I forgot to mention we had some old BigJon manuals on the boat when we lived in St.Catharines years ago... Awesome awesome little riggers, very easy to bring up from the depths (Even for a 10 year old, lol)
Also might wanna check out the Shimano Clarus steelhead rods as well. Price will be quite a bit cheaper then both the St.Croix and the Avid. I use a cheap Convergence for salmon, it's a meat stick and hasn't failed me yet.