One rod quiver for salmon (troll and mooch) mostly

What’s up NCKA.  I’ve been fishing with an UglyStick GX2 ($40!) 2 piece 7’ rod (8-20lb line rating) since I started kayak fishing.  I’m thinking about upgrading.  I primarily target halibut and salmon and surf launches are common.  The features most important to me are:

1. 7’, 2-piece rod: this allows me to disassemble and store the rod and reel in the front hatch of my revo 13.  This is important to me because I’ve rolled one too many times in the surf and prefer all gear below deck.  I considered the Hobie horizontal rod holder to accommodate a 7’+ one piece rod, but getting a ton of sand in the reel would be inevitable for me and damaging an eyelet during a surf ejection/hard paddle seems like a definite possibility so i decided against it. 

2. Ability to troll, trooch, mooch, and covert to bounce ball dragging for closer to shore halibut fishing.  Occasional rockfish targeting. 

I’ve narrowed it down to a few rods.  Usually I would just go to BassPro or Outdoor Pro and shop w/ my hands but a strong recommendation could sway me to buy online.  I fish 30lb braid w/ 25lb fluoro leader.  I want a rod soft enough that it has a good bend to keep tension on the line while mooching and bringing in a salmon, but with some backbone that it can handle the bigger fish. 

Any familiarity with the following?

AbuGarcia Veritas (6’9” Med Heavy, Fast Action, 12-20lb)
St. Croix Premier (7’1” Med Heavy, Fast, 12-20)
Shimano SLX (7’2”, Med Heavy, Extra Fast, 10-20)
Shimano Clarus (6’10” Med Heavy, Fast, 10-20)
Daiwa Procyon (7’, Med Heavy, Extra Fast, 10-20)

Would these be a significant upgrade to what I am currently fishing with?  Would love a recommendation!
Thanks all!

Uh oh...the Trevala guyz are gonna start coming out of the woodwork...including myself...7ft one piece, I think there is a two piece, medium light, conventional, 20-50lb braid...I still would consider an 8ft two piece of sorts at this point for salmon and hali's...

Have you looked at travel rods?

I have an older Okuma nomad travel rod that came with 2 tips- one medium and one medium heavy.  Breaks down to 3 pieces and comes with a carrying case. I take it with me on vacation if shore fishing is available.

Taking the reels off and stowing everything that I might possibly lose in the front hatch of my revo 13  both my 1 piece travalas I secure by wrapping twice around them along side my paddle with the paddle bungee.. worked  great for my yardsale on day 3 at La Jolla earlier in Feb...

Someone we all know told me to wrap the reels with plastic or Saran Wrap and zip tie... I was worried about landings out of Linda Mar at the time

taking reels off worked better for me...

Only thing I forgot to stow was my cheap $10 Walmart shades🥺 hahah

Never got into 2 piece rods... good luck, Be safe, n GetSome!!! 

PS miss my ole ugly stick/Avet I lost at La Jolla back in 2015 wasn’t the landing that lost it-it was being buzzed and napping OTW no noodle-no strap 😢 😂

I have a brand new Daiwa Procyon 76MH that you can try out.  It's just sitting in the corner of my office.

Taking the reels off and stowing everything that I might possibly lose in the front hatch of my revo 13  both my 1 piece travalas I secure by wrapping twice around them along side my paddle with the paddle bungee.. worked  great for my yardsale on day 3 at La Jolla earlier in Feb...
taking reels off worked better for me...

I’ve surf launched a revo a whole bunch of times. Reel comes off and goes in the center hatch. Inside a plastic bag. Rod goes in the paddle holder. Once I’ve paddled out rod goes in rod holder and paddle goes back into paddle holder.

As far as rods I used to use bass rods in the ocean and sometimes still do, but I prefer a rod built for what I’m doing.

The Abu rod you mentioned is ok. If you like it I would suggest the vendetta line instead. Same blank but with stainless guides instead of titanium and usually much less expensive. I’ve owned and used both. I currently own 1 veritas that I barely use and 4 vendettas that I almost always use (for bass).

For the ocean I’m a trevala guy and use the 7-0 ML for salmon trolling and lighter jigs and weights for halibut. It fits well in the paddle holder for surf launches and has handled a couple surf failures on my part too.