I’m no professional bass angler, nor do I have any aspirations of becoming one. And because I do most of my largemouth bass fishing in a kayak, a john boat or from shore, I don’t have the space to cart around a dozen different rods, each fine tuned to one very specific technique. But at the same time, my 15-year-old Browning baitcasting rod just wasn’t cutting it anymore. For the long-overdue upgrade, I bought one of the new St. Croix Rage baitcasting rods, the RC68MF. The rod is 6 feet, 8 inches long and casts lures from 1/4 to 5/8 ounces. The rod has a great general-purpose action, comes equipped with lightweight micro guides and has a very comfortable neoprene grip. So far, I’ve loved it. It casts well, fishes a wide range of lures effectively, and its soft tip makes sport of even smaller largemouths, making fishing what it is supposed to be – fun.