mrpao

What you have should work fine. I mainly use 6 or 7 lbs strait fluro on my shakey head setup. I use a light to med light rod. Just make sure to ty good knots and watch for line damage with the lighter line.

I feel that if the lake has a lot of fishing pressure, then Yes. Because the fish have seen it all and are more wary. A clear line like FC would probably be better. My home lake has alot of pressure and I feel like I can catch more on FC or mono Vs braid.

That model should work well with 1/8 th Oz plastics and above. I never tried throwing any hard baits on it, due to the faster tip. I'm sure it'll be fairly versatile.

Which model were you looking at? I did have the current model expride 7' light plus and the 6'10" ml. But, ended up selling them. I still own the older model expride in the 7' light plus and 6'10" ml. I also own the current model poison adrena 7' light plus and the 6'8" ul. I also have the previous model poison adrena 6'10" ul/m rod. I feel that the expride 7' light plus is too heavy of action to make a fun crappie rod. Too me, the expride 7'light plus and 6'10" ml had almost the same action. These are lighter action bass rods with fast action and stronger backbone. I believe a crappie rod should be lighter action and not as stiff. That being said, these are great rods for bass with light line and lures.

I would stick with the original drag washers especially if its felt. Too me, felt washers have a better drag release and consistency with light line. I've swapped out some of my carbon fiber drag washers in my 1000 and 2000S with felt washers. Watch some of I-fish 's videos on YouTube and he'll explain this theory.

Love the shimano lineup.

If you're talking live bait- then worms or minnows. Everything eats worms and minnows. If your talking artificials - then easiest is probably 1/16 oz crappie jig. Plastic or marabou both work well. I have pretty much caught everything on a crappie jig.

Could just be my opinion but i think the Expride A is a better jerkbait rod than the B. I feel it has a slightly more parabolic tip section than the B model. To me the B feels slightly more stiff.

I dont have the new model but I have several of the previous model that you mentioned. It's a decent reel. Really no complaints for the price point. The new model probably have less bearings to save on manufacturing cost. Doesn't make it any lesser of a reel. I'm going to assume it's just as smooth and reliable the older model. You can't really go wrong with any of the Daiwa LT series spinning reels.

I prefer one piece rods also, but the two piece Presso rods have never been an issue. Ive had the 6', 6'6" and 7' versions. The are not fast action but fairly moderate. They work good for moving baits and float fishing.

Daiwa presso rod. Comes in different lengths that should fit your needs.

Vanford or one of the JDM variants would be my choice for a reasonably priced light spinning reel.

That's a spawning male channel cat. They are really aggressive when guarding their nest.

Love some round reels myself

I dont have the 7'2 ML but I have the 6'10" ML and 7' L+. I prefer the 6'10" ML of the two I have. It's better balanced and for some reason I dont feel that it's as stiff as the 7' L+. It seems that the tip is a little softer on the 6'10" ML.