taking sugestions on new rod and reel

[wingshooter]

looking to upgrade my rods, currently using ugly sticks

this is the fish i usualy target from the boat, fluke, tog and stripers,
 
this year i'll probably be looking for a fluking one but needs to have enough backbone in case a striper or blue hits it
trying to decide between a few makes,

Bogan
seeker
loomis

or does anyone sugest a custom rod by another local guy
lets year the pros and cons

reels i'll probably keep my abu garcias for now

[Duffman]

 Never owned/used Seeker or Bogans so cant give ya input.  Loomis, I would never own one again. They did me dirty on a warranty and soured me forever.
  Others worth considering:  Lamiglas, Crowder, St Croix, Rogue.  I have at least one of each and I am happy with all of them.
  Its all a matter of personal taste and everyone opinion will vary. Put the rod in your hands and you'll know whats best for you.
  I'm in the process of talking with Chaos on Joey G  suggestions.  Real nice people and helpful. If I pull the trigger on that, I'll let ya know what I think of the rod 

[mboy]

I hear good things about the Chaos rods.

personally, I don't spend the big bucks on the custom or lomis type rods.

I have been using (this year) and VERY happy with some of the higher end and heavier fresh water Bass pro rods.

Cost me like $60-475 on ebay for brand new graphite rods, fuji titanium ( i believe they are made from/called) 9 guides + tip.

So far I am VERy pleased with their performance.

I especially like the Woo davis series rods.

[hareball]

seeker makes a great rod. my other choice would be lamiglas or tsunami.

[Skolmann]

Seeker BA-85 is one of the most versitile off the rack racks out there.

Can be used for ocean fluking, clamming/chunking stripers, jigging bass/bluefish, as well as blackfish & sea bass fishing.

I own 2 of them. One is matched with a Newell 229 with the 3.6:1 gear ratio (this set up is used as my 1st choice in blackfish & sea bass fishing) and other I still haven't decided on a permanent reel. Have used a Penn 965 on them in the past and was pleased with the set up.

I own a few rods made by Kevin Bogan. They're all fluking sticks of various actions and they see a good amount of use throughout the season.

Another good all around rod is the St. Croix PM70MHF-although it might be a tad stiff in the tip for fluking. This is another one of my blackfishing sticks.

I'm going to be buying a Shimano Compre CPC-MF70MH in a week or so. From the description I've read it appears to be another good all purpose stick although I'm planning on using it when there is a need to use 4-6 ounce bucktails while fluking.

Go with the Seeker BA-85 

[catfish hunter]

buy a loomis you cant go wrong , I just bought a lammi and it is a nice rod but I would never buy another one

[Ruger314]

Go with the chaos .. they have treated myself and bowguide good.. or try crowder rods just check them out nice...  may be able to hook you up??

[Skolmann]

buy a loomis you cant go wrong

Loomis is a great rod. I own several but IMHO, you have to know how to fish with a graphite rod. I've seen many Loomis's explode because of 'high sticking' as well as other mishandling mistakes. If you're not all that familiar with fishing a pure graphite rod (even thier G2 series) I wouldn't recommend them.

I have a pair of Loomis SWR843Cs that I bought around 1997 and they're both still going strong. I use them in the spring for clamming/chunking bass and again in the fall as my go jigging stick (with jigs 6 ounces or less).

[catfish hunter]

w/ loomis if he breaks it they will replace it for 60 bucks so it is worth it to spend the extra and have a good company on your side

[Skolmann]

Yes, Loomis does have a great no questions asked policy with regards to rod breakage.

[Far26]

I love my G. Loomis rods!
They're worth every penny.

I've also had good experiences with Seeker rods.
Both companies offer great customer service/warranties.

For the type of fishing you're talking about I would suggest a Loomis Pro-Blue. These rods are  very sensitive with a great backbone.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

[gottog]

Graphite-USA blanks

Lamiglas are nice too.  BL series are worth a look, lifetime warranty too.

I have a Loomis Bucara that collects dust.  Pales in comparison to my custom GUSA rods.  Helps my buddy is a rodbuilder.