In my research I found out that Gary sold the company when diagnosed with cancer. In the sale he was not allowed to use his name for 5 years. After that he must have whipped cancer as he has been a busy boy. He has designed/made new machinery and is now involved with edge rods right down the street from his old factory. If you go to the Edge rod site you can see a couple of videos with explanations of the new rods.
When I saw the rods and the carbon fiber handle I was all in. Back in 1988 I bought Loomis rods from a tackle store in Santa Barbara that were customized Loomis blanks by the owner Glenn Cantello with carbon fiber handles which were Tennessee style. You used electrical tape to put your reel exactly where you needed it for balance. Those rods won me angler of the year that year because of the sensitivity and the handle. The handle makes a bite ring like a bell vs. cork.
I ordered and got a Black Widow Rod with the following specs. 6' 10"...4-10 lb...1/8-1/4oz...I have been fishing with it for a month now. I find that rod in my hand all day long now. It has made my hook set scary good with not only hooking fish in the upper lip almost always but the ratio went up as well( nearly 100%). I have found I can feel fish I did not or would not have known were there on a regular basis. I have caught fish with it in 2 feet all the way to 52 feet with a 3/16 oz. sinker. Right now at Casitas I am able to parachute a worm down on meter marks and catch fish straight under the boat. It kind of reminds me of the guys who fish small mouth on the St. Lawrence I have seen in Tournaments on Television. I tried a 1/4 oz. sinker just to satisfy my curiosity and the fish would not eat the baits...However the rods response to the heavier sinker was zero as it felt the same in my hand with that weight.
I still have another 20+ year old Loomis dropshot in my arsenal but it seems heavy and clunky in comparison. I truly could go on forever about the rods other features and I wanted to pass on my experiences so far. I got the rod on a Black Friday deal and that was 4 weeks ago and is still going on. When sensitivity is an issue in your bite I would consider putting one of these rods in your hands as they far exceed my expectations and that is saying a lot.
I give it
5 thumbs up.Rip
I did get a Silver Widow to add to the BlackWidow dropshot rod. I do believe there is some kind of electrical thing going on with it as when you get bit on it. It feels like you've been crushed. The vapor deposition of nickle to the handle must create this feeling.It is an Edge LMX MBR 736-1/fast/med heavy 7'3" 8-16 1/4-3/4oz.It will do anything I want to do exceptionally well. My best overall rod in my possession with my blackwidow it's win/win. A nicer better rod will be tough to find...I'll probably post about my next edge rod 
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