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Hi everyone -- I'm new to this forum but have participated on Clark's for quite awhile. After 5 yrs of fishing graphite and 5 yrs of fishing bamboo, I just received my first fiberglass rod to see what I've been missing. I know that like bamboo, the actions of fiberglass rods will vary, some being faster, some slower but for now I thought I'd give my first thoughts about this first rod. For an 8' 6wt. I found it to be lighter than bamboo but heavier than graphite. Based on what I've heard and read about fiberglass, I expected it to be slower than it is. It's slower than most modern graphite, but when evaluated on the "bamboo scale" I'd rate it in the medium-fast range. Certainly faster than many bamboo rods I've owned or cast. The tip was medium weight and able to work in close even with a DT5 Cortland Classic peach line. The rod is relatively full-flexing but not in a slow way -- it's more like a big reserve of power the deeper into the butt you go. I tried the DT5 I just mentioned but also a WF6 and WF7 both H&H Hi-Floaters. The rod easily handled all of them and I think that even a WF8 would be very do-able at distances of 40' or less. A DT7 would probably overline the rod at distances greater than 50'. One major difference between this rod and bamboo is its ability to handle a wider range of lines. IMO, graphite also has this ability but the fiberglass seemed able to do it very smoothly. It's a real cannon, able to reach out to 70' more easily than most bamboo. Realistically, no one fishes at that distance, but like graphite, it achieves the longer distances with less effort than with bamboo. I'm looking forward to trying some other fiberglass to see the differences. Any suggestions welcome!