sal669

I would suggest to take a look at St Croix Avid AVC 76mhmf, costs about $200 and it's worth every penny. It felt a bit "funny" in the beggining, but once I got used to it, I never looked back. It's all I used last season to flip/pitch. I have no problem accurately pitching a 1/4oz jig + trailer at targets at 30ft. The cover I'm fishing is mostly grass, and the bass are not that big in Michigan, so I don't need a heavy rod. The reel is very important when pitching, especially with lighter baits.

I use an Avid AVC66MF paired with a TD Sol for all jerkbaits and top water baits. I think this rod has the ideal taper for this kind of duty.

Even though I own a couple different brands, in the last 3-4 years I bought only Daiwa; I have no intention to switch brands unless Daiwa disappoints me (big time) in the future.

Absolutely awesome !!!

Interesting info ! Thanx

For braid I use Power Pro; i have one reel spooled with Sufix (I like it), but it's gonna be years until I'll use up all my stock of PP. I use only BPS Fluoro and I'm happy with it.

Shallow & medium diveres: 7ft med power, moderate or mod-fast action; Deep divers: 7ft or longer, MH power, mod or mod-fast action . If you don't have to much weeds, slower action would be better. Tight lines

A 7ft MH rod will work just fine. As a matter, I ditched my flipping rod (7-6 H); and I was using a 7-0 MH for the last couple of years with better results (more accuracy). Have to mention that I pitch mostly to vegetation, which is not as heavy as in the southern part of the country. I am experimenting now with a 7-6 MH mod-fast St Croix Avid; I like it so far ,but I am not as accurate and "quite" as with a 7'-er. I am 6'-03" tall, so the extra lenght doesn't bother me. Hope it helps...

I still have 2 Daiwa Triforce Z (6 & 6-6 med-light) wich I bought for $19.99 at K-Mart 15 years ago, and I have no hesitation of using them when a ML rod gets the nod (light line, finess techniques). Most of my rods are Fenwick and St Croix.

I use it in 6, 8 on spinning reels and 12, 15 lb on baitcasters. I like it. I also used Seaguar, Trilene and Vanish. You need to use spinning reels with wider spools (I use Daiwa 2000 and 2500 size) for better line management. Make sure the knot is properly tied, lubricated and set.

If you don't mind that it's not "the last rage"," hot", "sexy","cool".....I'd recomand Fenwick's Techna AV, model AVS70MF. It's a $210 rod in clearance for $115. It's a heck of a rod for the $$$ I bought 3 Techna's over the winter (different models), I didn't realy had time to fish them a lot but they feel realy "right" ; like it's exactly what the doctor prescribed.

Unfortunately, the "do it all" rod for all species was no invented yet. If I were to start again from zero, my firs set up would be a 7ft graphyte, medium power, fast action rod made by a reputable company (especialy known for quality). "Ugly stick" is more of a "quantity" rod. For more "bang"for your buck, you should look into a "house brand "in sale or clearance(BPS, Cabelas, etc). A price range would help us give you more specific info.

My 3 favorites for most soft plastics are (depending on manufacturer): Green pumpkin (ish) Junebug (purple-ish) Black/blue (variations)

These do not require a FINESSE rod. IMO, finess means 4-6lb line, light wire hook, small bait (like the 4" finesse worm, 3" bait fish imitators,etc). For these, I use a 6, 6-6 or 7ft MLF rod. For what you said you want to use, I would go with a 70MF rod; it protects a light line better than an extra-fast rod and casts better); an XF rod doesn't load as well as a fast one. The 68MXF St Croix rods tend to be a bit on the MH side, compared to some other brands and it works great if lenght of cast is not an issue .

Avid AVS68MXF paired with 2500 Daiwa TD Capricorn, 8lb equivalent Tectan Premium (spare spool with 15lb Power Pro) Avid AVC76MHMF with TD Zillion, 50lb Power Pro

I would not consider AVS68 MXF a "finess" rod (I own it). It has to much power for that ; I think it's a bit toward MH, especially if you compare it with a Loomis rod (I don't own any , but i plaied with them , comparatively, in the store). IMO, a more "finess" aproach would be AVS69MLXF, or AVS 70MLF. Or, try a Techna AV 70MLF (it's a $220 rod on clearance), for about $115 at FFO. The reel should be 2500 size

I use a 7ft med-heavy, fast rod. Pick your favorit brand.

No issues here, when tied correctly. I allways grab the lure and line and jerk a couple times to make sure the knot is set properly.

I agree with the TD Sol and Core (But I think mg51 is the right choice ). I agree with the AVC70MM, too(even though i don't own it); they are very good rods. A #6 rapala almost begs for a Med-Light power rod, but it would be kinda tough to find one in CB taper at reasonable price. It's a bit more difficult to cast a 1/8 crankbait than a weightless plastic because of the aerodynamicity(sp) issues. My only question would be: "why use a baitcaster?"

I like them. They work well on "Title Shot" jigs, pitched and retrieved with small jumps and/or dragging on bottom. On the botom they look like a craw in a deffensive posture.

I am in a process of fading out other brands in favor of St Croix Avid rods (my previous "darling" was Fenwick). I feel the Avids are the rods that will give me the "best bang for the buck", and they are made the way I like my rods to be (full cork handle,quality components,stealthy, no bling-bligs). Life time ,no questions , warranty. I too, try to spend my money on products made in USA. I strongly recommand them. Cabeles has from time to time an offer that will give you $20-30 off your purchase if it's over $150. Avids qualify for it. Or get a lightly used one from the flee market, ebay or other place.

I use a leader 90% of the time I'm fishing with braid. Only time I don't feel it's necessary is in heavy weeds or stained water, but my waters are cristal clear most of the time (you can count pebles in 8-10 ft of water)

I use a 7ft MH power mod-fast Compre (crankbait rod)

I am a multi-species fisherman and, in my opinion, the best reel size for bass and walleye is the 2500. The 4000 is overkill. For finess fishing you could go with 2000 or even 1000 .I think the 1000 is to light, but Roadwarrior will tell you otherwise. All my bass and walleye reels are 2000 and 2500 .