Need a new rod... ordering in the next couple of days

[arkansasnative]

On May 7th i'm leaving town for an internship that's required by my degree to graduate college. I did my research and found that there are some really nice fishing waters in the area I will be going to. For my birthday, my parents got me a Pro Qualifier PQX10SHLA with 7.1:1 gear ratio (Left Hand Retrieve Woohoo!) and now i need a rod to go with it! My first plan was to go all out and build a rod myself to my liking but due to my funds and time constraint, thanks college, it looks like i'm just going to have to buy a factory rod to take on the trip with me.

Here's my list of what i want from the rod...
1. Good for all around use but can be used (with the 7.1:1 ratio) as a technique specific combo later.
2. Under 100 bucks
3. From Basspro... i have a gift card
4. Preferably split grip but not a must
5. I was gonna go cork grip when i was gonna build it but since i'm buying it doesnt really matter
6. I'm not a fan boy and don't get stuck on the pro models designed to catch fishermen so anything that has performance to back it up goes!

Thanks for the opinions guys!

EDIT: i currently have 3 rods that i use...
1. trout/bream/travel spinning rod: Ugly Stik Lite Pro Graphite 7' Medium paired with a Shimano Syncopate 2000
2. Rod I got as a gift: Bass Pro Mega Cast Baitcast Combo 6'6" in MH... not sure what to use this rod for lol.
3. My first baitcasting rod: An OLD Berkley Lightning Rod 5'6" in M paired with an OLD Shimano Bantam Citica. Doesn't get much use anymore. I don't like short rods or short grips.

These are slowly going to get replaced with left-handed models and better rods...

 

[BaitCaster]

I would go with a 6' 6" Basspro MH Carbonlite

 

[Jim]

I agree, those are nice rods for that pricepoint. I even like the extreme rods too.

 

[poolie]

I think you'd be happy with either the BPS Extreme or the Carbonlite. They're both pretty nice and won't break the bank.

 

[arkansasnative]

i somehow overlooked and forgot about the carbonlites! Next question... micro guides or regular?! I might be ordering this afternoon!

 

[poolie]

I've only used a micro-guide rod once so take that for what it's worth. I saw no down side to it, but I also didn't think it did much for me either. For now I'm sticking to good ol regular guides.

 

[russ010]

One thing about the micro guides... if you plan on fishing in the winter where the eyelets on your regular rods have the tendency to ice up - don't do micro.

I fish year round and my micro guide rods only get used when water temps get above 40* because it can cause some serious backlash when your eyelets freeze up as soon as you dip it underwater to unfreeze... just sayin

 

[dyeguy1212]

Carbonlites are the best rods on the market.

 

[arkansasnative]

I want to thank everybody for their opinions... i just ordered a 7' MH Fast Carbonlite with micro guides to go with my pro qualifier and im about to order a rod sock from tackle warehouse to take care of it!