Need Help on Rod Choice

I won a hand crafted fishing rod from LakeLady Custom-Crafted Fishing Rods at the Walleye Masters Institute 2005 this weekend. I can pick my choice of any size and weight from a St. Croix, top of the line or G. Loomis, top of the line. Now, this is what kind of fishing I would like to do with it. Vertical jig, lure weight from 1/16 to 3/8oz and casting or pitching jigs, weight 1/16 to 1/4oz. Is there a rod to do these two techniques that would work good for me? Thanks

I am sure you will get a variety of opinions-

For me- an amateur walleye fisherman as well as an amateur rodbuilder- the top of the line blank for both vertical jigging and pitching plastics would be rods built on either of two St. Croix SCV blanks- their 5S63MXF if you want a 6’3″ medium extra-fast or their 5S66MF which is a 6’6″ medium fast blank.

If you want the ultimate in performance, ask if you can pay for an upgrade on the guides and get titanium SIC guides- the upgrade should cost in the neighborhood of $50-60, but if you are getting the rod for free, why not spend a little for the ultimate- the titanium weighs less than 50% of the stainless steel which translates to greater efficiency and sensitivity at the tip.

You probably couldn’t touch a custom built rod like that for under $300-350, if not more depending on the time involved in putting it together.

G Loomis also has a nice 6’3″ blank which I am currently building, but has yet to see the Mississippi. I really find the St. Croix’s first rate….

Hey Jeff.
Not a bad predicament to be in. I would personally opt for the St. Croix. I’ve always liked the feel. But as far as free goes, the GLoomis might be a better choice because the price of a top-o-the-line GL is pretty spendy (up to $350) .
Let us know what you decide.

-Tom

I’m a big fan of St. Croix’s 69MLXF Avid. I use it with Fireline for pitching jigs (mostly) and vertical jigging (I don’t do it as much, but when I do it works great). It’s extremely sensitive and worth a good look.

John

This is actually a tougher choice than a guy might think.

First off, and this is just my opinion, the 6’3″ rod from St. Croix does not make a good jig casting rod, especially when the jig weights exceed 3/16 ounce, regardless of what the weight ratings say. It’s a little short for powerful casts and light in the britches on power for driving home a hookset on a long cast with mono.

That said, the 6’3″ MXF from Croix is a dynamite vertical jigging stick and is one of the more popular choices they offer in their line.

IF you only wanted a casting rod, I’d suggest the 6’8″ or 6’9″ St.Croix without hesitation. They’re well-balanced and “quick” rods that fish light but still have PLENTY of power to smash a hook home on the hook set when using mono.

But the 6’8″ rod is a tad long and unweildy for vertical jig fishing and I personally prefer the shorter rods.

So if you’re looking for a god dual-purpose rod, I’d good with one of the “do it all” 6’6″ MXF rods from St. Croix. They don’t have the muscle that the 6’8″ rods do but lots of guys, Dustin Stewart is one of them that jumps to mind, find that this rod does a great job of performing double-duty.

If it was me, I’d pick one application or the other and get the perfect rod for that particular application instead of trying to cover two bases. But that’s just me.

Congrats on that new rod. I hear Lake Lady makes a fantastic rod!

Jeff,

If you never owned a G-loomis…Nows the time! A great choice would be GLX Sjr722 blank…but very hard to find anymore due to G-loomis quit selling the blanks,but you can still find them! This is a 6′ rod…I have vertical jigged,pitched jigs,casted cranks and even slow trolled shad raps on lake pepin with this rod…This rod has all the backbone ya need!! Just my experience and 2 cents worth. Let us know what you choose.

Mark

I like these opinions so far and Thank You, but there has to more than this guys, come on . Talk to me anglers, help me out, please . More , more advice. So far James has the best. Jig-N-Rig TWS66MLF 6’6″ ML Fast has my vote. Jame if had lots of money I would do what you say, but I don’t. Dustin way is my way .

I’m with rembrant,
No single piece of equipment improved my fish catching ratio like my first GLOOMIS rod. They have one major drawback. After you use one, you’re going to want more.

You’re getting alot of very good advice from people that know what they’re talking about. But a GLOOMIS is a GLOOMIS and the rest just aren’t.

I do a lot of vertical jigging and prefer the avid 6’6″ and 7′. Compared to the 6’3″ and 6′, they have a quicker feeling tip. As James stated they also are awesome for pitching.

Jeff,

As mentioned above, the St Croix Avid 6’6″ medium fast action rod is my favorite for casting jigs and will work well as a vertical jigging rod. I consider this blank to be very versatile. This rod also works well for casting smaller cranks to wingdams and the rivers edge

Thanks bud, that’s the way I’m going.

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Jeff,

As mentioned above, the St Croix Avid 6’6″ medium fast action rod is my favorite for casting jigs and will work well as a vertical jigging rod. I consider this blank to be very versatile. This rod also works well for casting smaller cranks to wingdams and the rivers edge

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I hope LakeLady Custom-Crafted Fishing Rods is for real. I have e-mail them and called them and left messages and have not heard back from them. I’m starting to worry, I hope there for real or I’ll be one mad angler. What should I do?

PS. They could be on the road doing shows. But you would think they would check there mail.

Jeff,I would get ahold of Mike Norris and tell him your having problems with getting your custom rod ordered.Do you need a #???
Ryan Hale

I think I have it, but PM me the # you got. Thanks

I don’t know if you’ve decided on one yet for sure but rembrandt said it. That SJR 722 is a great rod. Perfect for what you want. Its the only rod I use when chucking or vertical. Best rod I’ve ever owned by far.

Jeff,

Lakelady Rods is for real. Matter-of-fact my Dad is the owner. He is on the road doing shows in Fargo and Sioux Falls and doesn’t have access to email. Not sure what number you called, the number on his website is his cell and I’ve talked to him a couple of times on it this week. Send me a PM with your number and I’ll make sure you get a call by Monday!

Contact has been made, Thanks.

Jeff, you received some great advice from your buddies. Sorry, that I did not get to you when you contacted me… as my son said, we were without internet service while at the Fargo and Sioux Falls Sportshows.

As we talked last night, you will have built for you the 63MXF vertical jig rod. It will be on St. Croix’s new just released, Legend Tournament series blank. What a sweet rod this will be! We were fortunate to have one of the very first rod blanks to test about 18 months ago… have fished it a lot and found it to do everything and more that it is advertised to do. Very responsive and extremely sensitive.

We will build your rod to your exact specifications as we discussed. Hand and arm measurements are important so we get the diameter and length of handle just right are our specialty. Then we’ll add a custom shaped burl cork fore and rear grip, treated with our special sealer to make it feel like a glove in your hand! A stabilized burl wood reel seat insert lathe turned and bored to the exact diameter of the blank complete the handle section. Your rod will be balanced for your reel too! Fuji Alconite guides in the equal angle system round out the business section of the rod, making for one very special, and exceedingly sensitive rod… just for you.

LakeLady Custom Rods is proud to be a sponsor of the Walleye Masters Institute, our second year of sponsorship! Another LakeLady Custom rod will be given away next weekend at the Sioux Falls WMI 2005 seminar.

Kris Kristufek

Professional Rod Builder

LakeLady Custom Rods

Post deleted by Jeff Patrick

Can’t go wrong with St. Croix. Just curious to your decision to go with the SCIV blank in the tournament series vs. the SCV blank in the legend elite. Don’t get me wrong they both offer IPC and ART technology and although I cannot speak about the new Tournament Series as I have yet to add one to my arsenal I really feel that the Legend Elite is a far superior blank when compared with the Avid. Maybe the difference between these two are so small that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Can anyone chime in who have used both the Tournament and Legend Elite?

Thanks! Excellent Rod Choice! You will be very happy and comforted in know that you just bought a rod that will last you a life time!