I have not used the St. Croix line you are talking about, but I know they make fantastic rods. I do have two Powell Endurance series, the 723C and 6103. (My personal rule of not spending more then $200 for a rod or reel kicks in, but prevent the poorhouse from expensive bait monkey.)
I love my Powell's they took a little getting used to. My 723C says it's an extra fast tip, yeah, not sure about that but, the hook setting power is what got me hooked on that series of rods. So much back bone with the rod, I rarely loose a fish after setting the hook. Plus, the sensitivity is there, it has enough to feel everything, (I mainly use P-line Flourclear on my reels). I think *** has a deal where you can try a rod out and then send it back if you dont like it.
But, you are not going to to wrong with either rod, I guess $$ might be the difference.