I am looking for a crankbait rod in the $50 range to use with shallow-medium divers, jerkbaits, and topwaters. for power and length, I was thinking medium power 6'6" would be a good all around for what I want to use with it. What rods in the price range do you recommend?  A few I have considered are:

Lightning rod shock (haven't handled one yet)

BPS crankin stick (really liked it when I handled it in store, the frontrunner at the time. Just waiting for it to go on sale)

Ugly Stick lite ( heard these were good crankin rods for the money, but I liked it less than the original ugly stick I am currently using when I handled it in the store)

If anyone has any feedback on these rods, or other suggestions in the price range, it would be appreciated. I plan on pairing it with a curado E5.

Crankin Stick.

I have a 6'6'' M for shallow and medium divers and it is a great rod, especially when you can get it on sale.  I have handled a 7' MH and it is a great rod as well.

Yeah id go with the BPS Crankin stick, looks nice

If you are dead set on combining a cranking rod with a jerkbait rod then the 6'6" rod is fine. But otherwise I would go with a 7 ft rod. I don't have any problems with accuracy in pretty close quarters (short casts of square billed cranks into laydowns when river fishing for example), and for long casts the 7ft rod is more usefull...

But now way would I want a 7ft rod for jerkbaits......I'm good with the Falcon 6'6" rod I use for jerkbaits. But if I did switch it would be to a 6'3" rod.

Cabelas : Pro Guide IM6, in the med fast actions .They are on sale this Sunday 2 for 1 ( 40 bucks)

Browning Silaflex: great for cranking

get the shock  ;D I already have the 6'6" MH and just ordered the   6'6" M. I really like the split grip and soft tip and I think you would like it as well

-Jason

where did you get the shock? I try to handle rods before purchasing them if at all possible, and nowhere around me has them in stock that i have seen.

I throw rip baits with 7ft rods no problems, and have with 7 1/2ft rods.

I'd definitely grab a 7fter if you're using it for cranks and ripbaits.

Today I was in Gander Mtn and saw their advantage series crankbait rod. It seemed pretty light and had the action I was looking for. Best part is it was only $30. Based on my limited in store experience with both, I like it just as much as the BPS crankin stick, maybe even more. Has anybody used this rod? I think for the price this will be the way to go unless everyone has terrible things to say about it.

I am a little confused about the construction of this rod. The normal GM advantages are IM6 blanks. The crankbait version has E glass printed on the rod, but the tags say advantage IM6. I'm not sure if this means the rod is a graphite/glass composite, or if it is an all glass rod, but they just use the same tags for it as the other advantage rod. If anyone can tell me anything about the materials in this rod that would be appreciated as well.