Can anyone recommend a good rod for throwing senkos and doing alot of finesse wacky rigging and shakey head fishing? Iy not sure what else I would be able to throw off this rod but this is what i mainly fish around my area this time of year. I would prefer a spinning rod. Any rod close to 150 is fine and i'd like to pick up a really nice reel for the pole too. Any recommendations would be much appreciated  8-)

Shimano Clarus rod, and the Shimano Sahara 2500 FD reel, great combo imho..althought it runs about 160.00 well worth the extra 10 bucks..  BTW mine is the 7 rod mf.

Thanks for the recommendation. I should clarify that I meant a rod anywhere under or around 150 not including both a rod and reel i will pay a seperate amount for a nice reel

BPS Signature Series is in that price range, a M or ML spinning is a good fit for that type of fishing. I still have a M with a BPS reel as my only spinning outfit. Hardly ever use it but never know when I might need it. Hard to justify an expensive combo thats seldom used. 8-)

Shimano crucial or a Carrot Stix I love both of mine. And they fit right in your price range.

Rod:  Avid AVC or AVS68MXF.

Reel:

Depending on your budget, Symetre or Stradic 2500

spinning reel; Citica or Curado 200E7 baitcasting reel.

8-)

Never been a big fan of the lower level shimano spinning reels, until a few days ago.  I was looking at new reels and put my hands on a sahara, I liked it right from the git go and thought it was a perfect freshwater reel, I'm going back to buy it.

I use a 7'm damiki dark angel for my finese fishing with an energy 30 Pti-A and really like it.  It's one of the best spinning rods I have ever used.  Very light and sensitive.  They are $179 I believe at TW.

So a Medium action pole is good for throwing senkos and wacky rigs and such or is a medium/light the better suited rod? Thanks for all the prompt responses too!! I had already had my sights on the Avid the Crucial and the Carrot Stix so If anyone wants to debate those a little too that would be great!

A medium is probably more versatile than a lighter rod.

Agreed, I'd go with the med..

Sorry Dubb, I misunderstood your question..doh!

A medium is probably more versatile than a lighter rod.

ANY 7' Medium or Med-Lite action rod - in your price range - will do just nicely. Do not get hung up on make - please! I've caught a lot of bass on equipment that most anglers would thumb their noses up at. But isn't it the goal to catch fish?

The Sahara is a fine match to the above, but you don't have to go the 2500 series - unless you want to. The 1500 is just a dandy smallmouth reel - in my opinion. Load it with a quality 6 - 8# test fluorocarbon line and you're good to go.

Shimano Clarus rod, and the Shimano Sahara 2500 FD reel, great combo imho..althought it runs about 160.00 well worth the extra 10 bucks.. BTW mine is the 7 rod mf.

I forget where smallmouths came into the thread but I remember reading it up there. My smallie rig also doubles as my #2 night-time Walleye rig and sounds a lot like Hammers. A 6'6" Shimano Compre (CPS66MH) with a Sahara 2000 strung with 8# mono. If I had to start over, though, I'd go with the Medium in a 7. These rods are really sensitive for $100. The Sahara reels are just SO smooth and absolutely Zero backplay. I think I have about $180 in it.

I think I am going to go with a Shimano Crucial rod.. how does everyone feel about these? Is there a better one for that price range? Can anyone recommend one of this page that would best suit the type of fishing I am going to be doing with it?

I cant post links yet but I was trying to link the Shimano crucial spinning rods page off tackle warehouse.com

The  Shimano Crucial is a very good choice.  

Rod: Avid AVC or AVS68MXF.

Reel:

Depending on your budget, Symetre or Stradic 2500

spinning reel; Citica or Curado 200E7 baitcasting reel. 8-)

RW recommended the Avid for me and I received it today. Its great, I would highly recommend it.

Yes but I need a little guidance in which one of those poles I should pick now, they have a 6'6" med lght a 6'8" medium a 7' medium a 7'2" med xfast and so forth, I'm not too sure out of all those different rods they have listed which would best suit fishing senkos and shakey head style or which would be best at doing that and being able to do a little more than just fishing with senkos and things. Thanks for all the help and input!

Got two quarters? Start flipping. This is one of those questions that leads to a light wallet and lack of storage space.  :-/

And I also found this reel on sale, http://www.***.com/http://www.***.com/descpage-SSMGFB.html.

Is this reel a better choice than the stradic fi 2500? They do not have this reel that is one sale in anything but the 1000 model though, and i'm not too sure about what the differences are.

... and i'm not too sure about what the differences are.

Shimano and a lot of other Mfrs will often designate reels designed for more/heavier line, within a Series, with larger numbers. Is that what you are asking?

... and i'm not too sure about what the differences are.

Shimano and a lot of other Mfrs will often designate reels designed for more/heavier line, within a Series, with larger numbers. Is that what you are asking?

Yes that is what i was trying to get at. I saw on the site it lists the different aspects of the diff models but i did not understand the numbers such as Line Cap: 6/200, 8/140, 10/120

... and i'm not too sure about what the differences are.

Shimano and a lot of other Mfrs will often designate reels designed for more/heavier line, within a Series, with larger numbers. Is that what you are asking?

Yes that is what i was trying to get at. I saw on the site it lists the different aspects of the diff models but i did not understand the numbers such as Line Cap: 6/200, 8/140, 10/120

Line cap..6 lb test the reel will take 200 yds of line, 140 yds of 8 lb test, and so on..number of yds decreases as the reel size gets smaller, i.e. the 1000 will hold less line that the 2500 or 3000. I hope this is what your asking, sometimes my brain, shesa no worky to good..lol

... and i'm not too sure about what the differences are.

Shimano and a lot of other Mfrs will often designate reels designed for more/heavier line, within a Series, with larger numbers. Is that what you are asking?

Yes that is what i was trying to get at. I saw on the site it lists the different aspects of the diff models but i did not understand the numbers such as Line Cap: 6/200, 8/140, 10/120

Line cap..6 lb test the reel will take 200 yds of line, 140 yds of 8 lb test, and so on..number of yds decreases as the reel size gets smaller, i.e. the 1000 will hold less line that the 2500 or 3000. I hope this is what your asking, sometimes my brain, shesa no worky to good..lol

Not only the above information but weight difference and the 2500 has twice the drag, 15# as compared to 7# for the 1000.  Get the one that fills your needs.

Thanks for clearing that up for me, So what i've taken from this is that I should probably get a 7' Medium action pole with just a fast tip? Can anyone recommend one off this link specifically? http://www.***.com/descpageRDSSHIMANO-SCRSR.html