St. Croix Rage Casting Rods

[Arv]

Anyone fished this series? I'm thinking about getting one for lighter presentations (3/8 oz and less) but not necessarily as light as weightless plastics. Any input on these rods will be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Bluebasser86]

I'm a big fan of St. Croix but I will never buy another rod from the Rage series unless they change a few things with them. I had a casting and spinning rod in the Rage series. The spinning rod foregrip came loose and would spin around the rod at the worst times and sometimes the reel would almost fall off because of this. I ended up trying to use electric tape to hold it in place but even that slipped sometimes, I ended up returning it and upgrading to a LTB. Another member had the same problem with one of the casting rods. I had the 7' 1" MH/F casting rod for a pitching rod and loved it. The feel of the rod was great, it was light, and I loved the grip. I caught tons of fish on it until one day for some unknown reason it snapped 2/3 of the way up the rod while swinging a 2lb fish in. I've heard from several others that have had them snap on them. I haven't broke any other St.Croixs that weren't my fault like this rod, from the Triumphs to the LTB. Do yourself a favor and save up a few more bucks and get an avid.

[MarkH024]

I had the 7' 1" MH/F casting rod for a pitching rod and loved it. The feel of the rod was great, it was light, and I loved the grip. I caught tons of fish on it until one day for some unknown reason it snapped 2/3 of the way up the rod while swinging a 2lb fish in. I've heard from several others that have had them snap on them. I haven't broke any other St.Croixs that weren't my fault like this rod, from the Triumphs to the LTB. Do yourself a favor and save up a few more bucks and get an avid.

I have this same rod for pitching and flipping. I love the rod, it is really light. I have a Smoke 7.0 on there so it is an extremely light set up which is great. That sucks yours broke. I have yet to break any rod I own from St. Croix.

[RyneB]

I have a Rage rod also. Its a 6-8 or 6-6. I cant remember. Its a medium action and i love it so far. I have only had it out 5 times. I have it paired with a Revo Premier and its a real light setup. I like to throw swim jigs and 5 inch swimbaits with it and its perfect for that. I had heard tons of bad reviews and people bad mouthing it, so i had no intentions of purchasing one. But my local marina had 1 left and it was on sale for $80. I had to take a chance at the price.

[BassinLou]

I have a rage rod. I've had 3 actually. 1, broke at the tip while casting on the third cast the first time out. Had to return it to St. Croix. #2 broke in half on a hook set on a sweet bass. I lost the bass. Had to that back also. #3 is holding up til when... i don't know. I like the rod however every time I use it, its in the back of my mind if the next hookset is its last. I would say spend a tad more and get an Avid which I also have, or go to the bargain room see if they still have last years legend tournaments. I picked one up a few months ago and I love it.

[DaveT63]

Agree with the guy above. Earlier today, I saw, St Croix still has a 6'6" LTB MH casting rod in their bargain room for $120. ****** that up and forget the Rage.

[Arv]

Wow! I'm surprised that so many people have had this rod break on them. Definitely did not expect that from St. Croix... I'll probably take BlueBasser's advice and just save up for an Avid. Thanks for the feedback ya'll!

[BassinLou]

Save up for the avid. You will not be dissappointed. Don't get me wrong i like the rage however when you lose confidence on your hardware its time to change. I am still a St. Croix fan but from this point forward although the premiers are great my minimum level will be an avid.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Cabelas has a Dodbyns Champion 702C MF for $150 in their bargain cave

http://www.cabelas.c...80;cat105742080

Another in that price range that I have is a Quantum Smoke rod 7' MF its 3.4oz better balance than my Croix rods and very good sensitivity think mine is like $130 at TW $100 at flea-bay. I toss 1.0 squarebills with ease those are like 1/4oz and 5"senkos. Its definitely better than my Premier and I have Avid, LTB and L Elite and have no hesitation in recommending the Smoke rod.

Oh dont know about Quantum service but Croix is top-notch broke my Avid 3 times each time with-in a week taken care of but live few hours from them.

[S Hovanec]

HATE the guides on the Rage. Get the Avid. You won't be sorry.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

My understanding of the Rage rods is that they use the same blank compsition as the Avid. They are built in Mexico and without cork which lowers the price point a little. There's no excuse for loose grips etc that's just poor QC. As for the blanks braking I think that's a combination of rough handling during production and shipping along with some possible inadvertent user error. Over all St Croix has one the most robust lines of rods and excellent quality especially from the Avid and up.

[Arv]

Cabelas has a Dodbyns Champion 702C MF for $150 in their bargain cave

http://www.cabelas.c...80;cat105742080

Another in that price range that I have is a Quantum Smoke rod 7' MF its 3.4oz better balance than my Croix rods and very good sensitivity think mine is like $130 at TW $100 at flea-bay. I toss 1.0 squarebills with ease those are like 1/4oz and 5"senkos. Its definitely better than my Premier and I have Avid, LTB and L Elite and have no hesitation in recommending the Smoke rod.

Oh dont know about Quantum service but Croix is top-notch broke my Avid 3 times each time with-in a week taken care of but live few hours from them.

Zoinks! Thats a great deal. Seems like a good pair with a Curado 51E I just purchased off the flea market. You think so?

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I would have got it if I didnt get LTB MLXF a little while ago. Read good reviews of them. 51E should pair nicely. I have 50E on LTB at times and 1/4-3/8oz works great.

[Arv]

Nice! Thanks man.

[Boogey Man]

I bought a 6'8" medium a few weeks ago and will be returning it. On St Croixs web site the weight is listed as 4.3 oz which is not bad but the balance is not good even after trying several reels of different weights. I also didn't care for the neoprene handle, it felt like it was starting to make the skin on my hand sore after a few hours.

[Arv]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I decided to go with Dobyns Champion 702c. The deal Cabela's is running was too good for a rod that I read too many good things about. Hopefully it performs up to par with the reviews.

[BassinLou]

Enjoy the new rod.