Well, if it’s up to us…………….get ready for a BOAT LOAD of rods! LOL! I’m always in the hunt for having the right thing at the right time as well so I’m not going to go on forever about all the things I’ve learned regarding my preferences but I do want to point out one observation. Because I hate being unprepared, I’ve been known to load a boat much the same way Hawger does………..more rods and tackle than I’ll ever use in one day, but at least I’m prepared. So, in my efforts to “get a grip”, I’m finding that versatility has a large play in reducing luggage while still feeling confident I can handle most situations. So far, my best versatile rod/reel experience has come from my St. Croix Legend Elite, 7′ medium, 4-10 lb. test spinning rod, coupled with a Shimano Stradic 2000 and 20/8 Yellow Fireline. I think the rod would be even better with an additional 6-9″ on the tip but it does well at 7′. The reason I love this rod so much is it’s almost flexible enough at the tip to match your best jigging rods yet still has enormous backbone strength when bigger fish happen along. It’s just as strong in the first 12″ off the handle as their 10-20lb. test casting rods and some 10-25lb. test casting rods I’ve used! Plenty of give with tons of backbone just in case…………….I feel like if I had no choice but to have one rod in the boat, I’d choose that one. If it had the additional length and the ex-fast tip, it’d be able to cover most situations and applications. I wouldn’t use it for heavy lures or hard trolling but outside of that, you could have a rod that does it all!
