St. Croix Fishing Rods – The Right Rods for Every Job …

SCIII Advanced carbon material features high-modulus, high-strain carbon fibers and is designed for serious anglers who demand performance and value. It’s used to produce sensitive, lightweight rods with great durability like those found in the Mojo Bass, Mojo Musky, Avid, and Avid X rod series.SCIV Exceptional carbon material steps up the St. Croix performance even more and is ideal for anglers who insist on fishing only with top-grade rods. This high-modulus, high-strain carbon material is used to craft Legend Surf and Legend Tournament Series Bass, Walleye, Musky and Inshore rods.

“All of our primary rod building materials are exclusive to St. Croix,” notes Brunner. “We work strategically with our suppliers and tell them exactly what we want. There may be some rod manufacturers out there using certain aspects of the same materials, but no one has them in the same combinations or configurations.”

Choosing materials with focus and using only the best is a great start, but St. Croix then refines them further using proprietary technologies developed through its suppliers, design team and manufacturing experts over the years. These technological breakthroughs increase performance and quantifiable factors like sensitivity, durability and strength across the company’s entire lineup.

“We have several high-tech technologies and manufacturing processes we can use or combine to bring out the best qualities in any rod blank we manufacture,” continues Brunner. “In fact, through the years, we’ve developed a program that can factor in many of our variables and give us a solid indication of how any rod we plan to design will perform over a variety of qualities before we even build it. We’ve learned and charted over the years exactly what it takes to make anything from an ultra-light to a medium or extra-heavy rod power. We can assign rod action specifics from extra-fast to slow, determine the exact weight of the rod, factor in the effects of specific individual components, increase the durability and adjust the price point appropriately, all before building our first samples. All this information is provided to the manufacturing team to take the guesswork out of the rod-building process. The result is that, from the very first protype of any new design, we are generally close enough to the desired performance that many projects only require a few small modifications to reach perfection.” The cutting-edge technologies employed at St. Croix are mostly know by their abbreviations, but each spent years in research and development before coming to fruition. Among the most important are IPC®, ART, FRS, and TET.

Developed exclusively by St. Croix, Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) tooling is used to eliminate all transitional points in the rod blank, resulting in smoother actions, increased strength and greater sensitivity in a rod that bends from tip to butt with a parabolic curve.

Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™) uses an exotic carbon fiber material that adds a magnitude (10X) of strength with virtually no increase in blank diameter or weight. It significantly improves the hoop strength of the blank by preventing it from deforming or “ovaling” under severe loads, such as a those experienced during a powerful hook set or when lifting a heavy fish. ART is also a critical part of St. Croix’s slim-profile ferrule design.

St. Croix’s FRS (Fortified Resin System) combines a fortified super resin with new computer-operated curing ovens that provide improved temperature and time management through all stages of the critical curing cycle. FRS prevents micro-buckling by keeping the carbon fibers in proper alignment. Blanks manufactured using this advanced manufacturing protocol consistently test 33% stronger than those built with standard resins and curing methods.

Taper Enhancement Technology (TET) is a process perfected by St. Croix that begins with precision-cut, curved blank patterns made possible by a state-of-the-art computerized pattern cutting machine. When combined with IPC-mandrels, these unique patterns create blanks with better actions and improved sensitivity. This pattern design and cutting technology is a dramatic departure from traditional straight-line patterns cut by hand.

St. Croix’s key to producing the ultimate fishing rod lies in combining its proprietary materials with its exclusive technologies. For example, teaming high-modulus high-strain SCIII carbon with IPC® technology creates a rod with exceptional strength, smooth power and increased sensitivity, such as those exceptional performers in the popular Avid Surf, Avid, Avid X and Mojo Bass series. Comparably, using SCIV in combination with IPC, ART and FRS elevates Legend Tournament series rods to a level of performance on par with their name.

Simply put, St. Croix sets itself apart from the competition with an R&D Department and manufacturing facilities that are the most advanced in the business. But in the end, everything still must be put together exactly right. For that, St. Croix relies on the prowess and dedication of its skilled and passionate manufacturing team… and a lot of lasers.

“We use lasers in almost every aspect of the manufacturing process these days to ensure all blanks are cut to the exact size and that our components are perfectly placed, spaced and aligned,” explains Brunner. “We even have lasers we use strictly for placing our labels. Adding them into the process is just another step that makes sense when you need your product to come out perfectly every single time.”

As you can see by now, there’s some serious science that goes into building the ideal fishing rod – at least those wearing the St. Croix name. Still, for all the great materials, components, manufacturing breakthroughs and technological wizardry, in the end nothing works unless the entire team is on board.

“We work hard to educate, inform and give our employees everything they need to succeed on a daily basis,” Brunner reports. “We’re all incredibly proud of the work we do, here, the superior product we turn out, and the way we go about our jobs every day. It’s the spirit and dedication of the entire St. Croix crew that, in the end, really separates our rods from all the others. It takes great materials, cutting edge technology and dedicated, happy people to make the Best Rods on Earth® for our passionate anglers, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

And that’s what truly sets St. Croix apart.

Available in both St. Croix’s Legend® Tournament Bass (LBC70MHMF) and Mojo Bass (MJC70MHMF) series, the 7’, medium-heavy power, moderate-fast action Sweeper is the go-to casting rod for spinnerbait enthusiasts everywhere, including BASS Elite angler, Derek Hudnall, FLW pro, Cody Hahner, and MLF’s Stephen Browning.

Available in both St. Croix’s Legend® Tournament Bass (LBC70MHMF) and Mojo Bass (MJC70MHMF) series, the 7’, medium-heavy power, moderate-fast action Sweeper is the go-to casting rod for spinnerbait enthusiasts everywhere, including BASS Elite angler, Derek Hudnall, FLW pro, Cody Hahner, and MLF’s Stephen Browning.

St. Croix Fishing Rods – Sweeper Spinnerbait Rod:

“Anglers often find themselves going through numerous rods to find one that has the correct balance, sensitivity and other characteristics for the presentation at hand,” says Hudnall. “For fishing spinnerbaits, St. Croix absolutely nailed it with this rod. To be successful with spinnerbaits, you need a rod that’s sensitive enough to feel your way through cover, soft enough to withstand slashing strikes, powerful enough to get hook penetration, and balanced to a point where accuracy is maximized. The Sweeper is that rod,” exclaims Hudnall, who typically rigs his Legend Tournament Bass Sweeper rod with 15-lb Seaugar fluorocarbon and either a 3/8- or 1/2-oz Colorado blade spinnerbait – especially early in the year through mid-summer.

“The Sweeper may be my favorite technique-specific rod in St. Croix’s vast lineup, and in addition to spinnerbaits, it performs incredibly with bladed jigs as well.”

Wiggins’ other favorite Mojo Bass Glass model is 6’10”, medium power, moderate action (MGC610MM) Target Cranker.

“This is the rod I throw square bills and other shallow diving cranks with whenever I’m fishing to laydowns, boulders, stumps or other specific targets,” says Wiggins. “A lot of time those targets are also close to the bank, which means you’ve really got to be accurate. The 6’10” Target Cranker allows for the kind of precision casting it takes to maximize opportunities in those cases, and when a bass slashes my moving bait, I know she’s going to stay pinned up.

“One thing I love about St. Croix is how well they cover the bases for any angler, even on price, and these Mojo Bass and Mojo Bass Glass rods are a great example,” says Wiggins. “With the entire Mojo Bass series, anglers are getting great performance and well-designed rods for a really good price. You can’t beat that!”

St. Croix Fishing Rods – Final Thoughts:

Wherever you’re at in the bass-fishing spectrum, having optimized rods designed for the ways you fish will increase your angling success. Don’t use a wrench as a hammer. From putting your cast where you want it, to hooking up, to winning the battle… St. Croix makes the right tools for any presentation and helps anglers bring more bass to hand.

See here for other St. Croix products we inventory.