I fish 20 lb braid regularly with 2 mm guides on my lighter powered steelhead rods to 13 ft long. Complaining about a 9 ft rods balance and how fatigued makes me shake my head with wonder. Fished 8 ft 3 in Fenwick Fenglass rods for steelhead and salmon when I was nine, 9 ft. fiberglass than graphite to the 15 - 30 line class since they started building them, never once felt fatigued even when fishing weeks during the long days of Alaskan summers.