You are probably not going to want to hear this, but most people can't tell the difference between their grandfather's Pfleuger and a sector or Helios or whatever. If you are not an accomplished caster and understand how the rod works, you will be a bad caster with whatever rod you have. For me, I like a rod with a lot of backbone and a softer tip as opposed to the ultra fast rods intended for carrying line at distance. I am not competition casting but trying to load quickly for short, dump shots with accuracy from the front of a skiff. I have a Helios I over line with a heavier 9 weight line with a short head like the Igniter series from SA. I bought a Sage Maverick and it handles nicely with a similar line matched to 8. Of course, I use both mostly for sight fishing for reds here in Texas. However, I have had great casting rods from TFO that did not have the same fit and finish as those outfits but still did the job more than adequately. Like all things in fishing, the retailer is trying hardest to catch the consumer.
