Do St Croix Roda rods break more easily than others? I have had them for several years now and love them but it seems like they are unusually fragile and prone to breakage for such a...

FS Digest

I have had them for several years now and love them but it seems like they are unusually fragile and prone to breakage for such a high quality rod. I have now had 3-4 of the Premiers break on me with seemingly little force. One I got a lure caught in a tree and yanked on it and the tip snapped. Today I had a 13” smallmouth flopping around in my kayak still hooked and it jerked kind of hard and snapped the tip below the second guide. I was pretty pissed, how the hell does that happen? Are you not supposed to let a fish get out of the net once you land it, is this something you have heard of before? I’m so annoyed.

--
by Indrid-Gold

Rock Hound Loc: Southeast Minnesota

I have not had any bad luck or strange breakage with my St. Croix rods. In fact, sometimes I have done things and was amazed that my St. Croix rod didn't break.

The only rods I have broken in my lifetime (regardless of brand) were my fault.

I cannot really give any valid input on your post.

It is a bummer to have a rod break though.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

FS Digest wrote:

I have had them for several years now and love the... (show quote)

They do seem to like to break, I'm a retired rod crafter, and I have made a ton of rods out of St. Croix rod blanks and none have broken that I'm aware of, however, quite a few people have brought factory-made rods to me to fix. The better rods have a limited lifetime warranty and they used to stand behind them, I'm not sure if they do now. Check it out, call St. Croix.

Rock Hound Loc: Southeast Minnesota

St. Croix does have a good warranty program. It has changed over the years, and they now have a Gold Star, Silver Star, Excellerator program, Upgrade, etc. - They all are a rod replacement program, and usually involve some sort of pay on the owner.

The Premier rods (and Triumph) have a 5 year warranty, but even the Gold Star (replacement program) has some protection for even expired warranty rods.

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

FS Digest wrote:

I have had them for several years now and love the... (show quote)

I’ve got several Premiers and have never encountered a problem with breakage, maybe you got a lemon 🍋.

tomt966 Loc: Near Tallahassee

flyguy wrote:

They do seem to like to break, I'm a retired rod crafter, and I have made a ton of rods out of St. Croix rod blanks and none have broken that I'm aware of, however, quite a few people have brought factory-made rods to me to fix. The better rods have a limited lifetime warranty and they used to stand behind them, I'm not sure if they do now. Check it out, call St. Croix.

I'm on my 3d replacement St Croix MojoBass spinning rod. The first two broke because of my stupidity/carelessness. The replacements were free however they charge $50 if you want expedited 1 week turn around. Take pictures with the rod clearly broken at the base (so you can't fix it and have two rods) showing the S/N. I had a replacement in 2-21/2 weeks. They shut down during Covid and now have a huge manufacturing backlog.....after all is said and done, I like St Croix rods.

harleypiker Loc: WA

Rock Hound wrote:

I have not had any bad luck or strange breakage with my St. Croix rods. In fact, sometimes I have done things and was amazed that my St. Croix rod didn't break.

The only rods I have broken in my lifetime (regardless of brand) were my fault.

I cannot really give any valid input on your post.

It is a bummer to have a rod break though.

My 8'6" St. Croix H action rod has survived many years of use. One thing to be careful of is NOT to pull straight down on the line from the tip like when you want a few more inches of free line to temporarily hook into the rod near the reel. It will snap the tip like its a stem of wheat.

Rick Parker Loc: Walnut Creek, CA

bknecht wrote:

I’ve got several Premiers and have never encountered a problem with breakage, maybe you got a lemon 🍋.

I have a couple of St Croix fly rods and have had nothing but good luck.

Caught a couple of 10+ lbs. trout and some steel head with the 6 wt.

The were custom made by Larry Lee at L3 RODS. I love them.

Ben Bragg Loc: Dayton Ohio

Rock Hound wrote:

I have not had any bad luck or strange breakage wi... (show quote)

Gripnriprod Loc: Concepcion Costa Rica

harleypiker wrote:

My 8'6" St. Croix H action rod has survived many years of use. One thing to be careful of is NOT to pull straight down on the line from the tip like when you want a few more inches of free line to temporarily hook into the rod near the reel. It will snap the tip like its a stem of wheat.

This is referred to as “high sticking” and can pretty much break any rod tip. The closer you are to holding your fishing pole vertically, the greater the chance of breakage.

The Outcast Loc: NE Michigan

I have never owned a St Croix rod until last spring. I bought 2, and they both broke on me. One setting the hook on a smallmouth, and the other on a sheepshead. Cannot say it was damaged goods, or operator error,Not!, but they replaced both for a single 25.00 charge through the excellerator program.

CoreG0nUS75 Loc: SE NC

I have over a dozen St Croix rods (spinning, bait casting and fly rods), some factory made and some blanks I finished myself (another 15-20 not included above that I gave to family). I have never had a problem except for one tip top on a factory made rod - but that was my fault. All of these rods and blanks are at least 10 years old - many 15-20. It may be that quality control is an issue if a lot of new rods are breaking. Mine have been fished hard and caught lots of fish so I like St. Croix. I am saddened to hear your reports.

froze

I go fishing with my pastor and he has a lot of different St Croix rods including an older Avid, a couple of Primers, and a Legend, and another one I can't recall, he's had those for quite awhile and fishes about every other day and he's never broken a St Croix rod. He is a St Croix fanboy! He's even went up into Canada where the bigger fish are and still no problem with those rods.

Jwid Loc: Lake Killarney, Ironton, MO

froze wrote:

I go fishing with my pastor and he has a lot of different St Croix rods including an older Avid, a couple of Primers, and a Legend, and another one I can't recall, he's had those for quite awhile and fishes about every other day and he's never broken a St Croix rod. He is a St Croix fanboy! He's even went up into Canada where the bigger fish are and still no problem with those rods.

Okay. Pastor that likes St. Croix. Have to throw out that endorsement.

I have a couple St. Croix. No issues fish well. I’m heathen, drunk, degenerate. So you can believe me. Ha.

CoreG0nUS75 Loc: SE NC

Watch out. I am a retired pastor and may be a heathen, drunk, degenerate, too. You never know. You have to be pretty audacious to be a pastor. Claiming your words about the Word is unsettled territory since no one less than Reinhold Niebuhr affirms that religious pride is the highest and most dangerous form of sin. The question is, would either of us lie about fishing rods? Maybe about fish we have caught. But fishing rods? We live on the edge as is. That might put us over the line into very tenuous territory. If he says it, I believe it, though. Of course, having had similar good fortune with St. Croix rods makes it easier.