Outdoor Hub Review: St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass Crankbait Rod
Keith Lusher 10.31.23
In an age where lure-specific rods are growing in popularity, I decided to compartmentalize my rod and reel choices over the last few years and choose setups that are specifically for using a certain type of lure. Now I’ve purchased a few swimbait rods and I’ve also bought some jig rods, but of all the rods I’ve tried I believe the hardest lure-specific rod to choose is a crankbait rod. I recently had the chance to try out the St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass Casting Rod while bass fishing in Alabama.
Out of the three sizes that are arable I went with the 7.2. The other two sizes are 6.10 and 6.4 but those were shorter rods. When fishing cranbaits I prefer using a longer rod because the extra few inches allow for the lure to be left in the fish’s mouth longer when I set the hook. A longer rod means a slower hook-set in my opinion.
One thing that stuck out to me when trying this rod out is this rod is a single-piece rod that is made of 100% linear S-glass. When compared with other blanks that are made of E-glass, S-glass is of higher quality. St. Croix’s S-glass isn’t mixed with any other material so what you’re left with is a 100% fiberglass rod. This rod is supper light and you would swear has some graphite in it because of how lightweight it is.
While S-glass is good stuff St. Croix went the extra mile in adding two coats of Flex Coat which is an epoxy strengthener that adds durability to the rod without affecting the parabolicity. Having a parabolic rod is very important to me when throwing crankbaits because I want a rod that bends throughout the entire rod.
The “Croix” was amazing to cast and proved to be a great parabolic rod. I was able to throw a lipless crankbait a mile when testing this rod.
Another important quality when choosing a crankbait rod is its guides. I’ll admit that guides normally aren’t that important to me when choosing a rod however when selecting a crankbait rod it lets the list of top qualities. It’s important to have durable, smooth rings made of tough material because the wobble of a crankbait often makes the line slap the insides of the guides. The St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass Casting Rod’s guides are made of aluminum oxide which translates to being extra strong and smooth.
As far as strength goes, Hey it’s a Croix! Throughout my life, I’ve owned these rods and have never been let down when it comes to rod strength. The Mojo Bass Glass performed stellar on my bass fishing trip. I was able to catch six bass on eight strikes which is a great hook-up rate for using a crankbait. My largest bass was a 3.5-pounder which I was able to land by boat-flipping. The rod bent, but didn’t break!
One thing that I noticed while using this rod is that the reel came slightly loose after about an hour of casting, however, I was able to tighten it with a quick turn of the wrist.
In the end, this rod shined in numerous categories and allowed me to have full control of both light and heavy crankbaits.
I would highly recommend the St. Croix Mojo Bass Glass to take your crank bit fishing to the next level. Add this rod to your arsenal. It’s a surefire way to put more bass in the boat!