Hi all, 

In the market for a Jig/Chatterbait rod.

I chose these rods since they have a long, full handle. I have a Avid X with a broken guide that I am considering to use for the Gold program with St.Croix to upgrade to the Legend Elite.
 

Considering the following:

* Phenix Bass Recon Elite Casting Rod 7'6" Heavy

* Phenix Bass Recon Elite Casting Rod 7'9" Heavy

* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy

Legend Elite would cost me: 280 USD

Phenix would cost me: 200-210 USD (I could sell the Avid X additionally, not sure though how much I could get for it...)

What are you guys thinking?

Thanks!

That St Croix is a class above that Phenix. No question go with the Croix.

Wondering if should also consider the St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'6" Med Hvy...

Not sure if a heavy or a medium heavy would be better for my purposes..

THoughts?

the Phenix recon Elite 7'6'' heavy and 7'9'' heavy are flipping rods ! i would go with the 7'6'' MH .

I have a St. Croix Legend Elite MH Fast jig rod and it's phenomenal.  Everything from the blank, quality of guides, cork, and craftsmanship are all excellent.  I got mine as a warranty/trade in after I snapped a tip on a Rage for something like $150-$200.  It's easily the best jig rod I've ever fished.  Also, mind you, the MH will cover most jig and worm applications exceedingly well.  I know nothing about the Phoenix, but I will recommend a Legend Elite to anyone who likes a full cork handle and is willing to spend the money.

Try the Dobyns champion 736cb. $170 on Dobyns website under mislabeled rods. I have one and I like it a lot.  

 

http://dobynsrods.com/store/#!/DC-736CB-GLASS-labeled-DC-735CB-GLASS/p/78078711/category=22175368

St Croix all the way.  I agree you should probably go with a medium heavy if you want the rod to pull double duty.  

I have two 7' LEC70MHF rods and they are wonderful.  Unless your trying to punch the mh will be the ticket.  I have an avid 74hf and that rod is very powerful.  I do frog and punch with it.  If your dealing with heavy cover the heavy is sweet but way overkill for most of the year.

9 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

I have a St. Croix Legend Elite MH Fast jig rod and it's phenomenal.  Everything from the blank, quality of guides, cork, and craftsmanship are all excellent.  I got mine as a warranty/trade in after I snapped a tip on a Rage for something like $150-$200.  It's easily the best jig rod I've ever fished.  Also, mind you, the MH will cover most jig and worm applications exceedingly well.  I know nothing about the Phoenix, but I will recommend a Legend Elite to anyone who likes a full cork handle and is willing to spend the money.

 

3 hours ago, RichF said:

St Croix all the way.  I agree you should probably go with a medium heavy if you want the rod to pull double duty.  

 

3 hours ago, Angry John said:

I have two 7' LEC70MHF rods and they are wonderful.  Unless your trying to punch the mh will be the ticket.  I have an avid 74hf and that rod is very powerful.  I do frog and punch with it.  If your dealing with heavy cover the heavy is sweet but way overkill for most of the year.

Thanks guys!

Ok, going to look closer at the MH as well then.

I am planning to throw anything from 1/2 oz - 1.5 oz with the rod (most of the time Jigs, other single hook lures). I want a longer rod than 7', also the handle needs to be at least 16inches long. 

So that leaves me in essence with:

* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy
* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'6" Med Hvy 

The heavy is more of a punching rod? The 7'6'' has a moderate taper? Never fished such a taper for jigs. What are the pros and cons of such taper for the applications that I am looking for?

Thanks again.

The 7'4 heavy is more of a frog/swim jig rod.  I have a 7'4 H Avid X and I actually like it  a lot for 1/2 to 3/4oz jigs. I can tell it would be a very good frog rod too.  Personally, I wouldn't punch with it.  I also have a 7'6 med heavy moderate fast Rage. I tried a few things with it but never found a solid use for it.  I briefly used it for 5" paddle tail swimbaits (keel weighted hooks). It worked ok for that.  I tried swing heads with it and again, it was just ok.  I also pitched t-rigged plastics with it.  That was the best use but the rod was just a bit clunky for my liking.  The extra give of the mod-fast taper will be good for bladed jigs. 

 

Personally, I don't mind a mod-fast taper for jigs.  One of my favorite jig rods is my 7'6 Kistler heavy mod-fast Helium.    

.5oz to 1.5oz is a huge range to cover with one rod.  Jigs are best fished on a fast rod.  The problem is that the faster action a rod, the more narrow it's weight rating, typically favoring lighter weights.  For example, lets assume that all of the following action rods weight rating begins around 3/8 - 1/2 oz.  A med heavy x fast may rate up to 7/8 oz, a med heavy fast may rate up to 1 1/8 oz and a med heavy moderate crank bait rod may rate up to 1 1/2 oz.  It would obviously not be worth buying a rod designed for crankbaits for jig fishing just because it gives you a larger envelope for weight.   

 

 Also, specific reason you need a 16" handle?

46 minutes ago, RichF said:

The 7'4 heavy is more of a frog/swim jig rod.  I have a 7'4 H Avid X and I actually like it  a lot for 1/2 to 3/4oz jigs. I can tell it would be a very good frog rod too.  Personally, I wouldn't punch with it.  I also have a 7'6 med heavy moderate fast Rage. I tried a few things with it but never found a solid use for it.  I briefly used it for 5" paddle tail swimbaits (keel weighted hooks). It worked ok for that.  I tried swing heads with it and again, it was just ok.  I also pitched t-rigged plastics with it.  That was the best use but the rod was just a bit clunky for my liking.  The extra give of the mod-fast taper will be good for bladed jigs. 

 

Personally, I don't mind a mod-fast taper for jigs.  One of my favorite jig rods is my 7'6 Kistler heavy mod-fast Helium.    

I have a different rod for frogs, so I think I want to specialize this rod for Jigs (and occasionally other things like chatterbaits, paddle tail swimbaits, spinnerbaits).

So, it seems like a MH - H might be the better: so these two options :
* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'1" Med Hvy

* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy

 

36 minutes ago, Turkey sandwich said:

.5oz to 1.5oz is a huge range to cover with one rod.  Jigs are best fished on a fast rod.  The problem is that the faster action a rod, the more narrow it's weight rating, typically favoring lighter weights.  For example, lets assume that all of the following action rods weight rating begins around 3/8 - 1/2 oz.  A med heavy x fast may rate up to 7/8 oz, a med heavy fast may rate up to 1 1/8 oz and a med heavy moderate crank bait rod may rate up to 1 1/2 oz.  It would obviously not be worth buying a rod designed for crankbaits for jig fishing just because it gives you a larger envelope for weight.   

 

 Also, specific reason you need a 16" handle?

I have a Daiwa Steez XT Casting Rod 7' Med Hvy that I can use to throw lighter jigs and Trigged plastics. The sensitivity on the rod is ok, hence I would like to get a top of the line rod for heavier jigs (1/2 oz - 1 oz jigs with trailer). 

I prefer a longer handle because it just gives me a bit more control when setting the hook. 

If you're going to use it mostly for jigs, I would choose the 7'4 over the med heavy.  But I also prefer to be over powered on just about everything.

Hate to say it but the rod your looking for is the mb XX perfect pitch.

54 minutes ago, Angry John said:

Hate to say it but the rod your looking for is the mb XX perfect pitch.

Why is that?

Isnt the rod more for pitching (as the name implies)? 

2 hours ago, freelancer27 said:

Why is that?

Isnt the rod more for pitching (as the name implies)? 

Arguably one of the best frog rods around

7 minutes ago, Angry John said:

Arguably one of the best frog rods around

Looking for a J.I.G. rod though  I think the qualities of a great Jig rod would be wasted for Frogging, no?

3 hours ago, freelancer27 said:

Why is that?

Isnt the rod more for pitching (as the name implies)? 

Arguably one of the best frog rods around.  Another good all around choice is the steez xbd rod.  Great from frogs to heavy jigs.

18 minutes ago, Angry John said:

Arguably one of the best frog rods around.  Another good all around choice is the steez xbd rod.  Great from frogs to heavy jigs.

So you are using rod and frog rods interchangeably? IMO that is a bit of waste, since you do not really need the sensitivity (high quality components) for a frog rod, no?

Still, you aren't going to find much high end that's going to fish presentations requiring high sensitivity well for that entire 1/2 oz - 1 1/2oz range.  If you already have the Steez as a MH jig rod, why be concerned with the new rod fishing 1/2oz lures?  By all accounts, that seems like a great rod for throwing bottom contact baits up to about an ounce.  Why not just focus on something intended for heavier jigs, punching, and flipping 1oz+ weights?  

 

As for frogging and most top water presentations around heavy mats, I typically make do well with MH rods.  If I were to look at something specifically for frogs, I probably wouldn't be looking too much in the $300-500 range unless I really had the cash to burn.  To me, I don't see frogging as an all day technique that would wear me out if I didn't have a perfectly balanced stick, nor does it require the sensitivity of say, a jig, T-rig, dropshot, etc.  

Using a high end rod for frogs only may be excessive but what about the idea of a rod that can be used for a lot of techniques.  Why carry 10 rods when 3 will do the job.  If you are into nice gear and see no reason to have the most rods, it may be best to find a few that cover everything you want to do.  Would i buy a steez or MB rod for one technique only hell no.  But the rods mentioned will do a lot.  Frog, pitch California swim jigs, small to moderate swim baits and the list goes on.  I yak most of the time and dont like to carry more than 3.  I have a lot more than that and i try to decide which rods would fit the situation the best while giving high coverage for the techniques i plan for that day.  If your using multi purpose rods then thats less reels to buy also.  I am a huge fan of tackle tours search for the one, and single technique rods are a huge expense in not only initial cost but maintenance and space in the boat or on the yak.  I dont know that i have ever seen a factory handle 16" other than on a slant bridge.  My 70hf avid is a custom build for this reason just to get a 12" handle.  Where are you measuring the handle from???  I have 12" of cork and my builder was very wary of that idea.

3 hours ago, Turkey sandwich said:

Still, you aren't going to find much high end that's going to fish presentations requiring high sensitivity well for that entire 1/2 oz - 1 1/2oz range.  If you already have the Steez as a MH jig rod, why be concerned with the new rod fishing 1/2oz lures?  By all accounts, that seems like a great rod for throwing bottom contact baits up to about an ounce.  Why not just focus on something intended for heavier jigs, punching, and flipping 1oz+ weights?  

 

As for frogging and most top water presentations around heavy mats, I typically make do well with MH rods.  If I were to look at something specifically for frogs, I probably wouldn't be looking too much in the $300-500 range unless I really had the cash to burn.  To me, I don't see frogging as an all day technique that would wear me out if I didn't have a perfectly balanced stick, nor does it require the sensitivity of say, a jig, T-rig, dropshot, etc.  

Fair enough. 

Honestly I think I will stay in the 1/2 - 1 oz range.

 

2 hours ago, Angry John said:

Using a high end rod for frogs only may be excessive but what about the idea of a rod that can be used for a lot of techniques.  Why carry 10 rods when 3 will do the job.  If you are into nice gear and see no reason to have the most rods, it may be best to find a few that cover everything you want to do.  Would i buy a steez or MB rod for one technique only hell no.  But the rods mentioned will do a lot.  Frog, pitch California swim jigs, small to moderate swim baits and the list goes on.  I yak most of the time and dont like to carry more than 3.  I have a lot more than that and i try to decide which rods would fit the situation the best while giving high coverage for the techniques i plan for that day.  If your using multi purpose rods then thats less reels to buy also.  I am a huge fan of tackle tours search for the one, and single technique rods are a huge expense in not only initial cost but maintenance and space in the boat or on the yak.  I dont know that i have ever seen a factory handle 16" other than on a slant bridge.  My 70hf avid is a custom build for this reason just to get a 12" handle.  Where are you measuring the handle from???  I have 12" of cork and my builder was very wary of that idea.

Yeah, good point. Friday nights I pick a max of 4 rods that I will take with me the next day. Those 4 rods will alway cover 1-x applications. 

For this particular rod I am looking to get something for heavier bottom contact lures and also something that I can fish a single hook lure (chaterbait, spinnerbait) with that I have to set the jig hook hard. My Daiwa (though Medium- Heavy) just feels not right for those applications. I liked the Avid X basics, but would like to improve on Length of the rod, Sensitivity and handle length& type

 

The Elite has a **** ton of backbone.  

Ok here is my current list of options:

* Phenix Bass Recon Elite Casting Rod 7'6" Heavy

* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'4" Heavy
* St. Croix Legend Elite Casting Rod 7'6" Med Hvy
* Phenix Bass Recon Elite Casting Rod 7'4" Med Hvy
* Orochi XX Casting Rod 7'2" XH Perfect Pitch
* St. Croix Avid X Series Cast Rod 7'4" Med Hvy

How would you rank them and which would you choose?

3rd one from the top because imo it will do more than any of the others listed. It can pitch, flip, light punching, frogs, small swim baits, and most importantly it will do them all pretty darn well.