Feedback Requested - St. Croix Legend Tournament Series

[Chris Shonefeld]

Happy Sunday,

 

Thank you all in advance!! Would really appreciate your honest input.

 

Questions:

1. What is your experience with St Croix Legend Tournament series and how do they compare to other series/brands regardless of price point? 
2. Do you have experience with “The Workhorse” and/or “The Power Glass Cranker” from the 2022 St. Croix Legend Series? Thoughts?
3. If you’ve tried the St. Croix Legend Series, is there a brand/series you like more that is at the same price point? Why? 

 

Background (no need to read but posting for additional info):

I recently picked up my first Legend Tournament rods, “The Workhorse” and “Power Glass Cranker”, from FB Marketplace and haven’t had a chance to try them (still pretty cold in MN)

 

The nicest rods I’ve used is from the Dobyn’s Champion lineup and absolutely love them. As excited as I am to try out the Legend Tournaments series, I’ve been wondering what people thought of the St. Croix Legend Tournament series and how the series compares to other series/brands. I’ve watched all sorts of YouTube videos on gear reviews, read a bunch of blogs, but it’s hard to know if a lot of these people are sponsored and by who. It’s also nice to have the chance to interact with the people who post and ask any follow-up questions.

 

I also know this is subjective but I am the type of person who loves to gather as much info as I can when doing my research. I’d love to hear this groups opinions, the good and the bad! 

 

Like many of you, this definitely isn’t my last rod purchase (much to my fiancé’s dismay) and your input will help influence those future purchases (and hopefully my placement in some of this year’s Kayak tournaments!!) 

[A-Jay]

I have been fishing several LTB sticks for a while.

For my money, I do not need anything better.

Every one is a pleasure to fish and I like mine quite a bit. 

 

LTB vs Victory rod _ on the water review

https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=1728

 

Power glass cranker review~

https://youtu.be/zvzjcAI4Fxg?feature=shared

 

A-Jay

 

[Big Rick]

Once the mods relocate this thread to the proper place I'm sure you'll get a ton of responses. A lot of members here use these rods. 

[steves191145]

I have the "workhorse" paired to a daiwa zillion sv tw and it's my most used combo.  Love the sensitivity and the build quality. I also have the "jerk"  the " finesse carbon cranker" and in spinning the " power finesse". All great Rods  and my personal favorite lineup but everybody's preferences are diffrent.

[NorcalBassin]

I have a few of them and have been very happy with them. Shimano Exprides are excellent in the vicinity of the same price point and Megabass Levante is fairly comparable at a lower price point, but it's tough to put a price on made in the USA and the great warranty.

[gim]

I am generally happy with the st croix line of rods, including the tournament series. Some of their rods have a varying warranty but I believe the legends are a lifetime one.

 

I also have the mojo and premiers.

[MickD]

The Legend SCV70MF is one of the favorite rods of my son, his wife, and me.  I think I've made 5 of them for us.  Mostly used for tubes and similar finesse. 

[Chris Shonefeld]

4 hours ago, Big Rick said:

Once the mods relocate this thread to the proper place I'm sure you'll get a ton of responses. A lot of members here use these rods. 

Dang it! My bad. Thanks for the heads up. Where should I have posted it? 

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, Chris Shonefeld said:

Dang it! My bad. Thanks for the heads up. Where should I have posted it? 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/12-fishing-rods-reels-line-and-knots/

 

A-Jay

[Chris Shonefeld]

43 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/12-fishing-rods-reels-line-and-knots/

 

A-Jay

Do you know if there is a way to switch the forum myself? I tried to edit but didn’t see that as an option. Any suggestions?

8 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I have been fishing several LTB sticks for a while.

For my money, I do not need anything better.

Every one is a pleasure to fish and I like mine quite a bit. 

 

LTB vs Victory rod _ on the water review

https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=1728

 

Power glass cranker review~

https://youtu.be/zvzjcAI4Fxg?feature=shared

 

A-Jay

 

@A-Jayfunny enough I’ve actually watched both of these before. Thank for the video and thanks for sharing in this thread. Definitely helped me make the decision to purchase the legend tournaments. 

[TexasGunSlinger]

The guides on the 7’3” workhorse are tiny. I always use braid to Fluor with a Alberto knot and the tiny guides look like they will cause casting issues due to the Alberto know, but no issues so far. The reel seat but is awesome, as is the cork of reel seat. I like the lure range of 5/16 - 1 oz as well. This is my “jig and worm” rod as I’m primarily concerned with lure weight when it comes to jigs. I have a nrx + but the workhorse sees as much action if not more.

[Junk Fisherman]

I have a couple and they are nice rods.  I got them at a significant discount and would not pay full price for them.  I like my Dobyns Champion rods which are in the same ballpark pricewise better.  

[buzzinfrog]

I bought the Warhorse model over the summer and will never buy another St.Croix rod. Build quality was quite poor for the cost (crooked guides, uneven epoxy) and it was very tip heavy with a Zillion mounted on it. Rod also broke the second day I had it while under a moderate load to check the action. Their customer service was then terrible to deal with. I had to go to the BBB to get any sort of a response.

I sold the replacement as soon as I got it and lost $50+ on the deal. I'll be sticking with Alpha angler and ALX from now on.

[Zcoker]

I have the Dobyns Champion rods and, like you, luv them for basic lure fishing. I also have a St Croix Legend Tournament 7.4 heavy/fast. That rod is over $300 and is one of the nicest rods I've used to get the fish out of heavy cover down here in south Florida. I rely on it daily to pull 8-10 pounders from the thickest stuff imaginable. When one of those big bass hits on the drop, it's total combat fishing to the max and a good rod is a must! The Legend Tournament has proved itself to take abuse like no other and is why I give it my highest ranking. 

[Randy Price]

I have five or six SC LT rods both in spinning and casting.  They are GREAT rods, American made and have an excellent warranty!!!

[msgf91]

6 hours ago, Zcoker said:

I have the Dobyns Champion rods and, like you, luv them for basic lure fishing. I also have a St Croix Legend Tournament 7.4 heavy/fast. That rod is over $300 and is one of the nicest rods I've used to get the fish out of heavy cover down here in south Florida. I rrelyely on it daily to pull 8-10 pounders from the thickest stuff imaginable. When one of those big bass hits on the drop, it's total combat fishing to the max and a good rod is a must! The Legend Tournament has proved itself to take abuse like no other and is why I give it my highest ranking. 

I have the 7'4 H also, that's a good way to describe it, total combat rod. I use mine mostly as a heavy reaction bait rod. I might also try "light" swimbaits this spring with it. 

[Jmurphy87]

I have owned 2 and still have one of them. I had the workhorse and used it for a little bit of everything and it was really good at it all. Normal st croix sensitivity that is precise and clean, that is one thing that I will say about st croix rods is that there on point sensitivity wise and have good components, warranty and are extremely tough and durable. The only one that I have now is the jerk bait model and I have not had any catches on it so far, although I bought it in the middle of winter. But I have took it out and casted it and it’s spot on for what I wanted, at the price point it’s a good value.

[MiceNReets]

12 hours ago, buzzinfrog said:

I bought the Warhorse model over the summer and will never buy another St.Croix rod. Build quality was quite poor for the cost (crooked guides, uneven epoxy) and it was very tip heavy with a Zillion mounted on it. Rod also broke the second day I had it while under a moderate load to check the action. Their customer service was then terrible to deal with. I had to go to the BBB to get any sort of a response.

I sold the replacement as soon as I got it and lost $50+ on the deal. I'll be sticking with Alpha angler and ALX from now on.

really surprised you’ve had bad customer service with st croix.   The few times I’ve contacted them for warranty/out of warranty (all my fault) they’ve always been a delight to chat with and always go above and beyond.   I’ve always thought st croix should teach companies about customer service.    Even calling them to ask questions they’ve been quick to answer and a pleasure to deal with.     🤷🏻‍♂️ 

 

anyways I got the jerkbait rod that I’m looking forward to using when the ice melts.  

[FishTank]

I have the 7'4'' MH Power Glass Cranker and it has been fantastic. The build quality is excellent. It loads and casts well. No real complaints. I am not sure as to what other rod to compare it to. It's just a good all around rod that gets the job done. 

[PBBrandon]

I have the 6’10” MLXF “dropshot finesse”, the 7’3” HXF “power finesse”, and the 7’2” MHM “carbon cranker” models. All 3 are phenomenal rods and priced well. They perform on par with my similarly priced Expride and Tatula Elite AGS rods. Really good cork, comfortable to hold, and the blue color looks fantastic on them

[Zcoker]

13 hours ago, msgf91 said:

I have the 7'4 H also, that's a good way to describe it, total combat rod. I use mine mostly as a heavy reaction bait rod. I might also try "light" swimbaits this spring with it. 

It’s a nice swimbait rod because the tip action is not too stiff, not too soft. I’ve used it for swimbaits but after a while switch back to combat fishing lol. It’s also a great frog rod.  

[Randy Price]

I've been a SC fan since 2000.  I purchased my first "nice" rod a Premier.  Since then I have bought probably 30-40 SC rods.  Having said that I continue to grab either an AVID, LTB or Legend Elite 99% of the time.  I bought 4 of the Legend Extreme's when they came out and still have 1-2 I think.  I wasn't as impressed with them as others may have been.  IMHO it's just hard to beat an AVID for the money.  

[fatbo50]

On 2/18/2024 at 4:48 PM, steves191145 said:

I have the "workhorse" paired to a daiwa zillion sv tw and it's my most used combo.  Love the sensitivity and the build quality. I also have the "jerk"  the " finesse carbon cranker" and in spinning the " power finesse". All great Rods  and my personal favorite lineup but everybody's preferences are diffrent.

What’s the heaviest lure you’d cast on the finesse carbon cranker?