St. Croix Legend Tournament Swimbait Casting Rods

[miked]

Was checking to see if anyone has tried the St. Croix Legend Tournament swimbait rods. These rods have a handle built into the reel seat. Worth giving a try? Thanks. 

[Csweitzer]

I’ve caught my share of fish up to 9lbs on the 710XH model (it didn’t have the special grip), it is extremely sensitive. Definitely more of a softbait rod. But I  catch some big glidebait fish on it as well. 

[tHeINFamoUS]

The pistol grip is a “unique” option.  I seen them at the ISE show in Sacramento and kinda dig em.  The guy in the booth said he’s been using them and the ergonomics were comfy for them long slow soft bait retrieves.  It was a wider grip and I didn’t notice anything uncomfortable about it lol.

I’m glad to see some innovation and would probably build myself a pistol gripped rod if the handle was available to the public…..but it’d be more novelty than necessity.  I think the average angler would be fine palming the reel with a regular trigger seat.  It is kinda cool though.  

[nickmraz]

the grasp reel seat is very comfortable, soft bait rods 

[B_larkin3]

There’s a reason why people call the brand “St Snap”. I would stay away - coming from someone who works with the rods on a regular basis. 

[miked]

To everyone who has offered a reply, I am extremely grateful.  There is very little info on the Net regarding this rod. Even called St. Croix and it took them several minutes to determine exactly what this rod was suited to (hardbait vs softbait). Will say that St. Croix was diligent and did provide the answer, though. Thanks again. Will probably go a different direction since I'm primarily looking for a hardbait rod. Regards. 

[Efrain]

11 hours ago, B_larkin3 said:

There’s a reason why people call the brand “St Snap”. I would stay away - coming from someone who works with the rods on a regular basis. 

Never heard anyone call them this or heard of  one breaking. I use the previous model of this series, the 8'8 frog and 8'11 punch, in the socal surf and have never felt underpowered or that the rod was in peril. I have brought in monster calico bass from heavy cover and through heavy surf no problem. 

The brand does not have a strong presence in california so maybe that is why I have never heard anything negative about them. I do love mine tho

[Efrain]

9 hours ago, miked said:

To everyone who has offered a reply, I am extremely grateful.  There is very little info on the Net regarding this rod. Even called St. Croix and it took them several minutes to determine exactly what this rod was suited to (hardbait vs softbait). Will say that St. Croix was diligent and did provide the answer, though. Thanks again. Will probably go a different direction since I'm primarily looking for a hardbait rod. Regards. 

Look at the irod kaimana 804 moderate if you want a soft bait rod. Fuji guides and an affordable price

[Efrain]

On 5/18/2023 at 2:56 PM, Csweitzer said:

I’ve caught my share of fish up to 9lbs on the 710XH model (it didn’t have the special grip), it is extremely sensitive. Definitely more of a softbait rod. But I  catch some big glidebait fish on it as well. 

What is that rod rated to and is it fast action? Also, is it from the current line up? I need a citizen 6 rod

[B_larkin3]

14 hours ago, Efrain said:

Never heard anyone call them this or heard of  one breaking. I use the previous model of this series, the 8'8 frog and 8'11 punch, in the socal surf and have never felt underpowered or that the rod was in peril. I have brought in monster calico bass from heavy cover and through heavy surf no problem. 

The brand does not have a strong presence in california so maybe that is why I have never heard anything negative about them. I do love mine tho

I work for a tackle company. We get more St Croix rods snapping on customers than any other brand out there. If you worked in the industry you’d here it all the time.

[Morgan Y]

22 hours ago, B_larkin3 said:

I work for a tackle company. We get more St Croix rods snapping on customers than any other brand out there. If you worked in the industry you’d hear it all the time.

I wonder if it has to do with them running such fast blanks at such a brittle temperament in order to achieve really high levels of sensitivity. My buddy has a st croix heavy he uses for jigs and I know a guy who runs them for tournaments and they’re absurdly fast, like I’m talking no flex AT ALL after the first like 6-8 inches of rod, this gives them incredible sensitivity but you lose a few more fish it seems compared to say a Dobyns which is far slower, and it feels as though you’re holding a bomb in your hand as far as brittleness. 

[Bassmann86]

2 hours ago, Morgan Y said:

I wonder if it has to do with them running such fast blanks at such a brittle temperament in order to achieve really high levels of sensitivity. My buddy has a st croix heavy he uses for jigs and I know a guy who runs them for tournaments and they’re absurdly fast, like I’m talking no flex AT ALL after the first like 6-8 inches of rod, this gives them incredible sensitivity but you lose a few more fish it seems compared to say a Dobyns which is far slower, and it feels as though you’re holding a bomb in your hand as far as brittleness. 

The action has something to do with it a little bit but blank material plays a bigger part. As you go up in higher modulus graphite to achieve more sensitivity and lighter weight the more brittle they become. Shimano, Megabass, Daiwa have got around this issue with using spiral X/high power x ect, Megabass P5 blanks, and Daiwa SVF Compile-X/X45 construction to increased hoop strength and keep the black round under load vs becoming a over and snapping 

[Morgan Y]

3 hours ago, Bassmann86 said:

The action has something to do with it a little bit but blank material plays a bigger part. As you go up in higher modulus graphite to achieve more sensitivity and lighter weight the more brittle they become. Shimano, Megabass, Daiwa have got around this issue with using spiral X/high power x ect, Megabass P5 blanks, and Daiwa SVF Compile-X/X45 construction to increased hoop strength and keep the black round under load vs becoming a over and snapping 

Yes the construction is key at the high price point, makes a huge difference. 

[Jon P]

I've got a bunch of the Legend Tournament rods, the 8'11" "Mega Swimbait" and the 7'11" "swimbait" are the two rods I run the most, with the 8'6" "big dawg" for giant baits, also got a handful of the conventional rods from the series. I absolutely love them but won't be buying any more of the swimbait or musky rods as they've got the weird ass pistol grip. I can see the use for it on a musky rod, especially if it's a child or senior handling it, that way they won't drop the rod when a fish hits. But they're clunky as all hell on the cast, holding it and cranking it is quite comfortable, but then you've got to cast again after the retrieve.

On 5/19/2023 at 11:00 AM, B_larkin3 said:

There’s a reason why people call the brand “St Snap”. I would stay away - coming from someone who works with the rods on a regular basis. 

As to the durability, I've abused the hell out of my st. croix products and haven't had any issues with the legend tournament breaking. HOWEVER the mojo series, and Bass X series, are both really easy to break. Especially the Bass X, as the blanks on that series aren't coated and are susceptible to abrasion and denting. If you want the hand's down most durable St. Croix rod that'd be the premier musky series, gnarly tough rods and pretty acceptable as swimbait rods. I think the bulk of bad St. Croix customer experiences are exclusively the result of the Mojo, BassX, and Triumph lineups. All of which are some of St. Croix's cheaper models and frequently get returned to the shop lightly used and very broken. "broken in shipping" my ass, I can smell the bluefish slime.

[Csweitzer]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:24 PM, Efrain said:

What is that rod rated to and is it fast action? Also, is it from the current line up? I need a citizen 6 rod

Rated 2-5oz, very fast action. Personally I throw citizen 6s on conventional rods, a 7’6” mh or 7’8” mhh depending on cover. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Csweitzer