bigfruits

a medium for weightless plastics? heavy for jig/worm? if i only had 5 rods for largemouth: Med F or XF spinning - finesse, weightless plastics Med Moderate Fast or F BC - shallow cranks, topwater MH F BC - all around rod. single hook moving baits, topwater and anything it is weight range except deep cranks. MH F or XF BC - jigs and t-rig (this would probably be the most expensive) Heavy F - frogs, big bottom contact, small swimbaits, heavy cover If i did a lot of crankbait fishing, id swap the least used one above with a moderate action rod. prob MH.

spend a little more and get the MB FMJ. Traded my main NRX jig rod for it, glad i did!

those poor kids. cant you show them a brighter future? HMGs are great rods. Kid can save his pennies if he decides to upgrade the reel.

dont have the curado but have the metanium dc and its great for windy days. my favorite spinnerbait reel.

i like 6'8" rods for pitching whether im standing or sitting in a kayak. that being said, most of my jig/worm rods are 7'+ but i pretty much pitch any type of bait, not just jigs and plastics. pitching while sitting down in a kayak is a lot different than when standing. i dont get the same low trajectory but quiet enough in most cases. you can pitch with a spinning rod too. cork or split doesnt matter IMO. keep practicing with your current set up. just takes a little time.

i agree with pretty much all of the posts on here. the 873 is great for jigs but a little tip heavy IMO. it has a pretty stiff tip, i liked that in the rod. i traded it for a MB FMJ and found a new favorite jig rod. the 842 and 852 are great rods. you wont believe how they light feel in hand paired with a light reel like the aldebaran 50/51. the 842 is probably a little more versatile than the 852 but if i only had one id keep the 852. both of these medium power rods are a bit less powerful than many other medium power from other brands including st croix. not that they lack backbone. the NRX 852c and old glx 803c are the most sensitive rods ive ever fished. ive never fished the nrx 853 from your list. hope this helps.

not the most expensive but the NRX 852c and an Aldebaran 50/51 will spoil you forever.

so much nicer moving the rod with the dominant arm IMO

BC: Shimano, Daiwa Spinning: Shimano Rods: Megabass, Loomis, St. Croix

light dropshot and light ned rigs are the only baits i would use medium light for when largemouth bass fishing. great fun when a fish is on!

in magnesium.

add cash to it.

your back seat doesnt come down? id also look at st croix.

i have 4 times as many rods as i do reels.

make sure you are laying the line near the tip of your index finger and not in the crease where the joint is.

what are the actions and powers of the rods and what will you use each for? besides different tests, you might want different types of lines as well.

i-pilot is a must

straight defier armilo. my "walking topwater" rod has a fast action.

i actually use them both. if it will be on a moderate action crank rod, id go with the armilo. a bit less stretch and less supple but more abrasion resistant and is still what i consider a low memory line. check out the graphs in the links below. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/catpage-LNESUNLINE.html?from=basres line is a very personal thing, id tell you to try FC (sniper) for the cranks but many will tell you its not worth the hassle.

i have not used those but those bait keepers look nice. i have been using the cadman and elken arky jigheads the last few years and recommend them both. cadman can pour you a true 7 gram arky jighead. add a light wire hook and you should be able to get away with light line. most "1/4oz" arky jigheads are 9 grams or so and have pretty thick hooks. you can also use a premade skirted jig or add your own skirt to those jigheads and just use a yamamoto DT grub (non hula). you can find bulk bags on sale of limited colors here: https://www.overstockbait.com/ sieberts jigs are great but last time i checked (over a year ago) they did not have light wire arky jigheads. IMO the arky head seems like the best all around style for most conditions. football heads are great and give you a great rocking and dragging motion (90% of my deep football jig fishing involves a DT grub) but can get hung up a bit in some rocky areas. large round rock or gravel shouldnt be an issue.

if you want to gain confidence in jig fishing try the yamamoto 4" hula grub. green pumpkin and you are good to go. this bait has caught fish from a 3.5 inch bluegill to a 6lb bass for me. my favorite way to fish this bait is with a 1/4-3/8oz arky style jighead (non-heavy wire, plastic weedguard) on a MH baitcaster. do combinations of pause, shake, drag, hop, swim until you notice a pattern. if you bump into a log or rock, shake it in place and pause. lightly pull it over the branch so it falls just in front of it. shake again.

which 852s are you looking at? ive fished the old glx 852s and the nrx 852s and they are perfect all around finesse spinning rods. if i only had one spinning rod it would be one of these two with dropshot and ned rig being better on the nrx and 6" senkos and light jigs and trig better on the old glx as the old glx fishes a bit more powerful than the nrx. not sure where the new glx 852 fits in. st. croix typically fish more powerful than loomis. i think your ML st.croix will fish a bit lighter than the 852s (2 power, Med). probably more ideal for dropshot and ned rig than the 852s. IMO the 852s would be more ideal for shakey, wacky 5" senkos, weightless plastics etc.

check out the st. croix premiers. $120 retail but you shouldnt have to pay that much. should he ever break the rod he can have it replaced for $65 (shipping included) or even upgrade it by adding the difference to that. he can treat it like a $65 rod. not sure about replacement plans with the rod companies below but have heard great things about them and i can personally vouch for fenwick fenwick alx phenix falcon dobyns shimano kistler

i myself do not use reels that slow for anything other than deeper cranks. some like slower reels because they fish too fast. i do not find it difficult to slow down when i want to. that medium heavy fast rod should be a good all around rod. i would add a med fast or xf spinning rod for finesse plastics. depending on where and how you fish, for the third rod i would go with either a mod fast, M or MH for treble baits or a heavy power fast action for heavier jigs and t-rig, frogs, small swimbaits etc.