I was looking for a shakeyhead and dropshot rod.  I was looking at St croix XS70MLF or XS69MLXF or maybe even a diawa fuego TDFG691MLXS.  Theres a lot of company's to choose from, what would i need to look for in a rod to tell if one is good for a either of the applications?  Is there a rod that could do both applications great or better to get 2 separate rods? If you think 2 rods would they be able to handle any soft plastics or trig applications and so forth?  Would be great if i had a more versatile rod but i just want to make sure it will do either of those jobs beautifully I'm pretty new to all of this and would love the help, thank you ahead of time.

I think one rod could serve both purposes just fine. I would go with the XF action. If budget isn't an issue, its cool to have a designated rod for each technique you mentioned, but I don't think its necessary. It would also be nice to have separate rigs for convenience, and that may be the justification to get both if budget isn't an issue- which it doesn't seem to be.

edit- I have not used any of the rods you indicated so I can't make a specific recommendation there.

The XS69MLXF is designed as a drop-shot rod. ML/XF in whatever brand you settle on will serve well in either application.

Thank you for the replies!

I use a Dobyns 702 for both shaky head and drop shot, works perfect for both. I've caught fish up to 7lbs on it with no problems. The rod is a blast to catch little or big fish.

   Depending on the cover you fish, ML or M will do the trick.

Took a look at those Dobyns online and they look quite nice. The 702 seems like a great idea and the lure weight is rated at 1/2 instead of 3/8 like on the LE which seems like it would be a bit more versatile rod. There is a fair amount of grass and rock mixture, not so much of a plain rocky bottom but i really wouldnt consider it heavy weed cover.

If i was to choose a g loomis rod, which one do you think would fit my needs the best? SHR821S? maybe SJR842S, BSR852 and maybe a DSR820S.  Anyone have any ideas?

i'd go with the glx bsr852. i use that rod for both shakey and drop shot. its also a great rod for light jigs/t-rigs and weightless plastics.

i hear the loomis shakey rod is ideal for shakey but i think the bsr852 has been described as a better "all-around" finesse plastics rod.

before you decide chek out the new denali rods they are a nice feeling rod for a good price. i recently had a chance to fish the rosewood series drop shot rod and i now have one on order.i have been using a carrot stic but after using the denali i had to have one

Thank you all for the replies, i appreciate it.  I will look into that series of rods to.