Ben, I cant comment on the Blue Rose much but i own a whole slew of Jigwrex's from PE 4 to PE 8 and have used them for everything from bait fishing for Sailfish to jigging for Sambos. I like them, never had an issue with them and have fished some reasonably high drags on the 508 (12kgs or so) and it worked the 500g jigs well. Its a budget class of rod, (around A$ 230 in Singapore) but they all perform well. I like them as short boat rods for livebaiting for Sails in Malaysia as they are easy to transport, handle the fish well and have some beef when its needed. My 11 yr old son was using the PE 4 version with no assistance. I have read, a long time back, a detailed report about the Blue Roses and their carbon content etc, but cannot remember the result. Another rod series that is worth looking at are the Smith WGJ Offshore Sticks. I have the PE 4-8 spinning version and that handled Sambos brilliantly and is my heavier jig rod of choice. I bought it in Singapore and didnt think it broke the bank either.