There are some fine fisherman that use ugly stiks?....
I normally use the shaimano curado and I recently purchased a Revo Inshore...both are outstanding and yes they take a beating...
The st. croix mojo bass it great buy for the money, I like a 6'8 med xtra fast...
I have had st. croix and g.loomis rods and neither can compare to a powell rod...simply amazing....rod is around $140...mojo bass is $99...both are good deals...