Performance: I matched our Aaron's Edge EAM610-DS-ML-S spinning rod with a Daiwa Exceler 2500SH reel spooled with 10lb Sunline Supernatural Monofilament and brought that combo with us on some trips to Lake Berryessa and Clear Lake, CA.

There's something different about these guides.

Casting: The EAM610-DS-ML-S is rated from one eighth of an ounce on up to half an ounce (1/8 - 1/2oz) in lure weight and has a very traditional finesse spinning rod feel to it. I primarily fished at the lower end of this rod's lure rating and felt the blank is rated properly.

They're American Tackle's Microwave guides!

But of course, the real interest in this rod's casting ability is not necessarily with the blank, but the American Tackle Microwave guides, that up until now have been summarily dismissed as a gimmick or simply too funny looking to be taken seriously.

The stripper guide is shaped like a funnel to smooth out your line as if flies through the guides.

The key to the Microwave system is in the funky looking stripper guide that essentially serves as a funnel to gather the craziness of your line as it comes off the spinning reel and effectively channel it down into a streamlined flow so it can serve through your remaining guides more smoothly. In turn, the theory is this leads to more accurate and farther reaching casts because your line isn't slowed by the friction of slapping the blank and guides as you go through your cast.

Checking out the rod's power curve.

Does it work? In a word? Yes. Did I notice my casts were longer or more accurate than normal? No. But there is a definite effect with this guide system on a spinning rod. Each cast was just smoother and more direct almost like making a cast with a baitcasting combo. It's a very eerie feeling.

Unfortunately, not the most sensitive stick I've fished.

Sensitivity: If there's a downside to this stick it's in its sensitivity. Perhaps fished with fluorocarbon, braid, or a combo thereof, results would have been better, but I was somewhat disappointed in the sensitivity of this stick. I had a very hard time distinguishing hard bottom from soft and with the bites I did get, the fish had to really commit for me to feel anything.

Next Section: Built for Power