I talked to him a couple weeks ago. He's doing well and very busy. He's getting transferred to California in the next couple of months. 4 years till retirement lol
Another vote for TFO. I have a couple of Lefty Kreh signature rods and absolutely love them. Also, spend the big money on the rod and not the reel. The reel basically just holds the line while the rod fights the fish. Okuma has several budget friendly reels.