I bought this rod with the aim of having a bit of a challenge as well as being safe in the knowledge that St. Croix is a solid manufacturer that can live up to this. At first when it arrived on time and well packaged, although medium heavy, it did seem a little too light compared to other rods of the same class. So I perceived this to be just the challenge i needed but never doubted the quality. So after its maiden salmon session I had no problems, until i hit a snag. I tried to free it but unfortunately it snapped at where the two pieces connect. I found that although the top half survived without harm, the bottom blank was made of a hollow tube which was of very thin, poor quality, brittle plastic and certainly not the graphite i was promised. This is not TackleDirect's fault, but a design flaw by St. Croix, or perhaps a short cut by them. I'm not prepared to pay $600 for a top of the range rod when i can pay $120 for a bit of a meatier graphite rod for that extra piece of mind. Certainly not what i expected from a med heavy casting rod or from St. Croix. This rod would be ideal for trout fishing on calm pools but thats it so its not fit for the intended purpose in my opinion so wont recommend it.