Not sure why, but Cabela's had this rod marked $90.00 (salesman was shocked too) yesterday so I didn't pass it up and purchased it to go with my new Revo SX.  I was prepared to order a Powell 683c for 139.00 and might yet, but was wondering if this rod will serve as a good all purpose rod until I master fishing with a bc (fished spinning my entire life)?  Will the moderate action of this rod limit me fishing worms, senkos, jerk baits, etc. effectively with not as quick a hook set, or should I be ok with it for now?

You pretty much have it figured out already. This rod is a great crankbait rod for baits 1/2 to 3/4 oz but I don't think it will do much for your worm fishing as the tip is not fast enough to set the hook once you detect a bite. It would probably do a good job with jerkbaits although I have not tried one with mine. Hope this helps.

                         T

Its kinda hard not to buy it when you see it for $90

Will the moderate action of this rod limit me fishing worms, senkos, jerk baits, etc. effectively with not as quick a hook set, or should I be ok with it for now?

Nope, by the time the rod finishes to bend after you pull to set the hook the fish will be long time gone.

Not really sure what everyone is talking about but I built myself a 7' MM Avid rod and although it is much lighter (thinner in diameter) action than the 7'MF and 7'MHF that I'm also building, it is fine as an all purpose rod. I have used it exclusively for plastics (weightless Senkos and toads, and very lightly weighted TR rigged worms) and it has plenty of backbone to set the hook, and it makes for a much more lively battle than faster/heavier rods.

To be honest, I think the majority of the people on this forum have bought into the heavy rod/line approach used by the pros on Tour, greatly reducing the "art" in fishing.  I am exceedingly fond of this rod and if you could score it for $90, I would commend you for your good fortune.

Note - I'm used to using medium light action rods for my plastic fishing for many reasons, so I'm sure I'm well into the minority for this board.

Not really sure what everyone is talking about but I built myself a 7' MM Avid rod and although it is much lighter (thinner in diameter) action than the 7'MF and 7'MHF that I'm also building, it is fine as an all purpose rod. I have used it exclusively for plastics (weightless Senkos and toads, and very lightly weighted TR rigged worms) and it has plenty of backbone to set the hook, and it makes for a much more lively battle than faster/heavier rods.

Well, I don't know if you might have gotten a different blank than the

one you think you have, but I own an Avid AVC70MM that I bought to

throw light and medium weight crankbaits. There is NO WAY this

rod could be considered "all around" or used for Senkos or other

"plastic worms". Unless the bait is moving, you couldn't set a hook

unless the fish had already swallowed the lure!

Back to the AVC66MHF, the best use for this rod would be heavy or

deep diving crankbaits.

8-)

To be honest, I think the majority of the people on this forum have bought into the heavy rod/line approach used by the pros on Tour, greatly reducing the "art" in fishing.

Note - I'm used to using medium light action rods for my plastic fishing for many reasons, so I'm sure I'm well into the minority for this board.

for open water, light tackle is great.

No offense, but some of us have refined our approach over a period of 20+ years and have a lot more than a TV pro's justification for what we do and how we do it.... I'd love for you to come fish with me... we'll go fish the deep timber and see how well the ML rods work out. I'm guessing you'll experience a much higher than normal break off rate.

As for the original poster's question, My own opinion is that rod will do ok for anything with treble hooks, but not going to be optimum for plastics. I built a St. Croix 2C70MHM for cranking, and found it too slow (and light) even for my cranking tastes.  It may be ok for your style, but that depends on a bunch of factors and all are preference driven.

Well, I don't know if you might have gotten a different blank than the

one you think you have, but I own an Avid AVC70MM that I bought to

throw light and medium weight crankbaits. There is NO WAY this rod could be considered "all around" or used for Senkos or other

"plastic worms". Unless the bait is moving, you couldn't set a hook

unless the fish had already swallowed the lure!

3C70MM is the very blank, ordered from Mudhole, that I have built and I'd be more than happy to post pics. All those fish I've caught on Senkos and plastic worms (without gut hooking them) must be my imagination then. There might be NO WAY you consider this rod to be an all around rod, but that is precisely how I use it; with great success.

And as for open water or heavy timber (no offense taken), there is a wide gamut of cover in between that this rod works just fine for. Would I recommend using this rod for heavy cover? No. Would I recommend a heavy cover rod as an all around rod? No.

To the OP - is this rod the ideal rod for "all around"? Depends on angler preferences. I'm not sure I'd consider it "ideal", even for me but it is has performed very well and I've yet to throw a crank with it. Try not to get caught up with other people's absolutes as it's all subjective and you're only dealing with people's opinions. Mine included.