What dropshot rod to get?

Looking to add a nice dropshot spinning rod to my fleet. I’m pretty well set on a St. Croix Mojo Bass but I’m not sure if I should get the 6’8” Medium/Extra Fast or the 6’10” Medium-Lite/Extra Fast model.

Can only get one rod at the moment, it’ll primarily be used for dropshot, shaky head, senkos, tubes, jigs, weightless plastics and maybe some lighter Texas rigs.

I was also looking at maybe spending a little more and looking at an ALX Ikos or a Dobyns Sierra, open to other options as well, but I’m pretty well set on the St. Croix Mojo. I have a Dobyns Sierra casting rod that I like but I still prefer St. Croix, no experience with ALX but heard good things and they look great on paper.

The biggest dilemma is should I get the Medium or Medium-Lite? Not sure which would be better for what I’m looking to use it for. I’ve held both St. Croix models in hand and the Medium one is noticeable stiffer. The med-lite one almost feels like a crappie rod because it is quite light IMO but a lot of people do seem to like the Medium lite models for dropshot regardless of brand.

I'm a recent Dobyns convert and am so far very impressed with a few of their rods. (namely the moving baits models) That said, I got an ALX as a gift recently and I like it much better than my Dobyns Champions. Lighter and more sensitive for the soft plastics such as T-rigs and drop shots. I have a Mojo and BOTH the Dobyns and ALX rods are way better. My wife has the Dobyns Sierra and it's nice but not quite as nice as the Champions. (but it's also a lot less expensive) That said, I drop shot quite a bit and your question about action on the rods might depend a lot on the lakes you fish. I fish boat docks and timber mostly so I prefer the Medium over the Medium-Lite. I fish with 12lb flouro on my drop shot (sometimes 10lb) and I can't horse a 6lb bass out from under a dock with a M/Lite rod.

If you were gonna use the new rod for drop shot exclusively, I’d suggest the ML. But, for Senko and light t rigging, I’d suggest the M/X-fast.

I’m happy with my Sierra casting rod, but I’ve always used St. Croix basically forever and love their products. For the price, I think the Mojo is a great deal. The dobyns champions feel very nice but are a bit outside of my budget for what I’m looking to spend at the moment. Which ALX rod model do you own rkd? The IKOS is the one I’m looking at if I decide to spend a little bit more than what the St. Croix cost. I’ve heard a lot of good things about them and wouldn’t mind trying one out.

I do fish in flooded timber and around boat docks a lot as well. This rod is basically going to be like a one size fits all type of spinning rod that does everything that I can’t or don’t want to do with a Baitcaster, mainly drop shot/finesse techniques and lighter/weightless stuff for the most part since I do as much as I can on my baitcasters. I have a regular 7’ Medium Spinning rod that I’m using for this now but it’s old and heavy and not as sensitive as I would like, I would like something with a split grip handle on it.

The ALX model I have is the Zolo Dragger. I use it for carolina rigs. I have been a loyal Falcon (and now Dobyns) user so when I got the ALX as a gift I basically put it aside. Decided one day to just give it a shot and now it may be my favorite rod in the arsenal. When it's time to buy a new rod (spinning or casting) I will most definitely get an ALX. Unless of course Falcon releases their new models in the meantime! Then I'll have a real dilemma. The Zolo series is not cheap though-around $205-$225 from what I can tell.

If you are drop shotting brush piles, I'd get the medium.

I use the 7' St Croix med-light for 1/2 of my drop shoting with a shimano metanium with 12 lb test invix. The other 1/2 with a custom built 7' med-light with a scorpion with 12 lb invix and I have caught literally hundreds of bass up to 9 LB on these rigs.

Maybe 10 lb would work better but at Lake Fork you are never far away from standing or broken timber.

I personally don't think that one of those rods will do all those techniques correctly. I have a 7' Medium Legend Elite and a 6'10 Med/Light Legend Extreme. With that said, the Medium/light is great for drop shots and small 3" or so swimbaits, etc, but I wouldn't want to throw tubes or shaky heads on it. For me, it's a tad too soft. My shaky head is almost always a 3/16 head with a 5" kut Tail worm. I like at least a medium for that in itself.

NRX 822 DSR

I'd like the 7'6" light. IMO, a light 7'6 rod will act more like a medium 7', but give me some more casting distance.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Shimano_Intenza_Spinning_Rods/descpage-SIS.html

Thanks for all the suggestions. I might just have to save up and get both the med lite and the medium. The NRX like a couple of y’all suggested is really nice but I just can’t swing that at the moment.