I bought this rod last year specifically for wading the river close to my house fishing for smallmouth. It was really an all around finesse rod. I threw shakeyheads with speed craws, small swimbaits, and little cranks on it. I ended up taking it to Louisiana and think its a great rod for specs. Now ...

I recently discovered the Zoom Z Craw Jr. They are very slim and have good claws. I trim them down a little and use them on little 3/16 oz finesse jigs.

Can anyone tell me how the 7'2" H Expride compares to the 7'2" H Zodias? Or does anyone have a recommendation for a 3/8-1/2 oz jig rod for $200 or less?

I have the 744 now and like it. From what you say about the 704 I'll probably end up going with the Crank Jr. I have several rods close to the 704 and am missing a setup for crankbaits in the DT10 range. Appreciate all your input on this.

Finnz922 wrote: Gotcha! I have both. What do you want the 704 to do. It's a fairly stout stick.

Was thinking of using it for Texas rigs and jigs around docks, spinner baits, and buzzbaits. What do you like it for?

Finnz922 wrote:
What do you mean by "all purpose"? What techniques are you wanting to pull off? Those are two entirely different rods.

What I wrote was a little confusing. I meant that I'm looking at the Fred's stick for cranking or the 704 as an all purpose rod.

I bought the 744c last year and like the rod, but it was pretty tip heavy. I added a counter balance weight on the butt and it was crazy how much that improved the feel of the setup. Still trying to figure out the next one to try out. Probably either the 763CC "Fred's Crank Jr." or the 704C for an a...