kschultz76

Well Capt Bob you were right, I'm now very spoiled. Love the LTB Casting 6'8" M XF. Love it so much I've now received an LTB Casting 6'6" MH F, and LTB Spinning 6'6" ML F from the Bargain Room. They're all light, sensitive, and feel great in my hand. I'm really pleased about the grips, wasn't sure I'd care for the split grips but I really do. Of course the split grip on the discontinued LTB's is more like a full cork grip then the 2012 redesigned LTB's, those grips are very minimalist. The action on the LTBC66MXF is awesome for top water, really enjoying how it moves a Storm Rattlin Chug Bug and Spooks. Already got a couple fish on it just practicing in the creek behind my house. Can't wait to get them all out on my boat. I also needed one more spinning rod for some general use, and got the chance to drive out to Bass Pro Shops last weekend. I simply couldn't leave the Avid 6'6" Spinning M F on the rack when I left so it came home with me. I've got a few more rods on my wish list and they're all gonna be Avids and LTB's. Thanks for everyone's input!

I'm personally hooked on St. Croix now. My old man has had a selection of Loomis rods over the years - GL3's, IMX's, and some GLX's. I've had a GL2 spinning rod for a couple of years he bought me. Just started looking to upgrade all my old cheap rods with lighter more sensitive gear that I can finally afford it. First one I got after A LOT of research was a previous model year LTB casting 6'8" M XF from their Bargain Room online. Night and day difference between this rod and the GL2 I have, the LTB is a beautiful thing. I got that rod almost two weeks ago, a couple days after getting it I went back to their Bargain Room and picked up a LTB casting 6'6" MH F, and an LTB spinning 6'6" ML F. I also recently bought an Avid spinning 6'6" M F. Over the next year or so I plan on buying another 4 rods, and they'll all be either St. Croix Avid or Legend Tournament Bass rods. I've used quite a lot of different fishing gear over the years, including my Dad's Loomis gear. And honestly for the price even if I could afford all top end Loomis gear I don't think I'd spend the money, these St Croix rods are amazing for the price. I'm not a tournament fisherman, I don't make money off of this, so for me St. Croix Avid's and LTB's are as good as it can get.

Sounds like you're looking for something shorter, but I just picked up a St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass 6'8" M XF Topwater rod from their Bargain Room online. It is the previous model before the 2012 redesign and was nicely discounted. This work will work well with smaller soft plastics as well. I've been playing with it in the mid size creek in my back yard, and it works both Pop R type baits like the Storm Rattlin Chug Bug, and walk the dog type baits really well. The XF action helps with moving the baits a distance as well as letting the fish get a good hold with that top water hit before you set the hook. I liked the rod so much I went back and purchased two more LTB's from their bargain that suit the type of fishing I like to do. Go check it out. http://www.stcroixrods.com/shop/catalog/Freshwater-23-1.html# The listings don't give you all the specs as far as lure/line weights, but they're all comparable to the current 2012 model line, and if you call St. Croix they're really helpful and will give you all the info you need.

Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm now a lot more interested in the LTBS66MLF Splitshot and the LTBC66MHF then I had been. @ Capt. Bob - I totally get your point about one rod not doing it all, and don't plan to try to. I'm looking to build a collection for quality reads, 3-4 spinning and 3 casting, to cover the variety of fishing I do. I tend to be partial to spinning rods, but over the past few years I've gotten better and better with my casting on a baitcaster. I think there will be some Avids in my locker as I can't get everything I want in the discontinued LTB's and don't want to spend the $$ on the newest 2012 version if the Avids will serve me well. The LTBC68MXF Topwater (6'8" M/XF Casting) will be my first split grip rod, so we'll see how I like it before I order more. Hoping it will be here in a day or two. I am somewhat tempted to get the Legend Tournament Xtreme XC66MF/10 6'6" M/F they have in the bargain room, but for the cost difference between that an Avid I can pay for most of a quality reel. I also recognize that besides mixing LTB's and Avids, I may have to consider some other manufacturers to get a well rounded collection. Keep it coming folks I appreciate the advice!

Hi all, This is my first post here, but I've been lurking around reading for the past couple of weeks. I'm in the process of adding some new rods/reels to my arsenal to fill it out and replace some older gear I don't love. I've become really interested in St. Croix rods based on all the good reviews I've found of them on BPS & Cabela's website as well as what I've found here on the forums. I have 1 GL2 6' M/F spinning rod my Dad got my for my birthday a few years back, and its a nice stick but could be finished nicer for the price. Its the blue version from before the recent redesign. Also have a St. Croix Triumph 6' M/F spinning rod in the barn we got for my wife, and really enjoyed fishing it a few times though it is a bit tip heavy. I've been bouncing back and fourth between St. Croix Avids, Legend Tournament Bass, Loomis GL2, and GL3 rods. It seems the differences in these rods has been well debated topics here, so I won't ask folks to talk on any more unless they really want to . I decided to take a shot and ordered a discontinued 2011 St. Croix LTBC68MXF Topwater (6'8" M/XF Casting) from their Bargain Room hoping it will work well for topwater as advertised, and maybe some additional versatility for soft plastics and maybe some jerkbaits. Any other uses I could put this stick to? It arrives later this week. If I like that rod I'm considering getting the following they are offering on discount there, but not sure they're really well suited for my needs: LTBS510MXF Skipping - will this be too short or heavy for general duty? LTBS66MLF Splitshot - would this be too light for general duty? LTBC66MHF Jig-N-Worm - afraid this will be too heavy for working jigs, spinnerbaits, ligther cranks, jerkbaits, and buzzbaits? I've read numerous times that SC seems to underrate the power on their rods so I'm looking at the line/lure weights on them. Can anyone share any feed back on these specific rod size/action combos and what they may be good for technique wise beyond what St. Croix advertises them for? I'd love to take advandtage of the great deals they are, but don't want to sink money into rods because they're a good deal if they won't work well for me. If these aren't good choices I'd rather spend the extra money on the newer 2012 LTB's where they suit me, and Avid's where they don't. I primarily fish a lot of soft plastics - weightless texas rigged Senkos, Slider worms, other soft plastic worms texas rigged, lizards, wacky rigged senkos, but also fish hard jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, top water, baby 1 minus, rebel crawfish, and various size cranks. Want to try more dropshotting, shakey head, and swimbaits. I'm leaning towards the St. Croix rods over the new G Loomis GL2 series because I can't find any good/positive review out there on the GL2's period, plus all the great review here and elsewhere on the St. Croix's. And I really like the info available from St. Croix on the construction of their rods, seems like a company that wants to educate their customer, and takes service very seriously. But I'm still open to the idea of GL2 or GL3's if folks think they would be better choices. Any advice or input folks can share would be appreciated. Thanks, Kevin Edited to add: I'm located in NJ near Philly and fish in many lakes on both sides of the Delaware from a bassboat. So not hooking into 5 + lb fish on a regular basis.