Which St. Croix?

[River_eye]

Through work (tackle retail) I have the opportunity to order a St. Croix rod for cheap, and I wanted to get a musky rod. We have a nice 6'9" heavy Premier and I like it, but I'm wondering whether it's a bit long for working the big hardbaits like suicks, etc.

Would the MH st croix's have a chance of throwing these big baits, and if I were to opt for a 7'+ bucktail rod, would the heavy action be too heavy?

If I can only get one rod, is there one that can do both? If I can order two, which one for bucktails and which for hard/surface baits?

Also, what St. croix is good for trolling?

I'm new to muskies so I value all imput. Thanks.

[MuskieKid]

I have the 6'9" rod and the 6'2" St. Croix jerkbait rods. That's what they're made for. They are not multi-purpose rods. Both are heavy rods & similar in action. In addition, the longer rod gives you more leverage to fight a fish after you hook it. However, I like the shorter rod better. Here's the reason why:

I fish from a small boat without a casting deck. I'm am 5'10" tall. I cannot use the longer rod properly because the longer rod's tip will hit the water if I hold the rod downward to work my lures while standing in the boat. It interferes with it all of the time.

The shorter rod works well in my boat with ME. I can hold the rod underhand to work the lures. I can also figure 8 with it in from MY BOAT.

You have to consider your size and where you're fishing from when determining the rod for you. Kind of like using 22 bullets in a 45 - they don't work properly. You have to consider the situation when choosing you're equipment - one size doesn't always work for everybody. That's why they offer different size rods to accomplish the same thing!

One rod for multi-purpose? My St. Croix 7' bucktail rod (works better than the jerbait rod) works ok in a pinch as long as I don't go to the larger lures. However, I have something that works better than that rod: I also have two, Falcon Muskie rods (casting of course) - these rods are similar in size (7') and weight (XHVY) and feel the same in my hands as the 7' St. Croix rods. The Falcons WILL handle different types of lures better in my opinion. They also cost about $20-30 less than the St. Croixs. They are also prettier to look at!!!

For trolling - get a fiberglass rod or a composite of fiberglass/graphite. St. Croix makes a Hvy and Extra HVY model for that purpose. They have foam grips - more suitable for trolling. Graphite will break (I know from first-hand exerience) if you get hung up and may shatter (never happened to me, but I've heard of it happening to others) in really cold weather. Today's fiberglass (although still heavier than graphite) is much lighter, thinner and stronger than the old days as long as you buy quality products. Weight is not necessarily as important when trolling because you have rod holders taking the blunt of the force.

Remember...fish don't live in ugly places!

[ToddM]

Since you have a jerkbait rod, I would get a 7'6" MH st croix to go with it or a 7'M rod. You should be able to toss just about everything with those two rods.

[jerkin wood]

I'm with Todd, go with the pm70mhf. I use mine for most applications, though I don't throw bucktails alot.

Scott

[River_eye]

Thanks for the input. I guess I worded my post kind of funny, in that the store has one of those jerkbait rods, not me. Also, I can only see a 6' and a 6'9" heavy premier series musky rods so I think I'll go for the PM60HF and maybe the PM70MHF. Now I've just got to decide on a shimano reel, probably the calcutta 400, but might look at the cardif as well.

[681VS]

RiverEye: I would vote for the PM69HF, I believe that the PM60HF is too short and lower back fatigue will be the result. A day of bent over figure 8s will kill a guy! Currently, I use a pair of 7'6" rods in MHF and HF and I love them. Also, look at the Daiwa Millionaire CVZ300A, a very bulletproof reel. Calcuttas are sweet but take a look the CVZ is NICE! Best of luck!

[River_eye]

I'm just getting the stuff through staff order, a calcutta will cost me about $100 US so looking at another reel, which I would normally do is kind of pointless in this situation.

[Worm Drowner]

I do quite a bit of trolling and I use the GT100H2. I like the longer (10') rod to cover a bit more water. I do prefer something with a little more backbone for dragging big lures like Legend Plows. For big lures, I use a G.Loomis MUR946C-TR, which is their 7'10" trolling rod.

For an all around casting rod, I use a Premier PM70MHF. I have no problems using it for just about any situation, including a backup trolling rod.