Bluegrass Fisherman

Hey thanks so much for the advice! I really appreciate it, I will try to keep the title shorter and use more paragraphs.

Hey guys, first time poster here. So, I am trying to find a general purpose casting rod (if that exists) to go with a 7:1 Metanium MGL B, and I have it narrowed down to a medium heavy power rod with a fast action. My confusion begins with how each manufacturer rates the power of their various rods, and how each manufacturers' power rating for their rods correspond with one another. I know that there is no industry standard when it comes to rating rod power, and it shows when trying to find a rod that fishes "true" to its rating. From what I have read and understand (and please at any point feel free to correct me if I am wrong), a Dobyns will sometimes fish a bit lighter than what it is rated, and a St. Croix will sometimes do the opposite and fish a bit heavier (or stiffer?) than what it is rated. These two examples are just that, examples, and those two stereotypes don't always hold true to every series of fishing rod that a manufacturer will produce. My only experience with any fishing rod at all is a 7'0" medium power fast action St. Croix Mojo Bass casting rod. I don't really have any real world experience with comparing how accurate each manufacturers' rod power rating is, or rather how they correspond to each other. It gets really confusing when I see that in St. Croix's lineup, some rods hold true to that "fish a power rating higher than what its rated" stereotype, while other rods don't. From what I have read, my 7'0" St. Croix Mojo Bass apparently fishes closer to a medium heavy rather than a true medium. Looking at what people have said about their other rods, a Legend Elite fishes much closer to it's power rating than I think an Avid possibly or a Mojo Bass rod. I am assuming that might not hold true to the spinning counterparts of these casting rods, and those people might be talking about the spinning rods rather than the casting rods. I have read that some people recommend going by recommended lure weight rather than power rating, but that raises some confusion as well, because I have seen on a few rod lineups a medium heavy and a heavy have the same or very similar recommended lure weight. Throw in the recommended lure weight changing with the length of the rod sometimes and it just makes it more confusing, at least to me. So, I guess the big question is, for a 7'0" rod, what recommended lure weight and line weight constitutes a true medium heavy? Are there any other characteristics that go into determining the difference between a medium heavy and either a heavy or medium? If so, what would a "true" medium heavy be with regards to those characteristics? For my second question, I am trying to choose between either a St. Croix Legend Elite 7'0" Medium Fast or a St. Croix Legend Elite 7'0" Medium Heavy Fast. The Dobyns Champion XP and Champion Extreme HP lineup looks interesting as well, but I don't know if a medium heavy or heavy would be better for a general purpose rod if I went with a Dobyns instead of a St. Croix. I am leaning towards the St. Croix though because I am trying to buy an American made fishing rod, and from what I understand, Dobyns rods (or the blanks at least) I think are made in either China or South Korea if I read correctly. I am really wanting a general purpose casting rod, but one thing I am wanting to do in particular is get into jig fishing, and throw 1/4 Oz to 3/8 Oz swim/football/casting jigs, I don't know if that would or should have any effect on my choice or not. I am mostly fishing from the shore, but I do sometimes fish on a boat. I'm trying to stay under $450. Any advice or recommendations would be very welcome.