Riazuli

If you want the expride then I would go with the MH Glass for chatterbaits and moving baits in general as that is what that model is better suited for. I'm going with the Medium glass because I'm more interested in a cranking rod that isn't as stiff as a MH. Here's a description of the MH Glass expride: "72MHG The 7’2 Medium-Heavy Glass Composite rod is really going to shine when fishing cover with moving baits. With a higher percentage of carbon material going further up the blank, it has the power to get fish headed your direction. Whether throwing a chatterbait, a lipless crankbait, or even a swim jig, every fisherman will appreciate the versatility of this rod when it comes to fishing docks, grass or wood. It can also easily pull double duty as a 10 to 20-foot crankbait rod. "

I'm getting in a m/m expride tomorrow and can share my thoughts soon along with using a chatterbait... Not quite what you're looking for but maybe it can offer an idea. The mh/m would be more suited for the chatterbait based on guides I've seen.

Thanks for your reply. I'm gonna stick to one rod for both - mine is a medium/moderate glass composite with a wide range for lure rating (1/4to 7/8). It's a Shimano expride that I'm receiving tomorrow! Very excited for that and while researching for the rod I realized people were almost split between m and mh, with a stronger lean toward mh for grass as the poll data suggests. It makes sense and it's nice the have the data to back it up for interested viewers. Personally, I'm happy to go with m/m for both conditions for reasons mentioned earlier and I'm glad I've got a small squad with me wielding m/m in grass too. As I mentioned before, I think braid evens it out vs stretchy fluoro or mono. This was part of the reason I went with a Shimano expride which the m/m is rated for 1/4 to 7/8 oz. The shimano tech I spoke to before ordering also leaned me toward the m/m even with grass and up to 3/4. Based on my comments he said I wouldn't like the stiffness of the mh and he's right. I've got a mh for another setup just in case it works better for a certain situation so overall I'm very happy with my decision. Good to know! Thank you for your input

Will do, and thank you!

I'll be hitting the water with my kayak soon! Possibly next wkd and will report back.

I prefer to avoid a wild goose chase I've been bank fishing near a WWD most of this winter, but I prefer to kayak fish closer to home. The odds of catching bass in regular creeks are lower than my desire to fish there during the middle of winter, especially when I'm able to catch bass bank fishing where I've been fishing. Just personal preference I guess.

Hey guys, please weigh in if you can - this question seems to be a big tossup for people (you can tell by the data already shown). This doesn't have to be limited to glass composite rods as the same specs work for graphite for this application.

Yes, sir! Don't have to ask me twice

Thank you, @Sam I've been reading up on tidal waters and remembered how bass like the moving water just wasn't sure why the outgoing tide was more active - reading up on that link now. Thanks again! Second reply: Found it! "Falling water levels concentrate bait and put bass in predictable locations," he confides. "Rising water, on the other hand, spreads fish out, making them hard to find." @Sam

Thank you for your detailed post. It is very helpful and much appreciated! I'll probably stick to Powells strictly for now at least until it gets warmer, but I'm interested that you mention the outgoing tide. I was thinking that bass would come into the shallows on the incoming tide to follow baitfish into the back of the creeks - are they generally more active during the outgoing out there or is this more of a cold weather recommendation? I do have depth charts of the area and was surprised to see how shallow the entirety of powells creek is. I did notice on some that there is a deep spot near the bridge. I have a deeper sonar and plan to check it out when I make it out there. I plan to do a thorough mapping of the entire creek over several trips (I have the pro plus model which does mapping). I definitely wouldn't try to cross the potomac in the kayak - not even when it's warm due to boat traffic. The Potomac has been a beautiful experience indeed - so refreshing being out there on the kayak! Thanks again for the post.

Leesylvania/Powells creek

Hey guys, I enjoy kayak fishing Potomac river creeks and was wondering how soon bass start hitting up the creeks during the winter. I hear that once they start heading in, they can hang around near cover rather than traveling long distance back out of the creeks. Any thoughts?

Between a m/f and a mh/f, and just in general, I prefer a medium fast rod for all around applications. Medium moderate rods are better suited for crankbaits; however, it can function just fine as an all around rod too, depending on what you're generally using. I use mostly crankbaits as it is, but the medium moderate I just ordered has the widest lure weight rating out of any of my rods. Since you've already got a medium power rod, I would recommend you go mh/f or mh/mf (the mh/mf is more suited for spinnerbaits) so you have that for heavier lures, more backbone when needed, and just for when you feel that it feels better for you for certain lures and conditions. Later down the line, I'd consider a medium fast to keep worms on, with the m/m pulling cranks, and the mh/f or mh/mf doing spinnerbaits and topwater (with fast action more for topwater). These are my personal opinions along with direction from guides provided by rod companies.

Hey everyone, right before winter I got a great deal on a Deeper sonar pro plus with GPS mapping ability. I recently got a good deal on a Deeper arm mount for kayaks and I was wondering if anyone has tried this and what your thoughts were on it. Does it work well from a kayak? It's amazing from the bank. My kayak is pretty stable on the water so I don't see it rocking too much. I've also purchased a generic heavy duty clip on phone mount with flexible arm to hold my phone. I figured I could just map while kayaking around and get a good idea of where fish might be hanging out. I'm not so interested in the fish finding aspect, especially on the kayak as I don't see fish hanging out too long underneath the kayak (they usually scatter or jump right away when I go over them). I'm interested to here yalls thoughts on this!

I've currently got a mh/f setup that I'm dedicating for thick vegetation and mainly frogging over slop, but I might end up going heavy with that one. Outside of slop, I prefer to have more give in the rod. And while I'm kind of in-between in terms of how a m/m feels vs a mh/m when ripping (I prefer medium for general retrieve), I'm certain I prefer the medium over mh on the cast (apart from heavier lures like 3/4 +)

Some say a medium/fast is a go to for all-around use, while others might say mh/f - personally, for all around use, I prefer a medium fast rod. It will function better with lighter lures and rigs, and also be able to manage the other stuff you mentioned. It won't work as well as a mh rod for heavier lures (especially ones that are heavier than the max lure rating) as there will be too much load on the rod during the cast which can result in poorer cast performance and wear you out after a while. I wouldn't go higher than 1/2 oz for the medium/fast (although you could push it to 3/4 oz, which is a tad higher than most medium/fast rods are rated for). That's my thoughts for an all around rod - however, I would recommend at least having a medium rod and a medium heavy so that you can hit a wider range of lures comfortably. A medium heavy/moderate fast or similar is better suited for the spinner and chatterbaits, but a medium fast will manage them just fine in my opinion.

Interesting results so far, let's see if we can get 100 more in there!

Hey everyone, right before winter I got a great deal on a Deeper sonar pro plus with GPS mapping ability. I recently got a good deal on a Deeper arm mount for kayaks and I was wondering if anyone has tried this and what your thoughts were on it. Does it work well from a kayak? It's amazing from the bank. My kayak is pretty stable on the water so I don't see it rocking too much. I've also purchased a generic heavy duty clip on phone mount with flexible arm to hold my phone. I figured I could just map while kayaking around and get a good idea of where fish might be hanging out. I'm not so interested in the fish finding aspect, especially on the kayak as I don't see fish hanging out too long underneath the kayak (they usually scatter or jump right away when I go over them). I'm interested to here yalls thoughts on this!

I wish I could buy another one too and a couple more reels while I'm at it lol. This is the first time I'm buying new fishing equipment in almost 20 years - I have a quantum ac500pt and a bionic blade that is still going strong. This last summer I started fishing full force again after a while and only then did I purchase a second setup (outside of cheapo spinning combos for family and to catch catfish/use for my deeper sonar). That second setup was a used version of the same quantum/bps combo (with mh instead of medium rod) that I like so much lol. Since then, I've been researching, fishing a lot, and really embracing the sport so it only made sense to get some newer and nicer gear. I bit the bullet and got two metanium 13s, a medium bps Johnny Morris Signature series with the same power hump I've been using for over half my life and then a mojo bass rod that I returned to order this expride - can't wait to pair it with a Shimano reel. And a ton of lures that I got during winter sales. We'll just consider this post my bait monkey confessional I'm glad you like yours - I'm really looking forward to getting mine. Will post later with my thoughts after I've used it.

They're clearing out everywhere with the new lineup available now. There were several available within just the last couple of weeks (I recall seeing availability in the last week) - those same places seem to be out of stock now at the clearance price (I did notice some over 300 but that's not worth it as the new models are priced less for the most part). If you can find a legitimate JDM dealer, it might be worth a look, and there is a MH version (both composite glass). I noticed a JDM site pricing it at around 180 US for the 170MCR. Not sure if you're referring to other brands having the lifetime warranty over Shimano, but only rods purchasing prior to I think June or July 2014 are still eligible for lifetime warranty. Rods purchased after that have a 1 year warranty, and then after that it's 50% off retail with free return shipping for your broken rod. Shimano states that the warranty is designed to protect against defects, and that 1 year is sufficient time to find out if your product is defective or not. I am not as concerned about it because I take good care of my rods and have been using one of my rods for close to 20 years now and only had to replace a guide on it. That and...if I do happen to break the rod in a few years...well...that just sounds like a good excuse to buy a new and better one

Check out the shimano expride 7'2" mh/ m composite glass rod. Seems like it fits your requirements well. Edit: sry that is around $260 but worth a look. They have the previous 170mcr expride on sale for 200 at a few places online, but wouldn't use for higher than 3/4 oz

Hey guys, wanted to do a poll to see what people prefer for the question raised in the title: ~7' M/M or MH/M (can be glass composite or graphite) for 1/2 oz Lipless? I voted medium for both as it does well with lower weights and 1/2 oz sits right in the middle of the lure rating; also I use braid, so the medium will allow for bass to inhale the bait while the stretch free braid still allows me to rip through grass - with stretching mono or fluoro I think MH makes more sense; finally, I am not a fan of the stiffness of the MH - it is not as sensitive, doesn't cast as well, and is less accurate (in comparison to a M; however, the MH will outshine the M for higher lure weights and when more backbone is needed). Please add why you voted the way you did (if you want to) so people can have more informed decisions on their choices!

Just wanted to add that a tech from Shimano recommended I go with the m/m instead of mh/m for 1/2 to 3/4 oz lipless and even through grass. He added that the mh would be too stiff for my needs - personally I am not a fan of the stiffness of a mh unless I'm just throwing 3/4 and up. I do not like it for a 1/2 oz, so along with that and the shimano tech's suggestions, I'm happy to be going with the m/m for mainly 1/2 oz lipless. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and suggestions. @fishballer06, what specs is/are your expride(s)?

Thank you - I don't normally throw 3/4 and do have a mh rod for that if needed. I'm glad to see you think the expride is better than the ltb as I've already ordered the expride lol. Can't wait to get it and try it out! I'll report back here with my thoughts.

Just found out the expride model I'm considering is actually composite glass so I'm pretty sure I'm going with that. It's light and thin unlike regular glass rods and it is well suited for cranks.