Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD
The emcee at the gathering read off the numbers on the winning raffle ticket, “801, 776,” then he scanned the room for a hand to go up. My wife, sitting next to me, raised hers.
I’d bought her a string of tickets for the fund raising raffle part of the evening. “What did I win?” she asked. “A St. Croix fishing rod,” I said. “Those are really good rods, great rods. Way to go!” She liked winning, I like the idea of adding a new fishing rod to “my” assortment. Peggy took personal liking to it and continues calling it “her” rod.
Regardless of who owns it and despite this 7′ 2″ rod (Model BAC72MHM) being specifically built and labeled as a bassin’ stick, the first fish hoisted to the surface with it, was a walleye Peggy cranked to the surface on a trip to the St. Clair River last spring. The fish didn’t know the difference and my wife didn’t care. She out fished me with the Bass X both in numbers and with the big fish of the day. Was it luck or her new rod?
After a couple of fish, I borrowed the rig from Peggy – just for a few minutes – to see how it felt. This is a rod crafted with St. Croix’s most durable carbon fiber called SCII but it doesn’t lose any of the sensitivity St. Croix’s rods are noted for having. With no-stretch braid between the rod tip and hooks, I could feel the blades on the crawler harness thumping in the current.
Often, sensitive means brittle. Not with this rod. Good thing! I don’t baby my gear – I fish with it and I’m not a finesse angler. When I secreted Peggy’s rod over to Lake Erie a few weeks later to fish for smallmouth, I stuck it to the bass with Peggy’s rod like a pro angler making a YouTube vid. The rod turned the bass I hooked when I set the hook, got them coming and kept them coming all the way to the boat. What more can you want? See all the Bass X rods at http://www.stcroixrods.com.
St. Croix rods are available at dealers listed on their website or just buy some raffle tickets. You could be a winner!
FISHING TOYS 