Stand-up, Save Your Kneecaps, and Set the Hook with St. Croix Rods
OutdoorHub 10.22.12
St. Croix ‘lengthens’ its stylish Legend Ice rod series rod series with four select sticks
Great tools produce great work. Benchmark instruments in any field motivate and fuel inspired levels of performance. Think Gibson Les Paul Standard, a keenly crafted guitar that elicited brilliant acts from Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney and other sweet strummers. Surely there’s a connection between good music and ice fishing, because anglers wielding St. Croix’s newest Legend Ice rods rock fish like a killer riff.
Beyond the Ice Belt-based company’s six original Legends, four new longer rods lead the trend toward mobile methods outside the fish house. New in team Legend’s starting lineup: a 30-inch light power (LIR30L), a 30-inch medium-light power (LIR30ML), a 30-inch medium power (LIR30M), and a 48-inch medium power (LIR48M). Created for active anglers such as tournament champion and hardwater rockstar Tony Boshold, the 30- and 48-inch Legends service the stylish “stand-up” mode of ice fishing.
When the renowned rodsmiths at St. Croix first crafted their Legend Ice rods, a new standard in wintertime wands hit the hardwater. Solid carbon blanks redefined sensitivity. Revolutionary handles provided total jigging comfort. Premium, lightweight stainless-steel guides worked with the line and against the cold to present lures naturally. The adjustable, interchangeable springs are so sensitive, so effective, they’re patented.
Each of these new radical rods offers the familiar balance and performance that’s singularly St. Croix. When you fish one, you just know. “While the original 17- and 24-inch Legends are personalized for fishing within a shelter,” says Boshold, “These new longer rods befit the new breed of open ice ‘sword fighters,’ represented by the top tournament anglers in ice competition today. Stand-up fishing saves your knees, provides a more natural presentation, and keeps the rod tip closer to the water’s surface for less line freeze-up and a more direct connection with your lure.
“These long rods excel when coupled with a single action reel, for dipping panfish and walleye lures into shallow water—just dip, jiggle, lift and repeat. They also shine for run-and-gun style walleye and panfishing in deeper water with a standard spinning reel.”
St. Croix’s exclusive spring bobber, says Boshold, remains the envy of the ice industry. “These Super Finesse Springs won’t freeze up. Line doesn’t touch the spring itself, it runs only through the stainless tip. Working together with the finesse spring, the adjustable indicator arm provides the ultimate in bite detection. It folds toward a light biting fish, so you see the strike before the fish feels you. It’s an ingenious solution that allows you to not only instantly adjust spring tension, but also interchange any of St. Croix’s four Springs—Light, Medium, Medium-Heavy and Heavy—to match any lure, species or situation. Super slick, super-finesse. Super St. Croix, once again.”
Composed of ten select action-length models, from a light power 17-inch panfish model to a new medium power 48-inch stick for panfish to walleyes (retail prices $55 to $60), St. Croix’s Legend Ice rods continue to define quality and performance standards in ice rods today.
