What power/action(s) for St.Croix Avid-X spinning setups

[Nattyboh74]

Lol. What I'm saying is I was told to use a 15-20# braid, which is 30-40# mono. 

 

You're saying to use 50# braid on a frog rod. Why. I don't understand why you would use a thick braid like that.

[MIbassyaker]

No. 15# braid has the strength rating of 15# mono. It has the diameter of 4# mono. So you get better strength and castability in a smaller line compared to mono. 20# braid is about 6#, and 30# braid is about 8# mono, and 40# braid is about 10# mono. In diameter. and 50# braid has the diameter of about 12# mono.

 

May I suggest something?

 

It sounds like you are still trying to get your feet wet on some basic things, and you are planning to use spinning-only "for now". I was a spinning-only person for many years, even for punching, pitching, frogging, etc., until recently.  But I also never bought expensive rods like an Avid. I have and still use a MH spinning spinning rod for some things -- it's an adequate rod (a blackout), but it's emphatically not a $200 rod.  I am very glad I never spent $200 on a MH spinning rod because most of the things I used to use MH spinning for, including jigs, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and other heavier lures, I now use casting for.  Had I bought a higher-end MH spinning rod, say, 4 years ago when I was using that sort of thing more often, by now i would certainly wish I had gotten an MHF casting rod for these presentations instead.

 

I have no problem recommending an Avid X spinning rod --my preference is the 68MXF, but as you can see here good cases have been made for the MLXF and for the MF. But for the other, heavier things you want to throw, be very sure that 2, 3, 4 years down the road you aren't going to wish you had gotten a casting rod instead. Good, expensive rods should be things you'll be happy using a lot, for a long time.

 

If you are dead set on getting two AVID X rods, get one spinning (ML or M) and one MH-F casting instead of two spinning, unless you have very good reason to believe you will not wish you had gotten a casting rod instead a couple years down the road. Alternatively, buy a lower end MH spinning rod ($50-$100 range) for your heavier baits to use for now, with the understanding that your tastes may change with experience, and possibly sooner than you think.

[Nattyboh74]

Good idea... something to think about here.

[The Pond King]

Here’s what I would do. I would get a 6’ 9” MLXF and a 7’ MF. I own the 6’ 9” MLXF, and I can say from first hand experience that this rod is phenomenal! I think it’s classified as a drop shot rod, but you can do any kind of finesse fishing techniques with it including fishing with 3” grubs on an 1/8oz jig head, ned rigs, weightless senko rigs, shakey head, split shot rigs, mojo rigs, light Texas rigs, etc. Although, it's not meant for it, I’ve even fished a crank bait, 3/16oz buzz bait, top water poppers and tiny spooks with it before, without any issues. I love this rod because it’s super sensitive and light. The sensitivity is really on another level. It is also comfortable to use. I personally prefer the classic avid because I like the fore grip. I have this rod paired with a Shimano Stradic CI4+ 2500 that’s spooled with 30lb Daiwa J-Braid. If you have the money, I highly recommend pairing it with a light reel like the Stradic CI4+. 

 

Side by side, I’ve compared the 6’ 9” MLXF and a 7’ MLF, and the 6’ 9” is a much better choice in my opinion. Those few inches really make a difference. The 6’ 9” feels a lot better balanced and not tip heavy at all. The 7’ MLF felt SLIGHTLY tip heavy.

For versatility, I would also pick up a 7’ MF. This rod can do practically everything. I’ve handled a 7’ MF Avid spinning rod and own a 6' 6" MF Avid casting rod, and I can say it's a great rod. If you need a MH rod, I would use a bait casting rod for that. 

[fishnkamp]

My wife fishes only spinning rods so I have had to work hard to find just the right gear that will allow her to fish as efficiently as many of my baitcasters do for me..  We both fish a medium lite and medium G Loomis spinning rod. That takes care of most of our finesse plastics.

She fishes one Berkley Lightning Shock rod for crankbaits and traps.  SWhe fishes with one Irod Genesis II MH fr fishing all of her bigger baits like jigs and larger texas rigged plastics. Finally I found her a 7 foot heavy Dobyns rod that handles BIG jigs, carolina rigs and frogs.  The action nearly matches my  frog rod which is a Dobyns 7 foot baitcaster.

 

Each of these rods do a pretty important set of jobs for her.

No one rod line or brand has had the right tool for every job.

If St Croix is your choice I would go with the 6'8MXF for all of my finesse baits.  That rod is perfect for them, as for the XF rating ignore it, it is only XF as compared to other rods they offer, it is not really xf and will fish ned rigs, drop shots, tubes, grubs, lighter tx rigged or shakey head worms as well as smaller spinnerbaits and Sencos very well.

 

My problem is choosing your second rod.  I believe you would be better off going heavier rather than lighter.

You need to think about the type of water you fish and what lures you need to fish but the only option in the Avid X line would be the 7  foot MH and I am not sure what that rod does best.

[Scrapiron]

This has been an advantageous thread for me- I've got an Avid X MLXF 6'9" and have been musing over getting an Avid X MF 7' to be a bit more versatile (and then really looked at the MXF 6'8"). Ya'll might have saved me some coin  and I think I'll stick with the MLXF as my spinning rod to take care of finesse duties and light everything else.

 

But definitely need to upgrade to a Ci4+ 2500.  

[Nattyboh74]

Glad to see my conundrum helped you! haha.