Not Sure How I Feel About My New St. Croix Premier.

[fo-mo-co]

I got my new rod today so I had to go try it out. I just swapped my reel over to it and the first thing I noticed is that I can't feel the blades on my smaller spinners like I could with my Lightning Rod. The fish feel different when they hit. I like that I just thought I would be able to feel more not less. Am I missing something?

[BASSclary]

What line are you using? That could very well be the culprit if its a different line.

[Bluebasser86]

What weight/action/length rod did you get and what did you have? If you went from a lighter rod to a heavier rod it might be harder to feel the smaller baits very well. If they have the same ratings I can tell you the St.Croix is going to be on the heavy side of whatever it's rated, as St. Croix rods tend to be. So if you got a medium, it's going to be like most other companies medium heavy.

[fo-mo-co]

I picked up a St Croix premier 6' medium fast casting rod. It replaced a 6' medium IM6 Lightning Rod. I always thought the Lightning rodwas a little soft. I didn't miss any fish tonight. I could hook the bigger bass with the lightning rod but most o the smaller ones got away due to poor hook set. I caught about all of them tonight so maybe it is better and I just ned to adapt. I do love the handle though,

[new2BC4bass]

I got my new rod today so I had to go try it out. I just swapped my reel over to it and the first thing I noticed is that I can't feel the blades on my smaller spinners like I could with my Lightning Rod. The fish feel different when they hit. I like that I just thought I would be able to feel more not less. Am I missing something?

So I am not the only one this has happened to! Earlier this year I grabbed the combo I got for my grandson, and headed to the river for some casting practice. The combo is a 6' MH Lightning rod with a Daiwa Procaster spooled with 15 lb. mono. I was throwing a 1/2 oz. spinnerbait. At first I thought something was wrong with the reel. Then I realized what I was feeling was the thumping of the blades. It was severe enough to have the reel moving in my hand while palmed.

Cost of the combo: $17 on closeout for the rod, $30 on closeout for the reel.

I've used the same spinnerbait on several other combos. One rod in particular is noted for its sensitivity. Yes I could feel the blades thumping, but the reel wasn't moving in my hand. I surmise the longer rods of the other combos (7' and 7'2") were absorbing most of the vibration. That is to say the tips were flexing more rather than transmitting the bouncing into the handle/reel. Had I paid full price for the one combo, it would have run $500. (I paid about $300....used rod, reel on closeout.)

Am I going to give up my more expensive rods for all Lightning rods? No thank you.

[tomustang]

I picked up a St Croix premier 6' medium fast casting rod. It replaced a 6' medium IM6 Lightning Rod. I always thought the Lightning rodwas a little soft. I didn't miss any fish tonight. I could hook the bigger bass with the lightning rod but most o the smaller ones got away due to poor hook set. I caught about all of them tonight so maybe it is better and I just ned to adapt. I do love the handle though,

It's not strange, it's just a different feel, if you say the lightning rod is soft you will feel the blades more since it has less of an action. the premier is a stouter rod and won't be noodling with your bait like the lightning. it's not a bad thing but it'll help you concentrate more on a bite instead feeling the continuing blade spin.

Once you tune into the rod the feel for things will be much better.

[fo-mo-co]

The Lightning rod isn't soft. It just more of a medium action. Like new2BC4bass said it's funny how much you feel with a Lightning Rod compared to the St. Croix I have. I do think once I fish the St Croix for a while I will get the feel for it. Its almost like the LR is to sensitive and you feel to much.

[0119]

Yes the Lightning rod is softer actioned just by way of the material used. The Premier is graphite, the lightning rod a composite of graphite and fiberglass. Even though it is rated the same, the cheaper composite rods will always give you a perceived greater feel.

[smalljaw67]

The lightning rod isn't more sensitive than the premier, what you're feeling is the same action that caused you to miss fish, it has a lot of tip for a medium power rod. That soft tip will make a spinnerbait feel like the blades are the size of hubcaps but try feeling a strike on a worm in 12' of water, a whole other ball game.

[fo-mo-co]

I was out again tonight and pulled a 5lb large mouth out of my pond and now I am sold. That rod had no problem setting the hook on that fish and felt great pulling it in. I will never say another bad thing about this rod. When that fish hit it was solid. Hard to explain just how it felt but you could almost feel the hook sink in. My smoke is geared at 5.3 and it horsed that fish up out of that pond just like I hoped it would. It has back bone that lightning rod never had. THis being my first rod over 50$ I wasn't sure what to expect at first but now I do.

[new2BC4bass]

It's not strange, it's just a different feel, if you say the lightning rod is soft you will feel the blades more since it has less of an action. the premier is a stouter rod and won't be noodling with your bait like the lightning. it's not a bad thing but it'll help you concentrate more on a bite instead feeling the continuing blade spin.

Once you tune into the rod the feel for things will be much better.

I had the Lightning on the water just that one evening. I am not the most observant person. I will have to take it out again and watch the rod carefully to see what it is doing.