MGL

This is a good reference/starting point. I don't know that I've been to many lakes in CT where I can see more than 3ft or so, and certainly nowhere near 10ft. As I think more about the colors I use, it seems to make sense that I have never have much luck with the extremes of subtle and vibrant.

I've been to each of those except mashapaug. I'm in Central CT, so for those shorter and more frequent trips I usually end up at Silver Lake, Beseck, Batterson, Crecent, or in that general area unless I have the time to head out to the ones you mentioned.

Can you give an example of a CT lake you would consider stained versus a lake you consider clear?

I've never heard of a Secchi Disk, but it seems simple enough to take a measurement at each lake and compare between lakes and between trips. I can't imagine our lakes are very clear, but again, I don't have a strong reference point. At the end of last season I starting wondering if I've been choosing colors and tactics incorrectly because of this.

This feels like a stupid question...just look at the water, right? Honestly, I don't see much, if any, difference between any of the Connecticut lakes I fish. So either they are all generally the same clarity (which leaves me no good reference to judge clear vs. stained), or I'm not looking at the water correctly. How are you judging water clarity?

Thanks for the suggestions thus far. Stopped by my local shop and they have one of the new Shimano Curado rods (7'2" MH/F 3/8-1oz) that was returned a week after purchase and now selling for $110 as opposed to about $170 new. It was hard to walk away from that deal, but I may go back tomorrow and jump on it. So....Was thinking of pairing that new Curado rod with the Curado DC. Keeping the Avid rod on the Stradic FL, and then looking for a ML rod to use with the BG2500 for weightless senkos, shakey heads, split shot, etc. I'd keep the Tranx/Dobyns combo for the a-rigs, 1oz+ swimbaits, frogs. Does that make sense, or is the overlap with the Curado/CuradoDC and Stradic/Avid combos a complete waste?

Due to some poor planning on my part (and also thinking I wanted to get into large swimbaits last year) I've acquired a hodgepodge of rods and reels over the last several years. I want to reorganize with some purpose, but I need some guidance. I'm primarily kayak fishing in New England lakes/rivers, and occasionally doing some inshore salt fishing in relatively shallow waters. How would you reorganize? What would you swap or replace for all around versatility? What rod(s) should I add? Stradic FL4000 and St Croix Avid 6'6" MH-F spinning 3/8 - 3/4oz Daiwa BG2500 and cheap Zebco 7' ML-M spinning (not sure of rated lure weight, just had this rod hanging around as a backup) Tranx 300 and Dobyns Fury Swimbait 7'9" MH-F casting 1-4oz Curado DC 150 - no rod yet Also have a surf-casting combo