I went to my local BPS and was talking to one of the sales men about a rod that could do these two things for around 100 dollars, the three options he said would probably work best. St.Croix Premier in a 7' MH/MF, A BPS Crankin Stick 7'MH/MF. and a Shimano Clarus in a 7' MH/MF. His favorite choice was the Clarus because of the lifetime over the counter warant, and seemed to be right in the middle price wise. I want to be able to Crank with this, but because this is a Moderate fast action, use it for topwater jerk baits. Will the length give me trouble if im fishing from shore? i dont think it will be too bad, but any opinions would be helpful.

Nope the length won't be a problem. Of those the Premier is probably the best for cranks but I like the crankin' stik a lot because it's a bit cheaper and does better for topwaters than the premier.

Good to know, no word on the Clarus 'eh?

My favorite rod i own is the St. Croix Premier crankbait rod. I have a clarus that's about 10 years old and it lost the inserts on the eyelets relatively quick. I didn't fill out the warranty paperwork (won't make that mistake again) so too bad for me. Other than that, it was a great rod with a good feel to it. Although, the new clarus rod looks much different from the one I have.

Do you like the St.Croix enough to pay more for it than the Shimano?

It's tough to say since my clarus is an older model and ive never fished the new generation models. In the case of the clarus I own, yes I would still pay the extra for the St.Croix.

Good to know, i have another thread titled Final Decisions, take a look at that for me please/