Shimano vs St Croix

[ffishman]

Hey guys, thought this would make a good winter topic. My rod of choice for many years has been the Ugly stick. A buddy of mine is trying to talk me into buying a St Croix, which he claims is lighter, and more sensative, better for jigging. Another friend claims that he uses nothing but Shimanos, which are also lighter and very sensetive, also about half the price of the croixs. I plan on buying a rod just for jigging for eyes, and opinions on which is the best way to go? I have seen on fishing sites a lot of complaints that the St Croix break easily, is this true?

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

Hate to sound critical but I wouldn't use an ugly stick for anything other than maybe a closed face Zebco for my grand kids. I have used some mighty fine St. Croix and they seem about 1000% more sensitive than an Ugly Stick. My personal choice is my Jimmy Houston Shimano and it does the trick for bass as well as walleye. With the Daiwa Pro baitcaster I think I have about $225 invested in the set up and it has lasted for years! I should have some change coming back from my 2 cents but it was late and there was no sports on TV to watch so there it is.

[WCS]

I have a medium light St. Croix spinning reel that I use primarily for stalking trout here in SE Minnesota. I have used it jigging for walleye as well and find it to be a very fine rod. I have only had the rod for about a year and have no issues with durability yet. I found my St. Croix rod on Ebay for a nice bargain. I also use Berkely and Cabelas Fish Eagle rods and am happy with those as well.

As for the Ugly Sticks, I have a couple of those as well. I used them back when I lived near the Kankakee River and found them to be a great rod to prop up on a stick and wait for Mr. Whiskers to come by. And like Windy said, they are now the rods my kids use.

[genegodawa]

I have some real old eqpt that works ok but you guys are lucky to be able to use top o' the line eqpt/rods. Me, I have no feeling (ask my wife, she'll tell you I'm dead from the neck up) so it doesn't matter to me how sensitive the rod is for my week on Cass. My best baitcasting setup (Garcia 5000) has been on the bottom of Stony Pt for about 20 years now - I still miss that eqpt! And if I ever walk into Comanche Jim's restaurant on the SSide here and see that on the wall, I'm grabbing it and taking it with me.

Heck, when I'm watchin' my bobber, it only matters how stealthy it is, not the type of rod. I know you all are talking jigging though but since Windy ran out of change, I put in my 2 cents worth. That's all I have, so now you know why I really don't have any good eqpt.

Hey, now that I rambled off-topic for awhile, for a valued opinion on this subject I think we need to hear from the experts too. Brian? Beef? Col Ron?

[Brian Jones]

I use Fig Rig rods the most and second would be St.Croix. Shimano makes good stuff too but I think the Fig Rig is best for the money!

[Allen Weston]

Hey Brian, What part of the fig tree branch do you break to get your fig rig ?

[genegodawa]

Good point, Buck. Now, that begs the question - where do you get the line to put on the end of that fig rig, Brian?

PS You may remember that my nephew caught a nice LMB with a cane pole this year. Huck Finn, my nephew and the ol' FigRig master just might have it right - KISS.

[The Texan]

Want to send Jones into Orbit? Go fishing with him and make sure to hook one the hooks off of his bottom bouncer to one of the eye rings on his fig pole and tighten the slack!!!

Right there Jones!!!

Texan

[Otter]

Anything would be an upgrade from an Ugly Stick! I used Shimano and Diawa until about 5 years ago - since then I've been exclusively using GLoomis and St. Croix, primarily St. Croix.

[Allen Weston]

Beleive me I know the importance of a good pole. My favorite pole for crank baits is a green Fenwick Eagle GT and for the Perch, Crappies and Gills I use a red Bass Pro Tourney Special, The one I use for those sneaky sucking bites of those jumbo Perch is a black ultra lite Ugly Stick. Hey, I once set the hook on a snag with one of Brians Fig Rigs and almost ended up swimming back to camp. I won't do that again!!!!

[Col Ron guide]

Fenwick all the way. Saying that, there are about a half a dozen good companies to go with. One thing you want to do, no matter which one you buy, is to strap on the reel and make sure it is balanced, especially if you are jigging.

Col. Ron

[beef]

I like St. Croix's Avid and the Fig Rig...

Beef

[ffishman]

All very interesting replies. Like I said I use ugly sticks and have used them for many moons. Caught all kinds of fish on them, from the tinyest to large eyes and northerns. Most of the time I out fish my partners. A number of years ago, on cass, I used a guide (to remain nameless, not Brian) and my ugly stick out fished him. So, you can see why I'm reluctent to change. But if what you say is true, with a different rod, my catch ratio should sky rocket.

[beef]

The biggest thing you will notice is the sensitivity...If you don't like a higher end rod, stick with your Ugly Stick..Good Luck....

Beef

[genegodawa]

Just great Ffishman...now adults all over will be wresting their old Ugly Stiks back away from their grandkids!

I'm starting to remember back when I finally was weened off the cane pole........I never got no Ugly Stik from my grandpa...it was a metal telescoping rod with an open face reel with thick black-cloth line...and the reel had that "clicker" setting either on or silent. Used to love to hear that reel start clicking. Was a real pain to cast though. I know I still got the pole and might have the reel or at least one similar in the garage. A new winter project for me - prep the old gear for next year's Cass trip---we're gonna need a bigger boat!

[gowdy]

Gents,

If any of you guys ever get a chance to get a Rogue (named after the Rogue River) do so. I have several St. Croix rods and my one Rogue is far and away my favorite.

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Gowdy

[Col Ron guide]

Gowdy,

Do you remember where you purchased it from?

Ron

[genegodawa]

Sure Ron, you ask Gowdy - what, you don't want to know where to purchase a metal telescoping pole?

[gowdy]

Colonel,

I bought it from 'Fish Tales' in Lake Zurich. But you can go to the Rogue webb site and they have a complete listing of where to buy them at.

The one I have is far and away the best fishing pole I have ever had.

Take care,

Gowdy

[Col Ron guide]

Gowdy, Thanks, already found that site with the help of Otter. Looks very impressive.

Gene,

The word on the street is that Gowdy knows a lot about his pole....

Col Ron

[The Texan]

Thatta boy Col.!!!!

Gowdy does play with his rod quite a bit at the office...at least that's what I hear...Also hear he is looking in the catalog for extensions....

Texan

[genegodawa]

Ooooo...a little "pick on Gowdy" time?

Yeah Col, he probably knows it "like the back of his hand".

[gowdy]

Ok. So now we have a group of comedians on this web site.

By the way, I bring it up north in a six 1/2 foot rod holder.

Gowdy

[The Texan]

Gowdy,

Kinda like hauling around a matchstick in a suitcase isn't it???

Texan

[gowdy]

Actually like putting a 6 lb ham into a 5 lb bag.

[ffishman]

That's good lots of opinions, but I should have guessed it would come out this was. I was kinda hoping for it to swing one way of another, St Croix or Shimano.

[gowdy]

St. Croix is better than Shimano. You can tell the difference.

But, the big girls love "The Rogue"!!!!

[Brian Jones]

I think "Stinky Stoggie" would be more fitting!

[ffishman]

As of now, I'm leaning towards the Croix. My biggest holdback is on other sites, a lot of guys claim the new ones break easily. Anybody know if theres any truth to this, about them breaking easily?

[ffishman]

As of now, I'm leaning towards the Croix. My biggest holdback is on other sites, a lot of guys claim the new ones break easily. Anybody know if theres any truth to this, about them breaking easily?