are usually 'teens and twenties'.

I like the specs of the XCC802..... Any thoughts?

Unfortuantely, no dealers in my neighborhood that carry these specialty rods so I can't see it first hand.

Thanks.

havent used the new ones, but the Kenai Kwiks are great rods for plugs...

85c. Find it. Cherish it. Never sell it.

..........and save yourself some dough.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is an 85c?

85C.....my guess Fenwick Fenglass FS85C....from the "old days"....late 60's , 70's........Made in USA, and they were a heck of a rod.

But my question.....for under $100, you can have any number of 8.5' - 10' Rods, many different weight 10 -20#, 10 - 25#, etc.

Okuma, Shimano, Quantum, Cabelas all manufacture rods that would make excellent plug rods.

Just how much you want to spent??????

Good luck...........

seeker makes blanks identical to the old fenglass rods...just have to wrap them yourself, or find someone to do it for you.

think you might want something stiffer for kwikfish, and the kenai kwik rods seem to be excellent.

I've compromised with rods for 20 years using an array of blem blanks and builiding 'something that will work'. Now, I'm at a point where I actually want the rod that is designed to the job right. I'm not rich, but I am able to go with Lami or whatever the best tool will be for the job.....

At most, I'll have 4 rods working from the boat. I'll go with the 8' off the stern and then 9'+ off the front of the boat.

I'm not sure what 9'+ model to go with.... 903 or 934... or even the 1064. All three are more powerful vs. the 802s I'll use off the stern.... The water I fish is medium size and the fish are 'teens' to mid twenties, at best.

In summary, I just need the defintive "go to" rods instead of hemming and hawing each time I load up the boat with my 'compromise' rods for a day's salmon fishing.

85c and his little brother 83c are never a compromise if you are pulling plugs.

Nice rods. I love the old stuff.

I assume you've been using braid lines on the 85cs with no problems?

Lastly, was there a certain year class that the 85cs really shined or is any year version of the 85c golden?

If they say 85c, they always treated me right. Never much fretted the vintage. I do favor grips on the last years they produced, around 00, or 01....just to guess.

30# and 50# Power Pro been coursing through their guides for better part of 10 years. Aint found a reason to alter from what does the job.

Glass is a very forgiving plug rod. They make sure your plug is doing the dance the best it can, not impeding action like graphite can. But do not let the soft top section fool you. Good glass gets tough on fish the last half of the rod. It really is not crazy to use an 85c for keeper sturgeon. They really are great utility rods.

85c is soft enough to run tadpollys in the driftboat for native steel, and heavy enough go to war on fall runs with a K16.

Thanks for the insight on the 85c. They are two piece, yes?

I surmise they are hard to find..... I'll keep a look out as I love to go out and use the "oldie, but goodie" kind of equipment. Some of my favorite 'other' kind of fish rods are a tad 'ancient' too.

BTW, is the infamous 8'-9" Fenwick of the same ilk as the 85c? One of my favorite casting rods is the 8'-9" MT in Cert Pro which (I built mine on or around 1997 when they first became available), if I'm not mistaken, was built on a similar mandrel as the Fenwick 8'-9" salmon rod.

In the meantime, I'll have to go with what is currently available on the market.... which appear to be the blended type of rods as even the glass lami XCF is discontinued.

Thanks again.