I bought the heavier Exage spinning rod to hide in the car when we went to Cornwall last month. It packed in a rucksack to climb down the cliffs, wacked out the whole of a new 12lb. spool of line on to the backing with a jelly bait on a 1.5 oz leadhead (some wind assistance)and has a lovely soft action. Swung in pollock to 2.5lb without the net (not recommended), am looking forward to trying it with some big shads on the Trent & Fens once the weather cools & the duckweed shifts; also Beach Bass & Boat Tope.
I was so good I bought the lighter one too (couldn't afford the factory), this does well with lighter shad & smaller plugs and has already had Pike to 12lb out of the Welland.
Interestingly talking of spinning for big fish, whilst in Cornwall I talked to two locals who had been scared by very large Tuna this September, chasing shoals of Mackeral past their boats not far out in Newquay Bay. Also I had a run in with a shark (about 6/8 foot long) which showed some interest in an 8inch plug near Trevose.