St. Croix Avid Questions

[Weeds]

I'm thinking about making the plunge and buying my first new "high end" rod. Hopefully it will also be my last. I've been selling off the majority of my rods in the hopes of going with just a two rod system. I've got a 7 foot ML premier spinning rod; she is a thing of beauty, a great rod for very small to medium small lures, spinners, jigs etc. I use it for all my panfishing and tossing senkos for bass.

 

Now, I'd like the second rod (almost certainly the 7 foot, heavy , fast Avid) to be able to work all my larger Bass lures, frogs, spinnerbaits etc, etc. I also hoping it can do double duty as a light Musky rod. The majority of Musky I catch are on the smaller side, and I plan on selling off my larger musky baits and downsizing to smaller musky baits that are more appropriate for the rod rating. 3/8th to 1 1/2 ounces. In my limited experience the heavier True Musky rods are really only required when you want to throw big baits rather than a necessity for pulling in the average Musky. I understand the importance of quickly bringing in a fish rather than playing it out. I've owned Medium Heavy Rods (Bass Rods) before that felt a tad light for Musky; I'm thinking the Heavy Avid might be just about right. Any thoughts?

 

I could save a few dollars going with the 7 foot heavy Premier; Avid worth the difference in price?

 

Lifetime warranty on the Avid I believe.

[lookinforwalleye]

I am no expert but I am thinking the heavy would be too heavy for your frogs and such, I think medium heavy would be a good all around choice!

[Weeds]

I know that it will a trade off somewhere; MH would probably be better for certain Bass Applications, Heavy better for Musky fishing. I've always been surprised how many frog rods have a heavy rating; even extra heavy sometimes.

[GBW]

I think if you go down to 2 rod's this is going to happen to you. you have your ML for the panfish in the boat. your fishing with your MH rod and it's not set up to use the lures you want to use and you will be wishing you still have that 3rd as a musky rod with you. if you are going to target musky you want a musky rod so you don't kill the fish from playing it so long. you can still pull this off with out breaking the bank as I find great deals here, kijiji and ebay all the time. just my 2.1 cents for you.

[GoneFishin]

I would prefer the mh for your applications. As long as you stick to bass lures for musky then you'll be fine. The avid is a nice rod and worth the upgrade, I have a couple. Check out the shimano crucial line up as well, I would trade all my avids for crucial's.

[Weeds]

I would prefer the mh for your applications. As long as you stick to bass lures for musky then you'll be fine. The avid is a nice rod and worth the upgrade, I have a couple. Check out the shimano crucial line up as well, I would trade all my avids for crucial's.

 

I can't stand split grips. All crucials have them, no?

[fish_fishburn]

If your going to use it for flipping and pitching you will be a bit light with a MH in my opinion. I have both Avids and Crucials and the Avid is by far a nicer rod. I just prefer the feel of the Avid over the Crucial. And just because the Crucial is a IM9 doesn't mean squat, it has to feel good in your hands and everyone is different.

[Weeds]

I think if you go down to 2 rod's this is going to happen to you. you have your ML for the panfish in the boat. your fishing with your MH rod and it's not set up to use the lures you want to use and you will be wishing you still have that 3rd as a musky rod with you. if you are going to target musky you want a musky rod so you don't kill the fish from playing it so long. you can still pull this off with out breaking the bank as I find great deals here, kijiji and ebay all the time. just my 2.1 cents for you.

Yeah, I can see what you are saying. It's just that I've had a variety of species specific Musky rods over the past few years, a medium, a medium heavy, an x heavy and an xxxh and with the exception of the Medium they all seemed like overkill. Although I understand the argument that you want to be prepared for that fish of a lifetime. I just figure that a quality 7 foot heavy baitcaster offers a lot more versatility and if equiped with heavy braid and leader should handle pretty much any musky I'm likely to hook into.

[Roy]

Weeds, there's something that I'm not understanding here. If you had several rods that covered the applications you used them for, why would you want to "upgrade" to fewer rods that you not sure will do the job? Is it a bling thing? I'm confused as usual.

[Brettiop]

I think he is just upgrading for the sake of using 1-2 quality outfits rather then a bunch of medicore stuff...

 

 

If it were me in the same situation, I would definitely go with he H action avid...Nothing wrong with having to much rod for the job when it comes to musky, and if your gunna be flippin for bass, or draggin' your frogs over weeds your going to want the extra backbone for when they get all tangled up in the thick stuff.

[mike rousseau]

I own a 7 foot heavy avid....

 

It's a 10

 

I troll big walleye cranks with it and have accidentally caught musky and landed em pretty safely... As long as your running heavy braid... The 7 foot avid should do all heavy bass

applications as well as pike walleye and small musky fishing...

[blarg]

I just bought a 6'6" avid, its a medium spinning rod, i paired it with a 2500 stradic and im pretty pleased. I found the avid a tiny bit stiffer than the crucials which were also very nice. As far as the spinning rods go the cumara have the split grip, i dont think the crucuials do. I had been using compre's which are pretty nice as well but i can definitely feel the difference steeping up to the avid.

[mike rousseau]

You are talking baitcaster avid... Right?

[BillM]

I used my AVC70MHF AVID for monster Attawapiskat pike along with a Calais 200 and had zero problems. I wouldn't be tossing monster muskie baits with it, but 6inch Jakes and Grandmas will be fine..

 

That's pretty much my go to rod for anything.. Cranks/spinnerbaits/topwaters/whatever. Definitely my fav rod out of all of them. Can't beat the lifetime warranty either.

[fisherboy]

Only the dropshot models of Crucial have split grips. All others have full cork grips.

 

You can't really go wrong with either Crucial or Avid. They are very similar in terms of price, quality and durability. I use both and love them both. One thing I've found about the Crucial is that they are very strong for its weight and profile. There were many times when I thought my Crucial would break (snagged bottom, fish went under the boat etc), but it didn't. Crucial tends to have a smaller grip, while Avid's tends to be slightly bigger. But it's a really minor difference. Get whatever is cheaper!

 

Premier is a totally different class from Avid or Crucial. IMO, it's even worse than Compre. Don't bother.

 

For action, I recommend H power if you like fishing largemouth in heavy cover a lot. That's pretty much the only time you would feel that MH is not enough (unless you use large swimbaits). All other times, MH should suffice as long as you are fishing in open water or when the weed is not really thick.

 

Now for muskie, you could use an H bass rod if you're casting only micro lures. I fish the Kawarthas mostly, and I find that most of the muskie come on the smaller lures rather than the big jerkbaits. So you probably will do ok with an H bass rod. You can still horse the muskie in if you use a strong reel and heavy braid.

[Weeds]

Weeds, there's something that I'm not understanding here. If you had several rods that covered the applications you used them for, why would you want to "upgrade" to fewer rods that you not sure will do the job? Is it a bling thing? I'm confused as usual.

 

Roy, it's more about getting rid of the Bling. Get rid of multiple rods, reels and oversized baits and get a single rod that works well. Besides, who needs bling when you've got a 25 year old 12 foot tinner and a 35 year old 6 Hp bundle of fury to wow the world with?

[Weeds]

I think he is just upgrading for the sake of using 1-2 quality outfits rather then a bunch of medicore stuff...

 

 

If it were me in the same situation, I would definitely go with he H action avid...Nothing wrong with having to much rod for the job when it comes to musky, and if your gunna be flippin for bass, or draggin' your frogs over weeds your going to want the extra backbone for when they get all tangled up in the thick stuff.

 

Yeah, basically,.

 

 

I own a 7 foot heavy avid....

 

It's a 10

 

I troll big walleye cranks with it and have accidentally caught musky and landed em pretty safely... As long as your running heavy braid... The 7 foot avid should do all heavy bass

applications as well as pike walleye and small musky fishing...

 

 

That's what I was hoping to hear. Versatility and capability. And yes, baitcasting rod.

 

 

I used my AVC70MHF AVID for monster Attawapiskat pike along with a Calais 200 and had zero problems. I wouldn't be tossing monster muskie baits with it, but 6inch Jakes and Grandmas will be fine..

 

That's pretty much my go to rod for anything.. Cranks/spinnerbaits/topwaters/whatever. Definitely my fav rod out of all of them. Can't beat the lifetime warranty either.

 

I've seen numerous posts over the years by board members like you, Solopaddler, MoooseBunk, etc, etc. Guys catching loads of BIG pike. I could be wrong but I think alot of the time it is on non-musky gear, like in your case, the MH Avid, or lighter musky gear. So I figure my typical Musky is smaller than your Pike, and from what I understand, Pike typically put up a better fight pound per pound. So providing I stay with smaller lures like you suggest; I figure I should be ok too.

[BillM]

It's a great choice man, you won't regret it.

[GoneFishin]

I can't stand split grips. All crucials have them, no?

 

You can find them without, mine are pretty new and they aren't split grip. The Crucial's are a bit lighter then the avid which is why I think I like them more. A lot of people prefer the stiffer rods though.

[Weeds]

I appreciate all the info and opinions guys. I've gone ahead and ordered the Avid, 7 foot heavy fast. In many ways a Shimano product would make a lot of sense as I live in Peterborough and the warranty center is here. I think for now I'll stick with their reels.

[GBW]

I appreciate all the info and opinions guys. I've gone ahead and ordered the Avid, 7 foot heavy fast. In many ways a Shimano product would make a lot of sense as I live in Peterborough and the warranty center is here. I think for now I'll stick with their reels.

good call and you are lucky to be so close to them...