Yeah, Andy--don't let Tom see the rod your nephew is using or he'll doubt your sincerity with the long rod. He's like that, you know. I think Tom doesn't like it when folks use spinning rods for bass, because then he has to see all the big fish in the river that he can't catch with his fly rod.... that's why, on occasion, I'm not above "taking the river's temperature" (rectally) with the spinning gear. Sometimes you need to know it's really you, not the fish. In my experience I've found it's almost always you (or me) and never the fish.