A:
No; the BPS crankin stick is better and cheaper. I own 4 St. Croix Avid rods, I flip, worm and finese fish with them. For crank baits, top water and jerk baits you can't beat the Stacy King BPS Crankin Stick. I'd go a 1 piece 7'6" MH or H with fast or very fast action. A lot of people are confused or just ignorant; Fast action refers to the tip only, fast taper equals soft tip; moderate action tips do not taper as much and are actually quicker to pull away from the fish. The overall action of the rod being medium or medium heavy etc. refers to the backbone (2/3rds closest to the handle) not the tip. For big largemouth on crankbaits you want to bump the cover, I want med-heavy or heavy with a fast or extra fast tip; I can give the fish the bait with a flexible tip/ then set the hook on him from a distance. Play near the boat and /or a little flex with topwater, spinnerbaits, swimbaits and jerk baits is acheived with the faster tips as well. Be carefull with some of the answers you see on these forums! Good luck. Incidently, I use slower retrieve reels on big cranks. Shimano Curado 3.8 to 1 is hard to beat (about 18" per turn of the handle)