You are right about his poles. Anything else feels like a brick. You won't find a more sensitive pole. I have 2. Both are over 20 years old and one had to be repaired twice from big bass and improper drag setting. You can't beat them for vertical jigging in tight cover. I replaced the reels with a large and small solo reels. The set up with the small reel can't weigh more than 4 oz. This time of the year I put 3 ft of line out and use a pinned torpedo cork cut in half with a jig about 8 to 12 inches. I ease along the bank and tree line and just twitch my wrist. This is a deadly technique Jd taught me. If you try this make sure your drag is set lite. If you don't those big bass can destroy your pole when they strike. Right now where I fish anything with black is working. Jd told me years ago to use black and green where I fish when its muddy. Once I followed his advice my catch numbers increased. I just wish I would of taken notes during our talks. That man knew what color to use for every body of water. I still follow his advice to this day.