Wondering about others experience with St Croix warranty. Got a tide master 7’ MH Fast two weeks ago. I was loving it until late yesterday. Had a great day with 40+ reds. Drolled a buddy off at marina and headed out for some trout at a spot I killed it at last fall. 2 dink reds and then I thought I hooked a nice flounder the way it felt. Wasn’t much pressure on the rod and bam, breaks a little before the action. Managed to get the fish up and it was a 3’ or so bonnet head. I could not believe the rod gave out before the 15# mono, no leader.
Caught this red on it last week and he put a lot more pressure on it
I have had $30 Berkeley Lightning rods hold up better
Sounds like that 160 bucks would’ve been better spent on 4 ugly sticks. Seems those fancy rod blanks, though they have superd action, don’t like getting knocked around; bottom of the boat, tossed in the back of the truck. Also if you didn’t pay for the extended warranty (still only 1year) you may be SOL. Just sayin’. Nice catches though!
“If it were catching, Everyone would be good at it.”
I’ve got several, all several years old and never had one break, so no experience with the warranty. Usually if a rod breaks it’s because of me, or somebody else abusing it anyway. I wouldn’t file for warranty because somebody stepped on it or shut it in the truck door. Yours does sound like a defective rod to me. It happens, not often but it does.
I have seen some goliath grouper break 3 big rods and 2 good reels all in the same night But that’s an exception. A 3’ bonnet head shouldn’t break that rod.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose
Go to the website and follow the instructions. Very easy. I got my new rod within a month. You have n to register your rod within 30 days of purchase on there website so it sounds like you still have time if you act fast.
I snapped one of mine and got the replacement in a week. Take a close look at the break and I’ll bet you see a little depression (maybe even a tiny one). Mine had a little knick from carrying it rigged with a topwater bait. That’s where it snapped. nice and clean
Hmmmm, broken on a trout. I went with this rod primarily for artificials this fall and winter. Everything I’ve read and heard about the sensitivity is what sold me. I also figured it had enough backbone to handle some of the bigger reds I hook. I used to use ugly’s up on the Chesapeake for stripes.
One thing you might want to consider is this was just a freak break. There’s not always a “scientific reason” behind the break. Crap happens sometimes. If it were a matter of blank issues, there would be much more talk about faulty blanks and how “St Croix is junk, don’t buy them” out there than there is. I’m not a fan of St Croix for other reasons but I’m sure they’ll take care of you and replace it for you. Granted, it won’t be instantanious but they will get you squared away.
You’ll have a new one in about a week. I love their rods and have a bunch. I broke two and had them replaced. I finally figured out why they were breaking. When I had them in the rod holders on the side of my center console, they were hitting the top of my T-top while riding and getting a nick in them. I covered that tube of the T-top with foam and haven’t had any more issues. St. Croix never questioned how they were breaking.
But that’s an exception. A 3’ bonnet head shouldn’t break that rod.