Yesterday I bought a 7' med-heavy XPS extreme spinning rod and paired it with my older Pro Qualifier pq50 spinning reel. What are some applications for this combo and what would it excell at?

 Not completely familiar with that model, but generally a MH spinning rod is rated something like 3/8 oz - 3/4 oz. 

That covers a fairly wide range of baits, presentation & techniques - right off the top of my head I'd use that one for fishing soft plastics including Senko-style baits; Ideal for tubes, grubs, worms, light jigs, small spinnerbaits and even buzzbaits.

May be quite suitable for low trajectory casts under docks and overhanging trees and brush as well.

I also use a similar action stick for Swim jigs & small swim baits where a lighter line & a long cast (especially into the wind) is the preferred presentation.

And if you do it - fishing a blade bait would work on that as well.

Finally, may anglers who use spinning gear exclusively, would use a comparable stick to fish also anything the gear will handle including cranks & topwater.

A-Jay

T rigs, jigs, skipping, paddle tail swim baits maybe rattle traps. Should be pretty versatile and multi purpose. 

I have a few Extreme MH spinning rods from about 8 years ago.

If they're anything like mine, they're definitely more powerful than the 1/4 - 5/8 lure rating would have you believe.  Mine was paired with 2500-sizes spinning reels and I used it for t-rigs in grass and wood, as well as some hard jerkbait fishing.  Eventually I repurposed the rod for inshore shark fishing -- yes, you read that correctly   Not monsters but smaller bonnnethead sharks in the ~20 lb range.  Talk about FUN!...  Now they're loaner rods.

For the record, the reel you have on there is pretty large so it may be worth considering a smaller reel to make the combo a bit more comfortable to fish.

On December 30, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Chris at Tech said:

I have a few Extreme MH spinning rods from about 8 years ago.

If they're anything like mine, they're definitely more powerful than the 1/4 - 5/8 lure rating would have you believe.  Mine was paired with 2500-sizes spinning reels and I used it for t-rigs in grass and wood, as well as some hard jerkbait fishing.  Eventually I repurposed the rod for inshore shark fishing -- yes, you read that correctly   Not monsters but smaller bonnnethead sharks in the ~20 lb range.  Talk about FUN!...  Now they're loaner rods.

For the record, the reel you have on there is pretty large so it may be worth considering a smaller reel to make the combo a bit more comfortable to fish.