New St. Croix custom ice rods

Looks like St. Croix has joined the custom ice rod industry. No you don’t get pick your guides, handle, length, or wrap color but you do get to pay big $$$ for this custom rod. They start at $130 and go up to $160. It seems like the word custom has to go with ice rod even though it is an off the shelf rod. I don’t know why this bothers me so much.

CROIX CUSTOM ICE

Is St. Croix planing on selling their ice rod blanks? I know you can buy St. Croix open water rod blanks. It would be nice if they did so I can make it a true custom ice rod.

The word custom has become more about marketing than about true personalization. It baffles me that people will buy these rods when you can get a true custom made rod to your exact specs including power, action, length, guides, colors and text, for less money.

you can get st croix blanks if you look hard enough, I have a handful

Must be custom made for one customer…

Try calling St. Croix about doing a custom order for blanks. They are usually nice and worst they could say is no. They may not want people using their blanks to sell though.

Nothing like a $150 “custom” rod that you don’t get to “customize”. For that kind of money, one could get the necessary equipment and build 2-3 of their own rods that they can actually “customize”. I just don’t get it.

Perhaps…. part of the price is paying for warranty like their open water rods?

All this custom ice rod craze makes me wonder how we survived pre-ice rod/reel combos. Some of those line to fish battles were epic.

Guess it’s what’s called progress, eh?

Kurt Turner wrote:

Perhaps…. part of the price is paying for warranty like their open water rods?

That’s no excuse though. My TUCR’s also have a 5 year warranty and they were $40 cheaper (and I don’t have to shell out 40 additional dollars for shipping a warranty claim, which I’ve never had to use fwiw). As a matter of fact, they resemble TUCR’s a lot too.

I think St. Croix is trying to flex their marketing muscles on this one and appeal to their die-hard customers. Most guys I know are hardpressed to spend more than $20 on any combo let alone $90+ on a true custom rod (sans reel). I don’t see a $130-$160 non-customizable “custom” rod selling very well to 90% of ice anglers. However, I do see them being irresponsibly handled by employees and a lot of customers then being put back in exchange for a $10 ice blues. Then, when someone does buy one, it will probably break from being previously handled poorly and that guy is going to have to pay more for a warranty service (I see it far too often at my local outdoor store). Especially after the 100th guy of the day flexes that REC spinning guide. SNAP!

Putting REC guides and a split grip handle on an ice rod then charging $130+ doesn’t make it “custom”. I think they are relying too much on their namesake on this one.

Like I said, I just don’t get it. I think it’s the use of the word “custom”. Which still doesn’t justify the price.

Good point Kurt.

All you custom rod makers better watch how this pans out. If they do succeed somehow your prices for being truely custom should go up?

Yeah, for $50 extra I’ll put a “St. Croix” decal on it for them lol.

Thanks to Joe’s for having these on display… I got to play with them. Again it’s not the technique that suits my fishing style, but for those who are power noodle, meat stick, snitch rod users, it’s more tailored to the likes.

As a custom rod builder, it is frustrating to see “Custom” on everything now days. My ice rods are about $30-$40 less and fully customizable. I even glue and turn every grip I sell. Maybe I should raise my prices… ????????

I think it’s safe to say the “custom” rods from the big name brands are definitely not custom. High end would be more correct.

mahtofire14 wrote:

I think it’s safe to say the “custom” rods from the big name brands are definitely not custom. High end would be more correct.

This is exactly how I would say it. I think this whole “custom” thing is going to eventually cause more confusion between what is truly custom as opposed to something more high end. I have a guy that builds my rods currently and every one is made to my exact specs. He only charges 85 bucks a piece and those are truly custom. I used to use only rods from either Gander or Cabelas and did just fine with those. I only switched them as I broke them. FYI, a good hard case no matter what type of rods you have is a great investment. Buy a cheap hard sided gun case for half the price of the tackle companies rod cases.

They use custom to imply customized designs to fit specific applications. In this case, they created custom blank designs.

Customized rods for specific applications was a cornerstone to the development of modern ice fishing. 100% customizable builds are great, but they aren’t as fundamental as customized rods designed for specific applications IMO. You rod guys need to start an independent craft logo like the craft beer folks.

Regarding the xl price; I can see some added value in a blank made locally at the St. Croix factory.

I’m seeing that the term bespoke is frequently used to differentiate built to order from production products.

______________ wrote:

They use custom to imply customized designs to fit specific applications. In this case, they created custom blank designs.

Customized rods for specific applications was a cornerstone to the development of modern ice fishing. 100% customizable builds are great, but they aren’t as fundamental as customized rods designed for specific applications IMO. You rod guys need to start an independent craft logo like the craft beer folks.

Regarding the xl price; I can see some added value in a blank made locally at the St. Croix factory.

Most actual custom rod builders do have different rods designed for certain applications. The custom part is the buyer gets to design the length, handle type, guide rap colors, sometimes the type of guides. You don’t sit down with a St Croix rod builder and fill out a form with all that on it when you buy one of their “custom” rods. I think that’s the gripe this thread is referring to.

______________ wrote:

They use custom to imply customized designs to fit specific applications. In this case, they created custom blank designs.

In that case I guess almost all of St. Croix rods are custom. Most of the St. Croix rods have techniques listed by the model.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Most actual custom rod builders do have different rods designed for certain applications. The custom part is the buyer gets to design the length, handle type, guide rap colors, sometimes the type of guides. You don’t sit down with a St Croix rod builder and fill out a form with all that on it when you buy one of their “custom” rods. I think that’s the gripe this thread is referring to.

You hit the nail on the head mahtofire14.
So you say you got a custom built St. Croix rod. Does that mean you picked up one of their ice rods or did you find a builder to make you a rod off the blanks they sell?
It’s just like other words. When they get miss used they lose their value.

Tuma wrote:

So you say you got a custom built St. Croix rod. Does that mean you picked up one of their ice rods or did you find a builder to make you a rod off the blanks they sell?

Custom built implies more.

I have to believe that the people at St. Croix chose the name very carefully. It’s my guess that they are targeting people who are loyal to big name producers and probably existing St Croix customers, who have been hearing about the “Custom” trend and were thinking about jumping to a new brand. I also agree that the main problem with the name is for the truly custom builders who need to continually try to convince people that they are able and willing to make a custom rod that matches the customer specs and not the stock rod specs.
Dan

I still don’t buy your explanation fishwater. Bass rods are all specified for different applications, jigging, crankbait, dropshot, frogging, yet none of those are called custom rods. I would understand your explanation if the other ice companies were using “custom” in this way but I don’t see Clam or Frabill using it even on their high end rods. To me it’s pretty obvious St Croix is just trying to tap into a different buyer group.

I got to play with these in the store the other day. These are well-made and lightweight. After looking at them however, I am much happier with my tuned up custom rods. The light action noodle rod that they have does not have a very sensitive tip. A TUCR bullwhip is way more sensitive and has more backbone as well. Easy pass for me on these “custom” ice rods.

I quit buying any St Croix rods when an old Avid ice rod broke under warranty and they refused to replace it because they were discontinuing that model. All they offered was the legend rod with the spring bobber for an additional $20. IMO the legend rods were not sensitive at all and all they did was change the spring bobbers to change the power of the rod. I’ll stick with my Thornes, JT, and TUCR brands instead of giving St Croix another dollar.

Imagine accidentally stepping on one of those in the shack. Uffdah!

I’m calling snob appeal on it. Probably same quality as many other rods but with the higher price point they may sell more than if it was the same price as others and quality was the only factor.

mahtofire14 wrote:

I still don’t buy your explanation fishwater. Bass rods are all specified for different applications, jigging, crankbait, dropshot, frogging, yet none of those are called custom rods. I would understand your explanation if the other ice companies were using “custom” in this way but I don’t see Clam or Frabill using it even on their high end rods. To me it’s pretty obvious St Croix is just trying to tap into a different buyer group.

It is what it is, nothing to buy really. St Croix custom designed blanks for their new top tier ice rods. Thus the name. The rods weren’t custom built for an individual, the blanks were custom designed for a rod. Was this good or smart? I honestly don’t really care.

The decision to use the word custom in other similar cases really has zero relevance. I believe JT outdoors initially labeled their rods as custom as well, likely also based on the designs?

The main benefit I see to the St. Croix rods is if they are able to keep them stocked on the shelves all winter long. 1 month+ turnaround time on most custom rods can be off-putting to those who don’t plan ahead. Ice fishing rods make great christmas presents, but a lot of folks probably aren’t buying gifts in early October.

I would be somewhat surprised if st. croix relies too much on their ice fishing side of the business to meet their earnings goals every year, but I could be wrong. Probably smart of them to try and get into the ‘elite’ tier of ice rods though, get them on shelves at all the major retailers and that gives them a leg up on most of the custom makers(although I know TUCR was on some shelves last year).

The price is a bit of a head-scratcher. You would think with St. Croix’s scale, they’d be able to manufacture these at a lower price than the custom builders. They are either pricing themselves out of the market, or trying to convince fishermen that the St. Croix name means a higher quality product than the custom shops(which I doubt).

philtickelson wrote:

The main benefit I see to the St. Croix rods is if they are able to keep them stocked on the shelves all winter long. 1 month+ turnaround time on most custom rods can be off-putting to those who don’t plan ahead. Ice fishing rods make great christmas presents, but a lot of folks probably aren’t buying gifts in early October.

I would be somewhat surprised if st. croix relies too much on their <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>ice fishing side of the business to meet their earnings goals every year, but I could be wrong. Probably smart of them to try and get into the ‘elite’ tier of ice rods though, get them on shelves at all the major retailers and that gives them a leg up on most of the custom makers(although I know TUCR was on some shelves last year).

The price is a bit of a head-scratcher. You would think with St. Croix’s scale, they’d be able to manufacture these at a lower price than the custom builders. They are either pricing themselves out of the market, or trying to convince fishermen that the St. Croix name means a higher quality product than the custom shops(which I doubt).

Excellent points made here!

On a per foot basis, the pricing is very similar to their other high end rods.

It’s similar in price and name but not reality. St. Croix makes really nice high end production rods. They do not have anywhere on their website where you can choose your handle, your colors, your taper, your length, your guides, or any number of other factors that go into a truly custom rod.

I can call TUCR, Thorne Bros, DH, JT’s, Infinty, Pierce, Kraemer, or any other custom shop and tell him I want a 40 and 1/2 inch light action rod with 5 inches of hi vis yellow on a extremely fast tip and they’ll CUSTOM make it for me and it still probably be less then $140

I’m curious to the rod makers out there what percentage of the rods they put out are asked to sand the taper here, shorten it a bit there, etc. Actual user customization on fishing preferences.

Handles, colors, etc are personalization imo and similar to putting your name on a jersey like thousands others out there. The customization for the majority of ice rods I’d argue is simply superficial. Companies come out with a handful of blanks they perfected in their opinion for certain species, tactics, etc, then sell the pretty wraps threads etc as being something special. Pretty brilliant imo with the fishing crowds nowadays needing all the fancy gear and spending crazy amounts of money on our sport nowadays.