bob, i fish both the newell 235-5, and the old 235. i also fish the newell 229 which i use primarily for casting plugs, etc. there are a whole host of graphite rods that would fit the bill for the applicatons you've described. i use 10' lami-glass graphite blanks. fuji guides and a fuji reel seat with a csting trigger on all. the rods are rated 2-6 oz and have a line rating of 20-40 lb test. 10' is a good all-around length for chunking, live bait, and casting. some guys will say 10'is too long for chunking, but it works just fine. also, look at the "ron arra" series graphite composite blanks. they are a combo of a graphite butt section going into a fiberglass tip. good casting rod, but the legnth(11') a bit long for me. i personally shy away from no-custom rod for the canal. the canal is very much a specialty fishery, and an off the rack approach doesn't always work here. but hey, those are my thoughts. bob g