Ok, a bit of a rant on an otherwise awesome product - St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass spinning rod. Love the blank, guides, etc... but I am not a fan at all of the grip. It's minimalist, thin ... and your fingers are all basically on graphite, threads, etc. Not comfortable at rest and much worse when you set the hook or fight a decent fish in current.

Best spinning rod grips IMO are either Fenwick Elite Bass, or second - St. Croix AvidX. So, when I bought my Legend Bass, I spent the extra $75 to have a custom handle/grip put on. Was great for the two years I had it then my father-in-law stepped on it this Fall and broke the top 10 inches off.

So I'm going to send the broken rod back to St. Croix and pay the $75 to get a replacement. But then I have the skimpy grip again. I guess I could have another custom grip put on but don't want to spend yet another $75 if I don't have to.

Have thought about wrapping the lacking grip area with some really good tape - like Lizard Skin or something like that. Lizard Skin is for baseball bats so I'm not sure it would work for the rod. Does anyone have any quality tape recommendation that I might want to try? Open to any/all suggestions - thanks!

I believe Aaron Martens used to add foam to older Megabass rods because he disliked the exposed blank /w no foregrip as well. I don't remember the video but it may have been his DS video where he talks about altering it. You could try that route. 

Thanks, makes me feel a little better when maybe the best finesse fishing pro on the circuit doesn't like these "feel the blank thread" and "crush your fingers on hook set" rod grips either...

There are plenty of different wrapping tapes out there to choose from.   BPS sells an aftermarket rod wrap that is pretty good.   Walmart sometimes carries a rod wrap and also in the tennis section handle wrap is available.    Any decent bicycle store will have a variety of handle bar wraps.   They all work ok.   Stretch them out real tight and pay attention to how you wrap them and you can customize your rod handle to fit your hand.   Be aware on spinning gear when you remove the reel from the rod you'll have to unwind or cut off the wrap - not a big deal.   Most of my rods have handle wrap on them for a couple of different reasons.   One, I like the feel of the rod wrap compared to the plain cork or foam.

Secondly, I can build it up so that it fits my hand the way I like it.   Thirdly,  I can color code different types of rods, i.e.  plastics & jig rods have grey handles.   Spinnerbait rods have teal handles.   Crank rods have red handles and so forth.

 

I've never tried the lizard skin, but there isn't any reason it wouldn't work.

Yonex is what I used for my one rod. I bought it at DICKS SPORTING GOODS for 10 bucks. It was In the baseball section. I've tried lizard skin too that works too.

Winn Grips makes tape now also.

 

http://www.mudhole.com/Winn-Rod-Overwrap

Ok, a bit of a rant on an otherwise awesome product - St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass spinning rod. Love the blank, guides, etc... but I am not a fan at all of the grip. It's minimalist, thin ... and your fingers are all basically on graphite, threads, etc. Not comfortable at rest and much worse when you set the hook or fight a decent fish in current.

Best spinning rod grips IMO are either Fenwick Elite Bass, or second - St. Croix AvidX. So, when I bought my Legend Bass, I spent the extra $75 to have a custom handle/grip put on. Was great for the two years I had it then my father-in-law stepped on it this Fall and broke the top 10 inches off.

So I'm going to send the broken rod back to St. Croix and pay the $75 to get a replacement. But then I have the skimpy grip again. I guess I could have another custom grip put on but don't want to spend yet another $75 if I don't have to.

Have thought about wrapping the lacking grip area with some really good tape - like Lizard Skin or something like that. Lizard Skin is for baseball bats so I'm not sure it would work for the rod. Does anyone have any quality tape recommendation that I might want to try? Open to any/all suggestions - thanks!

 

I know what you mean. One of my rods broke a few weeks back. A replacement arrived a few days ago.

 

I had spent some money having an extended full cork grip installed on the rod. I didn't want to go thru the BS of sending the replacement rod out for a grip job and paying for it. I sold it last night on ebay.

I'll replace it with a rod that has the features I want.

I know what you mean. One of my rods broke a few weeks back. A replacement arrived a few days ago.

I had spent some money having an extended full cork grip installed on the rod. I didn't want to go thru the BS of sending the replacement rod out for a grip job and paying for it. I sold it last night on ebay.

I'll replace it with a rod that has the features I want.

I thought about that too - or, do you think St. Croix would take my Legend Bass back + $75 and in exchange send me the slightly less expensive AvidX back. It has a much better grip...

A qualified Rod builder can splice the broken Rod making it good as new. Probably for less than $75. St croix blanks are available to have just what you want put on it. I hardly ever use a fore grip anymore on bass rods, but the excess threads are trimmed off the seat and a ramp or check is in place.

I thought about that too - or, do you think St. Croix would take my Legend Bass back + $75 and in exchange send me the slightly less expensive AvidX back. It has a much better grip...

 

I would call them to discuss. 

 

St Croix is a good company. I'd bet they would send you the rod you want and for good reason. If not pay for the exchange and sell the rod like I did. 

Mine hit ebay and was sold in less than 2 hours. I shipped it out today. I'm buying another IKE. 

A qualified Rod builder can splice the broken Rod making it good as new. Probably for less than $75. St croix blanks are available to have just what you want put on it. I hardly ever use a fore grip anymore on bass rods, but the excess threads are trimmed off the seat and a ramp or check is in place.

 

I measured the broken tip and its closer to 7 inches...  is it really possible to splice that tip back together like new?  

I would be getting the Winn Tape: looks pretty good.

I measured the broken tip and its closer to 7 inches...  is it really possible to splice that tip back together like new?  

The repair would be visually noticeable, but not in an obtrusive way if done right. It should fish like new or very close.

The repair would be visually noticeable, but not in an obtrusive way if done right. It should fish like new or very close.

Good to know, what is approx cost to repair... and of course shipping 2 ways?  Thx..

The repair is about $30 depending on exact circumstances. Shipping is the killer (about $15 each way).

Go to any tennis club and ask the receptionist nicely if you can just feel the grips on the tennis handles. Find one you like and ask which one it is and then go buy it. I'm sure you can probably do this at a bicycle store as well. 

It's pretty important to actually try out the grips yourself as there are a ton of options out there and everything is different. Btw, why not call St. Croix and ask them for a different handle? Loomis and other companies can change things up for free or for a small fee. 

I go to my local sporting good store and get baseball bat grip, I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head but it's awesome! Super comfortable and doesn't get slippery like Winn grips do!

I have Lizard Skins bar tape on my high-end road bike, and I love it. It's about $30, but is the best. It's smooth but not slippery, even in the rain, and has a luxurious feel and a nice look. I would not hesitate to put that on my rods, and I might even get the guy at my bike shop to put it on so it's perfect.

 

An alternative is to use technique specific shrink wrap designed to fix damaged handles, like ForeCast™ X-flock or the products from MudHole.com