Cody28

If you already have a bunch of jig rods maybe try something for a technique you don't have a lot of. IMO a jig rod isn't the rod I would choose to go budget on. Thats especially true when you have other rods you like for the technique. When I'm itching that bad to buy something, but need to keep it cheap I have gone for frog rods or other topwater techniques since sensitivity doesn't matter. For example, I picked up an old 7'4" HF Bass X rod for $50 bucks about a month ago specifically for frogs. They're on heavy sales when you can find them due to the new generation coming out. It would rival any $80 rod Ive fished in the past for jigs as well.

You need to be comfortable or you won’t use it enough to keep. If you need another reel in your main line up then I would just take it back. If this is more of a cherry on top reel then I’d say give it a chance. In addition to flipping and pitching, lures that require you engage the reel quick like buzzbaits also do better without having to switch hands, but imo the baits that matter the most are any that require working the rod more than the reel. Walking top waters, poppers, frogs, jerkbaits, flukes, etc. Working the rod with my dominant hand makes it these techniques so much more precise. A lot of people I know will put a lefty reel on just their frog/pitching combo since it benefits both just for different reasons, so maybe you can try that out. For me, I’m all in on the left retrieve.

I own the 7'3" MXF and that thing has a wicked tip on it. Very very soft tip that tosses light lures well, but then transitions into a solid backbone. Since the handle is moved up on this rod it fishes very similar to my 7'0" rods. Please let us know! I love my 7'3" MXF so much Im looking to pick up another in the line up. I was thinking the 6'10" MLXF but keep hearing its too soft as well. I don't know how anything can be too soft for 1/10 oz. ned heads with that super thin exposed hook. A lot of guys throw those on light power rods since the fish nearly hook themselves.

Well thanks for the input. Lucky for me 1-2 oz. is really where Im planning most of this rod's work anyways. I am just more familiar with St. Croix's normal rod lines which are often times under rated. With the 5 year warranty included and my self destructive tinkering, I'll still probably mess around and see if it can handle baits closer to 3 oz. at some point haha.

I know every rod has its sweet spot, but I have a hard time accepting that the rod would be rated for an entire ounce worth of bait above the point it can safely cast. Based on the lures I have casted on it, I would predict 2.5 would be the heaviest I would be comfortable throwing without lobbing. I have not tried this heavy of a lure yet though so its just my educated guess.

It has 8. One less than the Mojo Bass rods, but when building rods there is a “best” number of guides. More is not always better. I think in this case it probably is a cost thing, but who knows. It’s a great rod, but still entry level for swimbaits. In this type of rod especially, I don’t believe it would make much, if any difference though. The rod blank is plenty beefed up enough to handle the pressure of any fish it’s going to hook into even if the pressure isn’t distributed in the perfect dispersion.

So I researched a lot and also contacted St. Croix. At the end of it all, I pulled the trigger on the new Bass X 7'10" HF rated for 3/4-3 oz. The extra heavy falls more in line with what you seem to want being rated 2-5 oz. Apparently the guys over at Hook Up Tackle had a lot of input on the build / taper of the 3 new swim bait rods. They usually focus on very high end gear and seem to really know their stuff. According to them, they thought they were working on a high end rod and were surprised to see it was released in the new bass x line. Also according to St. Croix, the new version SCII blanks rival if not surpass the SCIII blanks for moving baits. They are also less tip heavy. I'm planning to primarily throw A-rigs, 5-6 inch bull shads, and the S-waver 168, but the extra heavy is what you would want if you're going to be throwing the S-waver 200. I would not throw the 168 on that rod though, so if you are looking for a 168 rod, I would definitely go with the heavy version like I did. The hudd you mentioned is also only 2 oz so the heavy is plenty for it. Overall I am very impressed and highly recommend this rod.

I’m in NE Ohio so 5 pounders are a rarity around me as well, but in the area I fish 3 pounders are plentiful and I feel a 3-4 pounder can take the smaller end “big swimbaits” without issue. I’ve always thrown paddle tails but now looking into the 6 inch bull Shad, magdraft, jackall gantarel Jr., etc.

Search with a blade bait, pick apart spots with a drop shot if it’s clear. If it’s cold and muddy you’ll probably need to use a big slow black/blue jig in place of the drop shot. (But honestly cold and muddy don’t go good together) Pick a plastic that is very very soft and don’t work the bait much. The benefit to the drop shot is you can barely work it and keep it suspended in their face without giving it much action. I really like the zman soft plastic jerkbaits for this since they are buoyant. Slow is the name of the game in the cold. Bonus lure if you have the gear: big soft plastic swimbaits barely crawled along bottom. I can’t stress slow enough. Can also be done with the small ones, but have never tried this personally in cold water.

Is the bull Shad worth the price? I really wanna pull the trigger on a 6inch SS bull Shad but have never paid over 25 for a lure and am hesitant.

7’10 HF St. Croix Bass X new model (3/4) to (3) oz lures /// Lew’s Tournament MP LFS, 6.8:1 ratio - A rig and small swim-baits / glide baits 7’4” HF St. Croix Bass X old model (3/8) to (1.5) oz lures /// Lew’s Inshore Speed Spool LFS, 7.5:1 ratio - frog 7’3” MHF St. Croix Victory “The Marshall” Casting Rod (5/16) to (1) oz. lures /// Lew’s Hyper-mag, 8.3:1 ratio - Jigs and T rigs 7’1” MHF St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rod (3/8) to (1) oz. /// Lew’s Tournament MP LFS, 7.5:1 ratio - does it all 7’0” MHMF St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rod (3/8) to (3/4) oz. lures /// Lew’s Tournament Pro LFS, 7.5:1 ratio - bladed jigs 6’8” MXF St. Croix Mojo Bass Casting Rod (1/4) to (5/8) oz. /// Lew’s Tournament MP LFS, 7.5:1 ratio - fluke, jerk bait, poppers 6’11” MM Lew’s TP1x Casting Rod (1/4) to (5/8) oz. lures /// Lew’s Tournament Pro LFS, 6.8:1 ratio - lipless crank and squarebills 7’3” MXF St. Croix Victory Max Tactical Spinning Rod (3/16) to (1/2) oz lures /// Shimano Vanford HG2500 Spinning Reel, 6:1 - does it all finesse 7 ft. MF Lew’s Mach Crush Spinning Rod (3/16) to (5/8) oz lures /// Lew’s Mach Crush Spinning Reel, 6.2:1 ratio. - extra rod that doesn’t get much use anymore. Nice when fishing with friends or family. 7 ft. MLF St. Croix Premier Spinning Rod (1/8) to (1/2) oz lures /// Shimano Sahara 6.2:1 ratio - drop shot and ned rig I’m sure I will forever be tweaking this set up, but I finally feel it’s complete.

I've never owned the SCII version but I have a 2 piece SCIII version and for some reason the 2 piece model has a much softer tip than the 1 piece. It too works great for these applications as well.

I’m hoping this thread can be a place for people to post and share the gear they’ve found that are hidden gems or just surprisingly good. Whether that’s a specific rod action/power in a particular line up or a reel people look past. Lures, line, etc. are welcome too. I’ll go first. I got the idea when I got the 7’3” MXF St. Croix Victory spinning rod in my hands. This rod has such a crazy tip on it that makes it very unique and extremely versatile. If you wanna throw typical medium power rod techniques, great this is perfect, but if you wanna also throw stuff you’d throw on a ML rod, also great. This tip is so soft and so fast that it acts like a much lighter power rod when thrown light lures because it never has to even get to the meat of the rod. Just kinda flicks it out there. Plus if you choke up on spinning rods like me, the handle feels like it was made custom to yours hand. Very unique rod. Very impressed. If you only want to carry 1 spinning rod this is the one. Addition: I'd also like to add that the St. Croix Mojo Bass 7'0" MHMF Spinnerbait Rod is the PERFECT bladed jig rod for your typical 3/8 oz lures and no one seems to give it the respect it deserves.

For lighter rigs would 30 lb work? Or would you recommend something more like 50 lb?

Have you seen this type of crack become an issue?

I recently bought a St. Croix Victory 7’3” MXF spinning rod and there’s a small crack in the cork where it meets the reel seat (see photo). Could this turn into a problem? I know it’s small, but I’ve never had a crack in any of my cork, so I was wondering if this is something that could run or even loosen the connection to the reel seat. Sorry if I’m just being dramatic haha. Side note: I ordered from TW and they do have a good return policy.

Could be some tiny detail I guess. Seems weird when the rod is rated for lighter lures.

5 inch caffeine Shad on a 5/0 heavy wire EWG hook. Extremely weedless. Heavy hook and bait gives it just enough weight to sling it. Has the perfect wiggle on the fall just like a weightless senko. Still a great reaction lure when fished traditionally. This lure never leaves its assigned rod.

After reading this post + now that I have some Christmas money I’ve been thinking about grabbing an A Rig swim bait rod as well. Sorry to piggy back off your post but I was curious if anyone has on water experience with the new Bass X swimbait rods or the Mojo A-rig/swimbait rod. They’re the same power and action plus the mojo is only 10 more bucks. Any thoughts?

Very helpful as a whole, but some of these suggestions are a bit confusing. For example, what would make the 73MHF good for soft plastic heavy flipping, but not good for soft plastic light flipping when the rod is rated lighter than other rods that are suggested for light flipping like the 73HMF.

I’d love to snow bird it one day between St. Clair and Central Florida.

Top 5 overall 1. SK Caffeine Shad rigged weightless in baby bass 2. 3/8 oz. Jackhammer in GP (sorry for being basic) 3. 3/8 oz. T-rigged SK Rage Bug in summer craw 4. 1/8 oz. Ned rig TRD Ticklerz in hot snakes 5. Bill Lewis Rattle Trap - wayyyy better than SK Red Eye shad no matter what anyone says Additional Favorites in those categories Crank - Spro RK Crawler any color TW - Googan Squad Blooper (surprisingly good) Worm - SK Ocho Creature - GY Hula Grub (if that even counts) Spinnerbait - 1/2 oz. SK Burner (But honestly prefer bladed jig or swim jig in these situations)

I got a Garmin Striker 4cv for Christmas and want to put it on my front trolling motor. It appears that it will fit, but part of the transducer will be blocked by the fin of the trolling motor. Will this be a problem? Not sure why they made the transducer so long. I have never ran into this problem before, since this is the first boat I have had with a bow mounted trolling motor. In the past I have just mounted them to the boat itself.

It’s just much lighter and I don’t have experience with it personally. I know it’s stronger but man it feels thin on the reel.