Hello everyone, 

This is my first post on this site. I'm looking for some help. Last week I went to dicks sporting goods and purchased a 7'1" Medium fast action St Croix MOJO BASS baitcasting rod. And I paired the rod with my Lew's Tournament MB Speed Spool and the casting distance significantly dropped. Like its horrible. So I switched to my shimano curado and the same thing happened. But if I put these reels on my abu garcia vengeance 6'9" Medium Heavy they cast perfectly fine, almost triple the distance. I am using the rod within the specifications. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Both of these reels are not even 1 month old thanks!

- Colin

1 hour ago, NJBassAngler3 said:

I put these reels on my abu garcia vengeance 6'9" Medium Heavy they cast perfectly fine, almost triple the distance.

I guess everyone should buy abu garcia vengeance rods? Triple the distance works for me. 

Seriously the difference in the rods is not going to double the distance and for sure not going to triple it unless something else is different. Same spec rods with same exact line and lure should be fairly close in distance. I understand one is a 6'9" Medium Heavy and the other is 7'1" Medium fast but that doesn't measure out to triple distance. Are you sure you didn't miss a eye when threading the St Croix MOJO rod? 

24 minutes ago, S. Sass said:

 Are you sure you didn't miss a eye when threading the St Croix MOJO rod? 

That's what I was thinking.  St. Croix are a little heavier than their stated power, so also could be too light a bait.  Could be a chipped guide, too.  A Q-tip rubbed on each guide will reveal any hidden issues.

Might help to specify what model Mojo and weight lure you are trying to throw. Could be too light of lure for too powerful of a rod.

Appreciate all the insight, yes I have it through all the guides, I thought maybe too light of a lure as well the rod is designed for plastics I've tried throwing kvd elastic worms, with or without 3/8 ounce weight added made a slight distance I've tried craw dad's by zoom, creature baits, even Texas rigs but still not as good as a $50.00 abu garcia rod. Thank you guys.

That's got to be a casting technique issue.  There's no reason that similar rods would vary so much in distance.

Could be a faulty flux capacitor.

1 hour ago, deaknh03 said:

Could be a faulty flux capacitor.

That's what I was thinking -

Either that or the Gongulator is completely out of wack !

A-Jay

 

A 7'1" medium power rod should allow you to cast a little further than a 6'9" MH and I have to believe the problem is in your technique. perhaps the longer rod is causing you make a slower swing or it may make you hesitate a little. I know when I ventured into 7' rods for the first time they didn't hinder my casting like you experienced , but it did take me a bit to get my accuracy better with it.

Checking the guides and weight rating on the rod and matching is important as well as the brake settings on your reel.

 

One other detail - what's the action on the Abu rod versus the St Croix?  A slower action rod is much easier/slower to load and can act as a catapult for lures on the light end of the spectrum wheras a faster action isn't going to give you the slow cushion/slow catapult cast.  

1 hour ago, deaknh03 said:

Could be a faulty flux capacitor.

I was thinking a faulty throw-out bearing in the blank.

the rod could be cracked. i had a rod that was cracked from an accident and i didnt know it.. i had inspected the rod but didnt see the crack. next time i went fishing i noticed the casting distance and feel was off.. about 5 cast and the rod snapped.

Did you buy the optional casting module?

I see this page has a lot of comic relief? anyway thanks for the help maybe it's something that takes getting used to.

Got any buddies that could give her a cast? That should tell you if something is wrong with the rod.

18 hours ago, A-Jay said:

That's what I was thinking -

Either that or the Gongulator is completely out of wack !

A-Jay

 

AH, The Gongulator - did they manage to recover that from the Stalag?

Just now, Preytorien said:

AH, The Gongulator - did they manage to recover that from the Stalag?

Why yes - Sargent Shultz was sitting on it - though he did claim to "Know Nothing"

A-Jay

I know when I change rods my casting mechanics don't quite catch up as quickly, so I lose some distance until I get used to it a bit more. Also I've noticed using different lines can affect it. If I switch between a braid and flouro and mono rigs with all their stretch differences, the lures load differently and cast differently. Give it some time and see if it improves. I guess you could always return it?

With everything being the same using 2 different reels the problem is the guide train. Casting difference between  6'9" MH and 7'1 M, the 7'1" M should cast easier or a little more fore giving regarding release point. Suggest taking the rod back and try a different rod.

Tom

Like others said it is probably user error, I too can a little difference changing to a new rod, twice the distance is a little questionable, but I hget your drift. One thing is fer sure, any rod you buy for a specific type of fishing you should give yourself a little time to get used top it, and the last thing I would tell anyone is to forget trying to learn how to use any new piece of tackle. I think we all know we can cast a wally world $29.00 sportco rod better than 1/2 the distance of our Custom Rods,,,,, I can assure even the Mexico built Croix's will do better than those!!  

Check guide alignment, and see they are in line with the seat, and make sure there are no bad rings, get er out and get acquainted, that rod will cast as far as your other rod once you find what it likes!! 

I'm seeing a bunch of these kinds of posts lately, not just with St, Croix but just finding fault with a particular brand and it being something stupid while referencing another brand that is just fine..