St. Croix Mojo Bass vs St. Croix Premier

[LunkerJunky]

Hey everyone! Been interested in St. Croix rods for a while now and wanted to finally go out and buy one. I noticed the Mojo Bass and Premier rods are both $150. I don't know what the differences are between the two rods. Wanted to see if any of you guys had experience with the two rods and which one you like the most. Thank You!

[Cgolf]

I will always go with the premier series because they are made here in WI, at least the last I heard they were. When I was at the factory maybe 8ish years ago, the person helping me said to go with a rod made in WI vs the mojos which they outsource the build. I was told the WI built rods had less issues than the mojos.

 

I have a premier MH moderate that is probably my favorite all around stick. I know a lot of folks on here use the Mojos and like them, but based on what I was told I will always stay away from them, except for the swimbait rod I have which doubles as a light musky rod. They told me the heavier action rods were good to go.

 

Worded this carefully since they are a site sponsor and honestly St. Croix and Dobyns will likely be the only two rod makers getting my orders in the future because I really like both brands. 

[Phil77]

I've fished both and can't feel any difference in the blank. I prefer the split grip on the mojo personally, both are great rods for the money.

[RDB]

I saw in a previous post that you said you are a teenager, so I’ll make you a deal.  You pay for the shipping and I’ll give you a 6’8” MH F Mojo jig & worm rod.  It’s used but in good shape but I haven’t used it in years.  I probably have 100+ rods sitting around gathering dust and am too lazy to get rid of them.

[zell_pop1]

7 hours ago, Cgolf said:

I will always go with the premier series because they are made here in WI, at least the last I heard they were. When I was at the factory maybe 8ish years ago, the person helping me said to go with a rod made in WI vs the mojos which they outsource the build. I was told the WI built rods had less issues than the mojos.

 

I have a premier MH moderate that is probably my favorite all around stick. I know a lot of folks on here use the Mojos and like them, but based on what I was told I will always stay away from them, except for the swimbait rod I have which doubles as a light musky rod. They told me the heavier action rods were good to go.

 

Worded this carefully since they are a site sponsor and honestly St. Croix and Dobyns will likely be the only two rod makers getting my orders in the future because I really like both brands. 

8 years ago they were both SCII now Mojos are SCIII so they will be more sensitive now, Premiers are US made and have full cork grips so I still like them better for moving baits where sensitivity is not an issue.

[gim]

I own multiple rods of both models by St Croix. They both have a 5 year warranty I think. If I had to pick one I’d probably go with the Bass Mojo line.

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, zell_pop1 said:

8 years ago they were both SCII now Mojos are SCIII so they will be more sensitive now, Premiers are US made and have full cork grips so I still like them better for moving baits where sensitivity is not an issue.

Also could be the material change fixed the issue they were having back then with the Mojos as well. I love my St Croix rods, that guy just made it so I would likely never get a mojo other than the heavy duty one I picked up that day along with an Avid. They really have a lot of options in that 150 to 210 range now. 
 

I do think they are starting to phase out the Premier line though, unless the pandemic got them behind. I would love to pick up a spare MH moderate just in case, but the options are way more limited than in the past in the premier line. 

[Deephaven]

SCIII > SCII.

 

The rest of the rod is nearly irrelevant in comparison.  Mojo all the way.  Nothing wrong with the premiers, but you are paying extra for the wrong stuff.

[Wildbillb]

I have premiers that are 20 years old that I still use on every trip out.  Not one failure to date.

[Randy Price]

I'm a SC fanboy admittingly and have/or did own rods in all their lines.  Like an earlier poster said the Premier Line and up are made in WI.  I also was told by a SC employee that the Premier's are better made than the Mojo's but that may be just employee job saving talk too.  The new/newer Mojo Bass rods are made with SC III which is a more sensitive blank than the SC II.  I owned a MB casting rod in the past (it was the 68 Wacky Style rod) and it broke near the tip and it was less than 1 year old.  SC did take care of me and I replaced it with an AVID X (now out of production).  In all honesty it was probably my fault that it broke (in the way I landed the fish) but I've never had another SC rod break in over 20+ years.  I do like supporting American jobs in WI and stop by the factory annually on my musky fishing trip.  I think they make an excellent product in almost every price range and they have excellent CS.

[Boomstick]

The Mojo Bass is sort of like the Victory in the sense that they are made "smarter" with a higher end blank at a cheaper price point. They are made in Mexico, maybe not as well made but have the newer SCIII (like the more expensive Avid line) blank instead of the SCII. Great rods for the price point, especially the medium powers which are nice and light.

 

I think the Victory line is worth the upgrade for the medium heavy or heavier rods, as the Mojos are heavier and are a bit broomstick-like (although not terrible rods) but the Victorys are great with for the price and address the design issues with the heavier Mojo Bass lineup.

 

Just my two cents.

[Bankbeater]

I currently have two Premier casting rods, and one Premier spinning rod.  I had a Mojo casting rod when the first came out.  No matter what bait I was using, or what reel I had on the rod, the Mojo always felt heavy at the tip.  I ended up selling it. 

[YakOrBank]

So I have 3 SC rods paired with 3 shimano reels, here’s a quick run down on my experience.

 
1.) SC 7’ heavy/fast premier with a curado dc 8.1:1 this rod is a horse and can be used for jigs/frogs and it just flat out works. 
 

2.) SC 6’8 Medium/EF mojo bass with a slx mgl 70 8.2:1 I only use this for poppers and the rod is so sensitive it hardly requires a hook set if I drag it across the body as the bait goes under. 
 

3.) SC 7’1 medium/fast bass x with a slx Dc 6.2:1 used for cranks and I absolutely love the rod. Amazing feel to it.

 

sorry for the long winded post haha, get both! Get ‘em all. 

[Abby]

Just got a Mojo rod to try out. Have a couple Premier rods for trout and a heavier one, plus a casting rod. Guessing it will be a great rod too

[Allen Der]

I have some 4 premiers and a few mojos.  premiers are made in wisconsin and are not technique specific.  mojo made in mexico with slightly better graphite and technique specific for bass.  I also like the victory and eyecon rods.  for spinning rod I'd take a eyecon over a mojo bass.  casting mojo.  for multispecies and general purpose use the premiers are great