Hey yall,

Getting the itch to acquire another casting rod again and just started doing my research. Most of my rods are Dobyns and I've enjoyed them, but I am wanting to try something different. Started looking at the St Croix Victory and St Croix Avid. Looking at getting a rod for bottom contact baits (mainly Texas rigs and the occasional jig). Lure weight is gonna be between 3/16oz to probably about 3/4 oz.

I don't much experience with St Croix and looking for opinions or recommendations.

Thank you.

I know a lot of people love the Victory rods...I don't like the foam on the reel seat, and prefer "classic" lengths and actions so I choose the Avid line.

Which end of the weight spectrum will you be throwing the most. What rod I throw a light wire bullet weight worm vs a 3/4oz jig are completely different.

I'll need to exercise some strict self-discipline on this reply, as it could get out of hand fast.

First off, I am a St. Croix Rods fanboy and proud of it.

Have been for a very long time in both the freshwater and saltwater arenas.

And while I do like and fish a few other brands,

when it comes to compressing my arsenal a little,

It's easy for me to do it with St. Croix sticks.

IMO, from the Avid line up (which is where most all of my experience comes from)

The fit & finish is very clean and reliable and seems to match the price point well.

I think the LTB and Victory rods are all very sweet.

I've fished them both quite a bit with plenty of success and very few complaints.

I still fish with one LTB, a Power Glass Cranker, which I won in a Bass Resource drawing a while back.

However, I am not, nor have I ever really loved, split-grip handles.

I tolerated them because the blanks were what I needed, but given a choice, I am a full cork guy all the way.

A couple or three years ago, I guess I checked out one of the new Avid spinning rods locally.

Not something I usually do, as the quality blank selection locally is mostly geared toward walleye and salmon.

But this 7 ft ML felt so good in my hand; I was close to pulling the trigger right then and there. Add in the mental bait-monkey pressure; next thing I know, I'm at the reel counter picking out a new 3000 Vanford to go on my new Avid. Fished it a few times, throwing a small 110 + 1 Jr. jerkbait (my first fish on it was a 5.88 fat brown bass), and I was done. Over the course of the next few months I sold off all but one of the LTB and Victory spinning & casting rods and replaced them with the new Avids.

If you're looking for a comparison—IMO, The LTB's are a very well built but overall a little too beefy for what

routinely happens in my Pro-V Bass. The Victory rod is light & strong, but across the entire line, the actions are even a little bit faster than the LTB rods. Which is awesome if & when a basshead needs / wants that. I rarely do.

Some would call my decision a downgrade—I call it rehoming good tools for a version

that suits my style of fishing. Super happy with the move. So I have at least 2 each (some 3) of the 7' MF spinnings, 6'8" MXF spinners, and 7' ML spinners. For casting I go with 7' MHF and 7' MF rods.

They ALL possess one important characteristic that I adore, truly.

These blanks have more of what modern-day bassheads now seem to term a somewhat moderate action.

What that means to this OG is that they actually LOAD.

On the cast, on the hookset, during the fight, and perhaps most importantly, while I'm sliding a plus-sized brown bass into the Frabill. Now I'm not ready to say these are even close to a glass wand or even matching the action on a composite rod. Might explain why St. Croix presents the Avid line as "Multispecies," which I have no doubt that they would excel at.

But I will readily admit that what I get from the new Avid is a light, powerful, balanced & sensitive blank.

That possesses many of the desirable qualities of sticks considered soft—with very little of anything else.

So it's a basic, useful, properly priced, sweet-looking rod with a solid warranty.

(A warranty is not really something I shop for, but if it matters to you, it is there).

Told you I was a fan boy.

Good luck.

😎

A-Jay