Thank you for the advice, I was thinking about a Skagit Max...by the way it is the blackish gray blank and is 14.5 feet in length.If that's the Blue Blank rod I fished one for a day with an early RIO 27' 'Beer Can' 650 integrated and 300gr Big Boy looped up front. Snake rolled the works, Big boy half out of the water.. bye bye. Powerfull rod. Longer heads suit longer rods (my opinion)