Hi, I’m looking to decide between the medium or medium heavy avid inshore to pair up with my Shimano stradic 3000 fl. I plan to fish in salt water mainly using a 20 lb braid for red drum, black drum, trout, and sheepshead. I also want to start fishing in fresh water for some bass. I plan on getting a bigger setup later on with a 4000 or 5000 running 30-40lb braided line. Which power rod for the avid inshore would y’all tell me to get for the stradic 3000 fl with 20lb braided line? Preciate it a lot

I also was wondering if the medium avid inshore could handle 20lb braided line since the website says 17lb max on the medium and 20lb max on the medium heavy. i would prefer to go medium for a lighter setup if I could but am questioning the rods capabilities.

Consider that the max refers to your leader test or drag set - set drag to 1/4 of your weakest link, leader, line, or rod max line rating.  

Most all of my inshore combos are fishing X-braid w/ 25-lb breaking strength, and 15-lb leader, 3-lb drag set.  

Since we don't know where you are, would be tough to pick between the M and MH.  

On the TX coast with 15,000 sq-mi less than 2' deep, I'm most often fishing ML for those species.  

Yes, I’m going to be fishing around the Texas coast. Would you think medium would work better with my setup if I want to do around 20lb braid?

Galveston and Texas city is where I would mostly fish but I want to start doing some fresh water too.

Andy, I would definitely go with medium rod for TX coast.  

The most productive lures are soft-body paddletails and variants, where fishing heavier weights tends to drag up grass instead of catching fish.  

My go-to lures are 1/4-oz TSL Grasswalker neutral-density soft swimbait - really shallow grass

 

Z-man MinnowZ on 1/8 oz Texas-Eye jighead - a little bit deeper in the column

 

And cocahoe minnow on 1/4-oz jighead on deeper grass you can't see.  

 

I go to MH in the winter for big topwaters and Corkys imitating 5-6" mullet.  

Probably the M.  The Avid Inshore MHs are fairly stout and get a little weighty.  A 3k will work with the 7', but it needs to be a little weighty to balance.  Once you go to the 7'6 a 4k is better.  

Adding another time to go to MH for inshore - if you fish live bait - Carolina rig on channel slopes, or weighted popping cork on the flats.  

Normal weights on either rig are 3/8 to 1/2 oz.