LionHeart

I think you already know this but just in case. Drag has nothing to do with how your reel will cast. Just like a spinning reel, the drag on a bait caster only controls how hard it is to pull line after the reel is engaged. If the drag is fully loosened, and you are dragging a lure across the lawn, the is a good chance you will not be able to take up any line. I usually tighten my drag down completely, then back it off a couple of 'smidges'

Not much work at all. They are installed from the butt end so the only thing that comes off is the old grips. Only reason I paid to have it done is because I don't have a reamer.

I'd have a plastics and light jig rod. Med heavy or medium with a fast or moderate fast tip. 7 foot to 7.5 foot. A fast reel (7 speed or above, 7 speed would make it more versatile for other techniques), and 50 lb yellow braid with a leader. The rod should be able to throw 3/16-3/8 oz bullet weight plus plastic. Second would also be for bottom contact but would be a little stouter. Not necessarily heavy power, but if so it should have a lot of tip. This could be your pitching rod for heavier plastics and jigs. Same reel and line as first rod. Now you need a couple of rods for moving baits. Get one that can handle heavier stuff like 1/2-3/4 oz spinner and chatter baits, and 6xd crank baits. This rod should have a fair amount of muscle, but a fairly bendy tip. Between 7 foot to 7.5 foot in length. Put a 6 or 7 speed reel on it with 30-50 lb braid. Add a leader if you want. Now get a rod just like the one above, but step down in power and length. Maybe a medium power, fast (but kinda bendy) action. This should handle all your lighter treble hook lure. If you want 3 rods for moving baits, get rid of the heavier power pitching rod described above. You can really pitch with any rod anyway.

Yeah man. The 7'4" is such a good rod. Really versatile tip.

I get what you mean on a lot of this, and I guess in a weird way, trimming the butt technically would mean that the rod bend would go further down the now shortened blank. Making it by definition slower. I'm still scratching my head on the statement that trimming the tip would slow the rod, and would still assert that the opposite is true. Let's say just for the sake of my thick skull, you have a moderate action rod that is 10 feet long and bends half way down, or 50% of the blank (for argument sake). Let's say you lop off 2 feet from the tip and now have an 8 foot rod. Only the first 3 feet will bend, which means now only the first 38% of the rod bends. Sounds faster to me. Again, I'm sure I'm gonna kick myself once this clicks but I just ain't getting it. All the other statements make total sense. Maybe after all this time, I am still confused on the meaning of rod action. I think I may as well make up my own words to describe it. When I think slow or moderate, I think bendy. In my mind, fast is the converse.

Say what?

I had winn grips put on a St. Croix rod. They can be installed from the butt end. Likely something you could do yourself. There are videos on YouTube. I wound up paying a rod builder to do mine. Cost 40 bucks but I likely over paid. Love the grips The rod on top

Did you wind up getting the Deputy? I'm seriously thinking about getting one a my plastics rod now. If so, what are your thoughts?

I don't care for extra fast rods at all. I like the rod tip to have a bit of bend to it. Combine a stout rod with an extra fast tip and you have a pool cue. Sounds like this is what you are describing. Since there is no standard between manufacturers on what constitutes rod power and action for a rod, I seldom buy a rod without seeing it in person. Half the time I do, I regret it. St. Croix has a reputation for being a tad on the stout side, but I wouldn't necessarily say that is true among all their rods. The Mojo Bass line is a good example. To me, their ratings are what I would expect. If you want a rod with a little more give, try one with a fast or mod-fast tip. To make things more confusing, one manufacturer's med heavy moderate fast may behave just like another's medium extra fast and so on. It can be an endless web of confusion. For this reason, I handle a rod before I buy it, or be fully prepared to return it if it isn't what I want.

What kind of value do you get for trading in a rod? Nevermind. I see it

IMO, moderate fast is the perfect rod action and can do just about anything. It falls somewhere between moderate and fast, but much closer to fast. Think of it as a tad slower of a fast action.

Now you just need a 7 ft or so med heavy with a fast-ish tip. Put a 7 speed reel on it, and that setup can do just about anything. As far as the old rod goes, either keep it in the garage till the end of time, or get rid of it. Door #3 Shallow cranking rod maybe? Or top water treble hook lures like a popper.

I have never heard of Fishdrops before. I would highly recommend spending another 30 bucks and get a Diawa Fuego CT on Ebay for $65. IMO it is the best budget reel available right now., especially for a beginner. Excellent braking system and casts surprisingly far.

Tough to say without handling the rod, but should work fine for moving baits. Most moving bait techniques don't require the most sensitive or well balanced rod. This is one of those setups where top tier gear absolutely isn't required. As far as the rod tip. I like a rod tip with a little give to it for moving baits but as long as the rod has enough muscle to toss a half ounce lure, the action of the tip is total preference. Some dudes like a faster tip, I just don't. What you got there should do nicely IMO.

You need to have 1 rod dedicated to bottom contact lures. Jigs, worms, etc. It should be able to easily throw 1/4 to 1 oz baits. A lot of rods can do this but won't work as well with 1/4 as 1 oz and Visa versa, so I'd shoot for a rod that excels at the lighter side since you will likely throw 1/4-1/2 oz lures the most. Put a fast reel on this rod. At least 7 speed (8 is better). Spend your money on this setup. Weight, balance, and sensitivity will matter. Get another medium heavy rod with a bendy tip. You can use it for spinner baits, chatter baits, heavier crank baits, and other heavier treble lures like whopper plopper. A 6 speed reel should work great. Lastly either a medium moderate or a medium fast for other lighter treble hook lures. Put a 6 speed reel on it. Enjoy the boat. I have one and it is a blast. You can certainly carry 4 rods on it though. I often carry 5 on mine. Check out the Sun Dolphin. It has raised sides, so you don't have to worry about your rods rolling into the lake.

Amazon return is so easy, I wouldn't think twice about it.

Right handed dude. I reel with right hand on casting gear and left hand on spinning. I started this way because the industry said so. I figured they would know better than me, so I went with it. I got no complaints.

Long answer is it depends on the rod. Some lure ratings are a little inaccurate on the low or high end. It will be up to you to decide if the lure is too much for your rod. Short answer is dude you will be totally fine. That amount of difference isn't even worth mentioning. You may even be able to sling a 10xd on it. That rod is actually pretty beastly.

Get a cheap Bass Pro Crankin Stick or something for the 10xd. If you decide you are man enough to throw a 10xd more than 20 casts per fishing trip(I'm sure not), invest in a more expensive rod. Thank me later.

Problems with cheap fishing line? Imagine that. All mono and flouro will have some memory, some more than others. Buy some decent line dude.

Just to echo what has been said. Keep the rod. The 10xd basically needs its it's own dedicated rod, and anything beefy enough will likely be to stout to throw lures like a 5xd. The 10xd is a chore to throw btw.

A medium fast spinning is basically a moderate by bait casting standards from what I've seen.

Used to use it quite a bit. Not impressed.

No complaints with Power Pro here either. I see no reason to use anything else. As far as filling half the spool with cheap mono first, what can I say? My frugality knows no bounds.