I have one piece 7'-6" FIBERGLASS casting rods that were designed for walleye fishing that have worked well for my deep bass cranking. They have excellent backbone with a softer tip. Used with a Diawa and Abua Garcia 5500C reels with 5.6 ratio and 12 # test Trilene. Have lost very few with this setup. Also fishing muddy to murky water I use fire tiger or bright red color lures. My go to lure was a Bagley DB3, excellent vibration, ability to bounce off stumps and rocks. If I did hang up, I used a lure retreavor that hooks to your line, to get down and unhook that lure. This will definetly save you a few dollars in lost lures.
Hope this helps!