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In reply to Post #28
The baby ballistas are 11ft so in between what you have and honestly they are beautiful rods. They are worth having a look at for sure
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In reply to Post #25
I'm not against 12ft rods but I've got 4 sets (2.25, 2.5. 2.75 and 3.25) and since using 10ft and 6ft rods they haven't been out of the shed.
I try to convince myself I should dust them off and take them out for a day and never do - should probably sell them all 
Using retractables has been good for my type of fishing, but they can be a royal pita when the telescopic bit is flopping around sliding in and out, twisting so lines aren't aligned. Little things but it drives me fecking mad, so 2 piece 10 footers will do what I want without any of the faff and only a few inches longer on pack down
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Mark Tunley and Cotswold advertise a 10ft 2.75 ballista which I didn't know was a thing.
I've been very happy with ballistas in the past but wasn't too sure if that might be a bit too soft for dragging a 20/30lb fish through weed
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In reply to Post #25
BB in 2.5 are lovely things.
ive got lots of different rods all over the place which is a difference from the 2.75 that i used to use for EVERYTHING.
makes me wonder if a nice set of Harrison Ballista in 2.75 is the way to go for EVERYTHING up to 100 or 120
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In reply to Post #23
If you're dead set against 12 footers now you should definitely consider a set of baby ballistas in 3lb
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In reply to Post #23
I use the free spirit s range 10ft 3lb lovely rods for close to medium range work 60/70 yds with the ultegra ci4 xtc 5500 granted l’m not s big caster so you might go further a lot of my fishing is close in using fluorocarbon which suits these rods and are lovely to play fish on, l have been looking at the hi s 10ft 3lb rods myself which would give me abit more distance when needed but not sure how they would cope with the close in work with been abit stiffer.
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In reply to Post #22
Yes thanks, I remember them.
A mate leant me his 12'6 aviators to try and boy I'm glad he did because they felt awful in the hand. I didn't even strap a reel to them, just knew I'm so over big rods.
As none of the lakes I've got tickets for being over 8 acres, I doubt I'll ever cast a single at a showing fish more than 100 yards away.
I have enjoyed retractables but I want to return to normal rods and have narrowed my choices down to a few more realistic options:
10ft Torrix either 2.75 or 3lb
10ft Free Spirit hi s 2.75 or 3lb
10ft Free spirit s 3lb
10ft century FBS 3lb
I'll be contacting a rod builder to talk things through, but wondered what user feedback anyone has on these?
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Keep saying it on threads like these:
ESP Vertex 12,9” 3.25 TC.
Nuff said.
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In reply to Post #20
I've been on a smaller water for the last couple of years and been using the X-Lite's Andy.... amazing rods. As close to a 'do-everything' rod as you can get.
My new ticket is a big pit so I have to get the broomsticks out for a while. I'm gutted!
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In reply to Post #5
My forever rods are built on the Nick Buss X-lite blanks, which are 2 3/4tc and made by Century. 25mm butt guides, 10 guides in total and yesterday afternoon I was putting a 2.5oz lead 100yds no bother and winching in huge rafts of weed.
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In reply to Post #18
Enjoy the fishing pal, couple them with some lighter TC rods and enjoy the fight too 
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In reply to Post #17
Yep, I get that, they do go 100 yards on 10ft rods though 
Ironically, Ive just been offered a ticket on a 7ish acre pond I wasn't expecting yet, so what I have will more than suffice whilst I figure it out
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After spending a lot of years fishing and looking for the Holy grail I would say there is no forever rod, your next challenge will tell you what you need, but there are some good compromises. I would say a 3 1/4 test is about as good as you can get pending action and quality of the blank.
If I’m honest, I wouldnt be coupling ultegra 5500 with anything close to 100 yds plus, so if you are fishing small waters forever these would be ideal,
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In reply to Post #15
I did consider that, but I think he's hung up his rod building boots
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In reply to Post #14
You could do much worse than asking Jeffire if he is able to source those Balissta blanks and custom build for you, he built me a set of rods a few yrs ago and they were very well priced and a flawless finish.
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Tackle