Hi all,

I have just moved to Lake Country WI from London UK and need your help. To cut aong story short, I ventured to the local tackle shop one day and in a buying frenzy, I bought 3 different St Croix Avid rods. Each is paired with a Shimano CI4+ but I'm unsure what to use each for. Would you kindly let me know what you would use each rod for and why with the bait and terminal tackle you would use;

* St Croix Avid 7ft Medium Power with Fast Action

* St Croix Avid 6ft 8" Medium Power with Extra Fast Action

* St Croix Avid 6ft 9" Medium / Light Power with Extra Fast Action.

Thanks in advance, your help is very much appreciated.

Matthew

From top to bottom:

Flukes and plastics

Shakey Heads

Dropshot/wacky rigs

First welcome to the forum, and a warm welcome to this country...even if it is going to the dogs these days. 

 

From TW descriptions of your rods:

 

Avid 7' MF:  You'll really be impressed with the beautiful action of this rod which makes it perfect for just about any technique using lighter weights including crankbaits

 

Avid 6' 8" M-XF:  The ideal worm rod in the lineup. Tie on a 1/4 ounce Texas Rig and this rod shines.

 

TW doesn't carry the 6'9" ML-XF, but from a little research I found it is an excellent dropshot rod.

 

I don't own any St. Croix rods, but have read plenty about them.  I feel you made some excellent choices to get started.  Personally I like 8# mono or co-poly on my Medium power rods.  You will want sensitivity bottom fishing with the 6' 8" M-XF so a fluorocarbon or braid would be my first choice although I'd definitely consider P-Line CXX or Izorline Platinum as viable and cheaper alternatives.

 

I purchased my first dropshot rod this past winter.  So far it remains unused, and not sure what reel and line to put on it.

 

Rod usage (for me) would fall in the order you listed the rods.  I feel a fast action rod is going to be more versatile than any other action.  I've got a couple XF rods that I absolutely love, but I wouldn't pick one for crankbaits if I had any other choice available at the time, whereas I have absolutely no problem throwing crankbaits on a MF rod.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking the M/L XF would have been better for shaky head due to the sensitivity and light weight used, generally 1/8oz. As for bait then a Roboworm as its smaller and easier to set the hook than a Senko or Zoom Trick Worm.

For drop shot, I was expecting to use a 1/4oz and the M XF because of the heavier weight. Same bait, Roboworm due to floating properties.

Or was the M/L recommended because drop shot is fished using lighter line ? I actually have the M/L hooked up as a drop shot at the moment with 10lb braid connected to an 8lb Fluro.

Would the 7ft Medium Power with Fast Action be better than the rest for top water popper ?

Any thoughts on the St Croix Avid 7ft MF being used with 15lb brain direct to a popper ?

Also, the Roboworm doesn't float that well so please recommend any better floating worm baits.