Hey there Fluke Fighter,

well,I took a daiwa firewolf planerboard rod and cut off the spinning reel seat.I then added a trigger reel seat and some cork tape[3 layers].
I made 4 of these custom lobbers.they are made of e-glass but can handle a heavy load.the cool part is that panerboard rods have casting guides already so,no need o strip and rewrap.oh yeah,I removed the bottom guide on 2 of them.
the one you ask about is 8 foot 3,cut down on the butt from 9 foot 6.this one has the 5500 series on it.
I sent you some pix today theres one with the chrome ming-yang CL-60 it it,the rod is one of the 4 and the same stick. gave it a workout this morning.
the other 3 I left stock length.

as for what I caught with it so far,I took several in the mid-high teens with no problem.
for serious plugging I would advise to use the 777-s3 or the 666-a3,the 777 is totally a serious winch that is forgiving and strong.
the 666 is a serious winch as well but with a smaller size,like the size of an abu 6500 but half the money.
just ask JimmyZ,I'm sure he'll second my words.

R-P