Daiwa Tatula or St. Croix Premier Spinning (or Screw it and get the Tatula XT)

[MediumMouthBass]

3 hours ago, Smiththebat said:

I honestly don’t have a dog in the fight but from what I’ve gathered it seems to be most of the non-American made St. Croix rods that have had quality issues. This is just a theory but it’s a trend I’ve noticed. I can’t find a lot of people complaining about their Premiers or Avids or Legends… but also maybe I’m just not looking.

Usually when a company moves production to Mexico (like most of the rods from St Croix now) they are doing it to cut costs, not make improvements on quality..... Which can easily explain the issues many guys are talking about now.

 

However the American made rods like the Premier or Avid i havent heard a single bad thing about. They seem good to go from the quick research i just did on them, i would go down to your local shop and try handling each rod you are interested in. Only you will be able to feel which rod is right for you, and it might not even be one of the rods you asked about.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Between the Tatula and Premier, I think the Tatula has it beat in every department other than possibly customer service, as SCs pretty good for the most part and I've never experienced Daiwas cust service. 

The Tatula is more comfortable in hand, particularly if you have a high grip on the rod.(all or most fingers above the reel stem)

The New Tatulas are actually going with an A O guide instead of the Fazlites of the older model, which is a downgrade IMO.

The 2pc Tatula will be slightly heavier than the 1pc, but Daiwa knows how to make a great multipiece rod.  

SC has certainly had some issues over the past few years.  I was really sad to them change the guide train on one of the most well-loved rod lines out there, being Avid Inshore.  IDC what kind of coating you put on SS, its not going to be as light or corrosion resistant as Ti.  Some of their new lines are kind of gimmicky.  The tri grip mojos are like a novelty.  Its already been done before on big game rods to increase comfort on long fights.  It was found the points of the triangle cause hotspots in your hand after prolonged fights, but that shouldn't be an issue with LM and SMB.

One nice thing about SC is that they have dramatically improved the balance of their rods when you compare the current lines to ones made in the early 2ks.

It really comes down to which one feels better to you.

     

[PhishLI]

I've had nothing but good luck with my 2pc Tat XTs. Lots of very solid fish plus a few jumbos in the mix.