I can only afford one rod right now and it has to be one of these. Now I know you guys are gonna ask why it has to be one of these when there are a lot of great rods out there. It is a personal reason and I will leave it at that. I hope you can understand and respect that.

I shore fish and fish from docks only. What can I say, I am not able to afford a boat or a place to store it.

I exclusively use artificial bait and i use it all from worms to top-water and everything in the middle.

I know that it is really opinion but I would really like to hear what you guys have to say.

If you could only buy one of these rods to use as an all around rod which one would you buy and why?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

I own the swimbait rod and i am satisfied with it. The 7'6" will allow you to cast a little further from shore and have some backbone to pull a fish straight back at you!

7'6 is too long for a shore rod.

Having handled every model over the last couple of days, I would say that the 7' jig/worm rod would probably be the best all-around option.  Seems to be the least floppy of the casting models.

I have the 7'2" Jig/Worm rod and I have been putting it to the test the last two weeks.  I like it so far, but if you fish other rods, be prepared to notice a big difference.  I didn't understand why everyone stated they were "heavy" rods until I switched between the Skeet Rod and my Loomis.  The rod seems to perform well with cranks and spinners, but I'm not to sure if I'll buy another one. 

I have to agree with Burley that 7'6" is too long for a shore rod.  I do quite a bit of bank fishing, and I find a 7' rod even becomes a bit clumsy at times. 

A compromise on length might be in order...  When fishing around brush & tall grasses, I find that even a 6'6" rod can be clumsy.  However, when fishing from a dock, beach or other open areas, a longer rod is great to get extra casting distance.  Most of my rods are 6'6", but I'm learning to manage with longer rods.

Leon