Hello everyone, I am new here to rodbuilding.org but have been a frequent lurker for a while. Finally decided to set up an account and ask a few questions. As of right now, I have 7 combos but am looking to get 2 more as I have 2 Citica 201E's just sitting in the box. My combos as of right now are listed below:

Curado 201E- Loomis 783 (SB, T-rig, utility rod)
Curado 201E- MH843 (SB, T-rig, utility rod)
Curado 201E- MH844 (jigs, C-Rig)
Curado 201E- St Croix 3C68MXF (jerkbait, topwater)
Citica 201E- St Croix 3C70MM (light cranks)
Lews BB1- MH CB45-Blend (medium cranks/ light cranks heavy cover)
Bass PQ- Skeet Reese Magnum Crankbait (deep cranks)
Citica 201E-
Citica 201E-

I feel I have most of the basic bases and techniques covered with this arsenal so I am having trouble deciding what rods I want to put with these last 2 reels. I am open to any suggestions, and as you can probably tell I am partial to St Croix and Mudhole. Let me know any techniques I may be overlooking and feel free to offer any blank suggestions!

Thanks and I look forward to chatting with yall on here.

From the looks of your equipment I assume you are primarily a bass angler. If I'm track please forgive me. If you want to add technique specific rods you might consider a Frog Rod, a Hvy or X-Hvy Flippin' Stick or a Swimbait/A-Rig Rod. There are a multitude of good blanks for each of these. Once you decide what direction you'll go in you'll get lots of good suggestions.

It depends on what you like to fish bait wise. I could see a longer frog/flippin' rod in there 7'3" or 7'6". A super light and sensitive rod like a 782 or 842, built as light as you can get it, would be a nice addition too.

Honestly, you have things pretty well covered. There is not much you can't do if you have a good 843, 844, and shorter jerk bait / topwater rod.

Thanks - Marc

Keep it simple - that's all I can handle!

Thanks for the replies guys. You are spot on that I am all about the bass (oh and I love to catch some big slabs for the frier now and then). I mix in a little salt fishing here and there as I am located in NC and only about a 3 hour drive from the coast. As soon as I made this post, I figured someone would recommend a heavy flipping rod/frog rod or a A-rig rod. I may think about the flipping stick but my 844 gets the job done pretty well, and I dont tend to throw a frog or A-rig much. A 7ft rod is what I am most comfortable with and the 844 is one sweet beast. I love throwing a crankbait and I was thinking about maybe adding a 3c66MM or 3c66mhm for target casting stumps and lay downs, but that 845 is so sweet its hard to put down for that. I also thought about the 3c62mxf for a topwater/ jarkbait rod event though I already have the 3c68mxf, but I tend to throw mostly senkos with it. So if anybody has experience with the 3c66mm/mhm or the 3c62mxf chime in and let me know what you think. Lastly, out of all these rods which would you guys prefer for throwing sammys or walking baits? This is one bait that I still havent decided which rod does best so if you have a special for sammys let me know.

Chatham,

There are a few blanks worth a look for you. The RFLE 765, with 1/4"+- (a little more if you are using primarily heavy stuff, but the 1/4" trim handles cranks from 1/4oz. to 1/2oz. very well) off the tip and a butt trim to bring the blank down to 7', it will handle pretty much everything you are asking of your treble hook rods.

Another finesse rod that I would be lost without is my Batson 822.5. It's one of the most versatile blanks I use, and will compliment your 3c68mxf very well.

As far as walking baits, I usually fish them on a Batson 823, most comparable to the 3c68mxf from your list. If I were a tourney fisherman, I would probably lean toward the RFLE to keep fish hooked up a bit better after the bite. For fun fishing, it's tough to beat the responsiveness you get from those extra fast action blanks for twitching lures.

For your slab crappie, take a look at the Batson 840 popping blanks, and if you like a little more backbone, the ISJ781 is a great blank for 1/16-1/8oz. jigs with small plastics. Most of my crappie fishing is tossing 1/32-1/16oz. jigs and tiny grubs, tubes and other plastics.

Joe

I know this may require the purchase of a spinning reel, but a drop shot rod is a must in my boat, that rod is in my hand at least 50% of the time( it's a st. Croix 6'9" XF ML sc-5). I've even seen guys up here in NY fish a slightly hevier duty version of drop shot on a bait caster to punch heavy weeds.