AC79Angler

I agree with spending more for the rod. Fishing jigs and plastics is all about sensitivity and feel. That comes from the rod. If you have the money St. Croix Avid as mentioned before in a medium heavy/fast will cover what you're looking for nicely. Sensitive, durable great quality rod. Cost 190 retail but comes with a limited life time warranty. As long as you don't step on it or go ike with it. Your covered. Pair it up with the 7.0:1 curado I and I'm pretty jealous. With the options you gave: Not so sure about the other two, don't have any experience with any but I have been hearing nothing but good things about the 13 omens and envys. Very sensitive rods from what i hear. I've seen people here compare them to higher end st. Croix and dobyns rods. Stick with any medium heavy/fast action in the 7ft range. Pair that up with the same curado and you have yourself a nice 250-280 dollar setup. Enough to make me envious. Get it? 13 ***...envious? I'm so sorry, it's late and I need to sleep before I get banned for being stupid. Good luck with your purchase. Hope it works out.

I only have experience with st. Croix. If you're looking for a very versatile rod. Something that could do a lot, I'd go with a st. Croix Avid 7ft medium heavy/fast action. You can really do a lot with this rod. I throw jigs 3/8-1/2oz. Even 3/4 from time to time. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, weighted plastics and worms. I can pitch with it into lighter cover, throw lipless cranks and buzzbaits. You get the picture. If you have the cash, move up to a 7'1 LTB or the grandaddy of them all, a 7ft legend xtreme in the same power and action. Now if your looking for a medium heavy rod with a little more power for pitching and flipping, possibly a frog rod and lighter swimbaits. The avid, tournament and xtreme line all have a 7'6 Medium heavy/moderate fast. Great rod if you enjoy throwing heavier jigs. This rod is also very versatile just with different techniques. Hope that helps.

Wow, you guys always do a good job of putting things in perspective for me. Honestly, I'm one of those guys who will use anything that catches me fish. I'm constantly telling my southern friend that it's fairy magic everytime i pull in a nice bass with my spinning set up. I'll make sure to tell him to look at this thread. Now that he is a northerner, maybe it's time for him to give the olé Yankee stick a try. I do see how really heavy rods may not be necessary, at least where I'm at. I put up a thread about a month ago asking about a flipping rod and I remember someone telling me I'll never need it because of where I'm at. Well, whoever he was, he was right...so far. My brand new heavy be rod is sitting there collecting dust as of now. Then again, I've only been out once, lol. My point? I guess I can now see how he was right and perhaps my zealous buy was not needed. Having said that, my medium and medium heavy bait casting setups are still my go to, of course along with my fairy/Yankee stick. Lol

Hmm, great point about the pricing. I didn't even think about that. My bc setups def cost more then my spinning. A few cost a lot more. I could also understand people giving up, but cost seems like a pretty legit reason. Thanks.

So i went out fishing for the first time this year. (We just had the suckiest, longest, coldest winter here). I went with a buddy i met last year who happens to be from the south. We met pond fishing last year and the only reason we started speaking was because i had a baitcasting set up. Out of the 10-15 people at the pond we were at, i was the only person (other than him of course) using a baitcasting setup. I also had my spinning set up which he fondly calls a fairy and or yankee stick. I always laugh when he calls it a yankee stick...anyways, moving on. We have had many debates on which is better, which is not what this thread is about so don't worry. The one thing that he always tried to prove to me was that he can do anything that i can do with my spinning set up, on his baitcasting set up. Pretty much anything except dropshotting, which he still professes is better on his baitcasting set up. Honestly, he was right. He was pretty much able to do everything i was able to do, again besides dropshotting and a couple finesse techniques. But for the meat and potatoes type of stuff, he did without a problem. No i understand there are a lot of other species we fish for up north that spinning is better for. I realized that our bass are not as big as the ones that could be found down south too. But if my buddy can do pretty much everything i can do, why is it that the majority...vast majority of the guys i run into are using spinning set ups. Not just bankfishing either,. i see this whether im bank fishing or fishing from a boat on bigger lakes. Its not just illinois. I fish a lot in the wisconsin and it seems to be the same there. I'm not saying i never see guys with baitcasting set ups. Just that the majority of the people i see are holding spinning set ups. Another example. For my birthday, my wife got us a guide in Door County, Wisconsin to go fish smallies. Some of the best in the country from what i hear. Its not for a couple of months but i called to ask what type of tackle i need if any. He tells me all i need is a 6'8-7ft medium/fast spinning set up. I asked about bringing a baitcasting set up to which he replied. " you can bring one if thats what your more comfortable with, but def the spinning set up. You can use one of mine if you don't have one." I am going to take a baitcasting set up cause i've grown very use to them. And again, taking his advice, i'm bringing the lightest one i have. A 6'8 medium/fast. So why is it that we anglers up north prefer spinning set ups. Is our fish really that much smaller? Is it our surroundings? I personally love my spinning set up and always feel like its needed. One of my most valued, really. Probably the most fun too. But i do see us using a lot lighter tackle. Some guys look at my medium heavy cross eyed. Any guys from around my way that can give me a good answer so i can shut my buddy up already? lol. Honestly just want to know and i haven't fished for too long. Just curious. Thanks guys.

Frog rod is what I was hoping for but is the tip fast enough?

Thanks for the help guys, looks like I'm going with the medium heavy. Glad I brought it up here before going back and blindly picking up the heavy. I have also heard that st. Croix rods run heavy. So is my medium really a medium heavy? Lol. Perhaps another thread for another day. Thanks again guys. 7'6 Medium heavy/moderate fast it is. Any other techniques you guys would use this rod for?

I agree. This does help a lot. Thanks. I kind of felt the same holding the legend. It wasn't too heavy or anything but it just felt like a lot.

To be honest, I'm jumping into this a little blind. I learned how to pitch last year and I loved doing it. So I'm buying this rod to learn how to flip.I guess I would use heavier jigs. 3/8 oz.-3/4oz. Possibly 1oz. Texas rig plastics. I fish from boat and the shore.

Hey Guys. So i walk into my local basspro shop to pick up a flipping rod. I ask an employee to point me out to where the st. croix rods are and i pick out the rod i researched. A Legend Tournament 7'11 Heavy, Moderate/Fast action rod, labeled "Flipping". Perhaps this is where i should of said thank you, paid for the rod and left. Buuuut i didn't. After talking with the basspro shop employee a bit, he tells me that in his "opinion" I was not getting the right rod. Well more specifically, i was getting an unnecessary rod for where i lived. He tells me the action of moderate fast is fine but a medium heavy would serve me better than a heavy for the type lakes we have around us. I live in the Chicagoland area in illinois btw. Only really fish here and plan on going up to wisconsin in the summer a few times. So being new at this all, i left without purchasing anything, confused and conflicted. I always come to you guys here when i need to be set straight. So go with what i thought and get the 7'11 heavy moderate fast? "Overkill" he called it. Or listen to him(after all, he has waaay more knowledge then i do about it) and pick up a medium heavy/moderate fast in a 7'6? Rods a little cheaper too. Thanks again Guys, i'd really appreciate the help.

Hey Guys, here with another question. My rod kindly suggests to me that i use 8-14lb line(I assume they mean with mono/fluoro). What would happen if i ignored said "kind suggestion" and used 17lb fluoro or even 20lb fluoro. I'm aware that I may fix this with braid but lets just take braid out of the equation. If i only wanted to use fluorocarbon, does it damage my rod to use heavier line then the rod suggest? Not talking about the reel, just the rod here. I try and do a lot of research before i come and ask you guys about it but the answers i find are all different. One thread will say its perfectly fine to do so, one says only if i set my drag right and the other says to NEVER do this. Hoping i can get somewhat of a definitive answer from you guys. Thanks Everyone. -AC

I have read a lot about this specific rod. The 705cb glass. I guess I'm a little too brand loyal. I've got a decent collection of st. Croix and want to stick to them. Mainly cause I'm use to the way they feel. I've heard pretty much nothing but great things about dobyns rods. Very tempted.

Same worries here but I gotta try it at some point right? Or do I? Lol

Thanks everyone for the replies and yeah, I am a lucky guy. Didn't expect it for sure. I'm definitely keeping the rod. Feel a lot better about it after reading all your replies. Now if the snow and ice would kindly go away. I can't wait to take it out! Thanks again guys!

This is exactly the rod i was looking at. Well the 6'10 version specifically. Seems like this is the only glass line that st. croix offers. Was worried about using it for casting into cover and structure because of the slower glass action. I think i'll jump in and give it a shot though. Thanks.

Yeah, i guess i was wondering if i even needed to worry about getting a medium heavy in a fast action. The extra fast action is what worried me in the rod she got. Seems like a fast action would be more versatile. Good to hear though, thanks. Sounds like a keeper.

Hello again everyone. Sorry for spamming the forums here with questions but like i said. I'm new, i have to catch up. lol. So Literally while i was posting for the first time here, my wife taps me on the shoulder, says happy almost birthday and hands me a 7'1 St. Croix Legend Xtreme medium heavy/fast casting rod. After jumping up and down like a child with a new toy, i checked the power and action. She accidentally got me the wrong action. I was looking for a medium heavy/fast all around rod. Now bless her heart, she went out and bought me a ridiculously great rod. It was one of those "wish i had that rod" rod for me. So my question is. What can i use this rod for? Is it still a good all around rod? I read it was good for swimjigs/finesse but i'm wondering if you guys have used a mh/xf rod before and what you guys use it for. Thanks again in advance. School me please. Don't want to break her heart and end up returning this. It was really thoughtful of her.

Great, i'm looking forward to your post. Maybe i'll wait to get a rod till after your reviews. Appreciate it.

Wow, a heavy? Didn't even think about that. I like the moderate fast action. Are they glass, composite or graphite?

Glad to hear someone else is using a mh/fast! Maybe i won't have to switch. Just wondering if there was a better option out there. Never fished glass and i want to be pleasantly surprised but more afraid of being unpleasantly upset and disappointed. lol

Honestly, i almost landed them all. I guess a good ratio would be 1-2(on a really bad day) out of 5 i would miss. There would be days though i would land all 5. I guess what had me look into getting a dedicated rod was because of the friend i fished with. I would land all 5 but some of the fish i caught were barely hooked as oppose to his fish who would just swallow the whole thing. We were using the same squarebill, same color. Only difference was that he was using a medium moderate and i was using a mh/fast. I tried his medium moderate but it felt really whippy to me. Kind of in a spot now where i feel like maybe i should learn and get use to a medium moderate if its the proper action and power?

Hey Guys. I'm new here and somewhat new to bass fishing. Forgive me if this topic has been covered, i'm slowly making my way through past threads. Anyways, i'm in the market for a new rod that i want to throw mostly square bills with. I've noticed there aren't many rods dedicated to this application. I'm a St. Croix guy and one of the things i'm trying to do is keep it St. Croix. I do believe using one companys rods and getting use to their power and balance is a good thing. Saying that, I'm mostly interested in the power, action and length that you guys use for square bills. I used a Avid 7 ft. medium heavy/fast action for square bills last year. Suprisingly, i caught a lot and didn't really have a problem with losing fish on it. So, why fix whats not broken? Well, i guess its a comfort thing. I fished the rod but was always really nervous that i would lose the fish because of the mh/f action of the rod. I fish off a boat but also fish from the bank a lot. 50/50 almost. Using kvd 1.5s, 2.5s, rapala dt6. What do you guys use for these type of lures? Rod length, power, action? Is glass necessary for squarebills? (for you other st. croix guys? What rod do you use for square bills specifically?) Thanks in advance! -AC