Shimano Clarus is a nice rod for the money and the warranty is superb. I agree that a high end rod is not necessary for a dedicated float rod.

If you are hyped up to spend some money, then you should get a custom rod wrapped by a trusted maker. You will get a better product at the same price point, and someone to talk to about your choice of rod and hardware.

Plus, if/when you break it you can call your builder and if there is any way to fix it, or warranty it they will figure that out for you at your best value.

We have a bunch of Rainshadow rods at this point, and have abused the crap out of them, and whatever small problems we have experienced our builder has always come through and helped out with the cheapest and best repair. Just have to take him fishing for the pick up and drop off.

Thanks for your input,
What would you recommend someone looking to upgrade form a Clarus?
that is actually what I broke, or, what broke on me rather.
Nothing against Shimano, they are nice too for what they are.

The last couple guided trips I went out on, I had the pleasure of using the guides Loomis and it just felt like an absolute killer. It also turned out to be the hot rod of the day, so I had plenty of time with it and lots of action by the end of the day. Every opportunity I have had to use a Loomis it has always left me walking away wishing I had one of my own.

I also really liked the Lamiglas X106MC that I saw at the shop yesterday, forgot to mention that one...

rainshadow 1263/62 1383/82 is what you want!

10'6" or 11'6" 8-12 or 6-10

will blow that loomis out of the water... loomis is over hyped and over rated... their older rods before they sold out to shimano are decent...

if not rainshadow then the xmg series is my 2nd choice.

St. Croix is another option, they make very good rods for the money, and their warranty is better than Loomis's ...

another good rod for the money if you can find them is a TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters), they are mainly a fly rod company, but the last spinning rod i used was extremely nice...

if you really want to spend money, go buy a Sage

Just pulled the trigger during my lunch, made some purchases im looking forward to putting to work.

thanks for the entertainment