My Tackle shop guy gave me a 7-6 Avid Walleye MLXF to try out on our local river. It's his favorite river rod for smallies. 

My assumption was that the tip would be too slow for smallies.

I took it out today and it doesnt feel like a xfast and it loaded way down into the blank.

I liked it.

Anyone else try this rod, any opinions are appreciated since my budget for a longer ML river rod is about $300.

I checked some reviews.

This is the same blank as the Victory series but with cheaper guides.

 

Yeah Avid line has been downgraded but upped in price no longer deserve the name recognition 

I’ve been a St. Croix fan boy for a long time. The Avid series of rods being my favorite. I don’t like the direction St Croix has gone with their rods for the last handful of years. They seem to be making a push for you to buy their higher end rods. But this is probably only my opinion because they discontinued a few rods I’d like to replace or have as spares. 
The Victory series of rods are nice and I do like them. For me the Victory rods had a learning curve to get over. At first I had an issue with the type of fore grip and balance but I got over that. 
I don’t want to dis St. Croix and won’t. I have my grandsons fishing soft plastics with M & ML Bass X rods and they are doing well with them. I’ve never fished a rod 7’6” but XF and Fast vary a lot between manufacturers. 

I have this exact rod and fish it often. I honestly love it. I fish for everything with it and its a two piece model so I take it everywhere. Quality blank, great handle design, and covered threads make it super comfortable. I would highly recommend in your budget. The 7-3 ML Legend would be worth a look too in ML XF.