The Crucial rods are definitely nice. I wanted to keep the demo rod I got :) I suggested the Okuma for Ben because I figure he's better off spending his money on the reel than the rod but if you had 5 or 600 to spend, get the Crucial by all means.

Ben - I saw that TW didn't have a Calcutta 400 listed on the site. I'm not sure if that's an oversight but I'll check into it. In the mean time you can always find them on Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops.

On the Rago - are you talking about this bait?
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpageSWMJRAGO-JRLT.html?from=calfish

The Live Trout Hardbait series are floaters but they are very close to neutral. Their natural action is to dive down in the 5 to 12 foot range. You can fish them on top but you have to go extremely slow. You'll also find some slight variation on these baits so some may be more bouyant than others. There was a time when some came out that were sinkers, but I don't think Jerry is making any like that now.

-Rob