St. Croix Premier Ice rod - Review

[icefishingmn]

How good is the St. Croix Premier Ice Rod, how is the sensitivity?

[mww24]

For what kind of fishing? Just the rod or the combo? Im not a fan of the reels. Just don't fit right in my hand. More personal preference. They do perform well though. I like the rods for using jigging spoons and they seem plenty sensitive for walleye and most perch fishing. I prefer different styles of rods for pannies though. Not sure if the blanks have changed this year or if just the color. Pm me if you want some older premier combos. I'm clearing a couple out to thin my rod herrld

[icefishingmn]

no i want to get the newer ones, but thanks for your offer, i want to try out the panfish ultralight 28 inch, how good is that one?

[FirstIce]

They are in the middle of the pack. Not the worst rod out there and not the best.

[BDiss]

I have the m, ml, and ul all in the 28 length. I like them all and the ul is great for pan fish. Plenty sensitive. The only thing you need to watch for is alignment of the eyes. A lot of them are really off.

[MN BassFisher]

I have the 28" ML and I use that for small spoons now (buckshots mostly). I used to use it with tungsten panfish jigs for panfish and it was still sensitive enough to see the bite. I then bought the 24" UL and that is now the panfish rod of choice of my 10 combos (various rods - Fenwicks, Frabills, Jason Mitchells, Gander Mtn's). I don't use the $70 custom rods and I'm sure they are much nicer but for $20 I would highly recommend the Premiers!

[icefishingmn]

I have the 28" ML and I use that for small spoons now (buckshots mostly). I used to use it with tungsten panfish jigs for panfish and it was still sensitive enough to see the bite. I then bought the 24" UL and that is now the panfish rod of choice of my 10 combos (various rods - Fenwicks, Frabills, Jason Mitchells, Gander Mtn's). I don't use the $70 custom rods and I'm sure they are much nicer but for $20 I would highly recommend the Premiers!

so your saying that the 24 is better than the 28 inch, i thought the longer the better softness and sensitivity

[mww24]

I have a 28" ultra light. I like it for small jigging spoons. I use that rod for fishing the older lindy frostee with a small treble. Works perfect for aggresive pannies

[FirstIce]

so your saying that the 24 is better than the 28 inch, i thought the longer the better softness and sensitivity

Longer rods are always going to be better. You are going to get a better action out of them, more control, and see better results. Fighting bigger fish will also be more beneficial with a longer rod. Now there are some benefits to shorter rods and that is mainly used in sight fishing scenarios, where you wanna be really close to the hole. Another thing to keep in mind is if you do a lot of fishing in a portable. 36" rods will be tougher than 24" or 28" rods to use in tighter quarters. Sensitivity has a lot to do with the blanks, guides, line, etc. Sure there are some 24" models that will be more sensitive than 28" models and that comes mainly from the items I mentioned. All in all I would shoot for a minimum 28" model as that is the most versatile size for indoors and outdoors.

St. Croix is also starting to make a variety of sizes this year, a lot to choose from even up to 36".

UL for panfish... works great for any of your light panfish tackle 1/16 oz or less.

ML for perch/finesse walleye.. I find it best for 1/8oz up to 1/4 oz. lures even 1/16 oz will work.

Med. for walleye...excels in 1/4-3/8 oz lures.

MH for heavier walleye applications 3/8-1/2 oz. lures

[MN BassFisher]

If you are able to find the 28" UL I would get it! I wasn't able to. I will have to do some searching. When I'm in certain portables, it's nice to have a rod shorter than 28" but that's just because some of my ice fishing buddies have smaller shacks.

[Fred_Bear]

UL for panfish... works great for any of your light panfish tackle 1/16 oz or less.

ML for perch/finesse walleye.. I find it best for 1/8oz up to 1/4 oz. lures even 1/16 oz will work.

Med. for walleye...excels in 1/4-3/8 oz lures.

MH for heavier walleye applications 3/8-1/2 oz. lures

This info is SPOT ON! I used the 28" UL for panfish and 28" ML for walleye the last 5 years or so. Not the greatest rods ever but the best I've found straight off the rack in Gander, FF, etc. Way better than Frabill or Jason Mitchell rods I've used.