Musky Rods: St. Croix Continues To Impress

Last updated on October 18th, 2019 at 09:54 pm

During this past summer, I fished with what was possibly the worst musky rod that I have ever used, as well as what was likely one of the best musky rods I have ever used. Today, I’ll detail my experience with a new St. Croix and tell you why they continue to be some of the best musky rods available for sale today.

Not All Musky Rods Are Not Created Equal

While attending a University of Green Bay Musky School in 2016, a student had asked me to test out the musky rod he had bought specifically for that trip. It was a well-known brand, but having never cast a musky rod of that brand I took him up on his offer. The muskie rod loaded nicely and cast rather well, even if it was a bit “tipsy” for my liking.

Once I tried doing a figure-8 with this muskie rod, I was shocked with the musky rod’s very poor performance. In addition to the musky rods soft tip flexing too much to properly handle the big lure, the muskie rod labored through the cold water so much so that I wasn’t sure if I could finish the figure-8. And here we stood on the waters of Green Bay, where over 40 percent of muskie catches tend to come from a figure-8 if done properly. A figure-8 made with that musky rod was simply too much work. I gave the musky rod back to the naive student right after that single cast, told him I thought it was an OK muskie rod, and happily returned to my own musky rods.

Muskie Rods From St. Croix

The problem with inferior muskie rods is that rod “drag” while in the water comes from both too-soft of a tip flexing, and also from there being a wider musky fishing rod diameter and line guides. Bigger muskie rod blanks and components are not nearly as streamlined and therefore they can’t “cut” the water effectively.

St. Croix Rods revolutionized the muskie fishing world several years ago when they introduced the Legend Tournament muskie rod series. Fishermen soon learned that St. Croix’s proprietary (ART) Advanced Reinforcing Technology, (IPC) Integrated Poly Curve and (FRS) Fortified Resin System make a huge difference.

St. Croix Legend Elite Musky Rods

St. Croix raised the bar even further during the 2015 sport and fishing show season by introducing the all new Legend Elite musky rods series. Tiger musky anglers who saw the new musky rods were thrilled at how much more “action” the muskie rods appeared to have, along with how much lighter in weight they were compared to previous Legend Tournament musky rod models. The fishing actions of the new St. Croix Elite musky rods were even faster.

More “action” means that the St. Croix Legend Elite musky rods take less effort to cast. A quicker fishing action equates to easier casting effort, and also allows for easier bait or lure manipulation, more reliable hooksets and significantly decreased drag in the water. Due to it’s lighter weight, you will be less fatigued on a long fishing day. The St. Croix Legend Elite muskie rods add better guides, a higher grade graphite, and FRS and ART features that are also on the St. Croix Legend Tournament rods.

Musky Rods: Top Choice

Now, whenever I tiger musky fish, I find that I subconsciously reach for the St. Croix Legend Elites before others. This is most likely due to their add action and lighter weight, which makes them simply more fun to muskie fish with. Also, in some instances, a tiger muskie strike felt like my bait simply getting “heavy”, so fishing with a more sensitive musky rod helped to successfully catch these light-hitting muskies.

The St. Croix Legend Elite musky rods do have a hefty, but worth it, price tag. Each musky angler must decide for themselves whether the benefits of the St. Croix Legend Elite are worth the extra cash. In my opinion, they absolutely are. The wide use and acceptance of the St. Croix Legend Tournament muskie series is what inspired the folks of St. Croix to come out with an even better muskie rod, which they have no doubt succeeded with the St. Croix Legend Elite. Without a doubt, St. Croix has raised the bar yet again and set a new standard for musky rods.