St Croix Fishing Rods come from a US family business started in 1948, after World War II, by brothers Bob and Bill Johnson, in Park Falls, WI, USA.

St. Croix is the river which runs between the States of Wisconsin and Minnesota where they lived. It's probably this river at the origin of the name of the company.

Originally into the landing nets business for a very brief year, the two brothers made a break-through with the idea of cutting the long fishing poles of those days in three pieces which were made re-joinable with the use of metallic (brass) ferrules. The idea was a success because people found the rods much easier to transport. The company moved later into the manufacturing of fibreglass rods and many different fibreglass items until it got into trouble in the mid '70s recession.

The real man and hero behind the company is thus Gordon Schluter who firstly managed the company in the '60s and then saved it from closing in 1977. His sons, Paul (now General Manager and President), Jeff (now President of Sales and Marketing), and David (Vice President of Manufacturing) contributed substantially to St Croix success and achievements during the years.

St croix is a full-line rod manufacturer. They make rods for spinning, fly fishing and salt water use. Other company items include ice fishing rods, reels, rod cases and fishing accessories and clothes.

What I find very important is that St. Croix makes their own blanks, so it's not an "assembler" like other rod companies. Moreover, they make available ALL these blanks to rodmakers who wish to build their own fishing rod.

Being a family business and in the trade for so many years makes St.Croix also well known and respected for their excellent customer service.

Here some recommendations for their spinning rods:

Avid Crankbait: medium-heavy power and a moderate action, High-modulus SCIII graphite, 6'6'' to 7' length, light rod, ergonomic cork handle, very good sensitivity (so when you are reeling in the crankbait or similar you feel every wobble it makes in the water); premium quality components at an affordable price.

Legend Elite: high-end series, SCv High-modulus/high-strain graphite, very light weight, medium power and fast action. Guide rings are made of Silicon Carbide (SiC) which SiC is a super smooth and hard material that's 12 times tougher than stainless steel and about twice as hard as aluminum oxide. Silicon Carbide ring also weighs 1/3 less than stainless steel and 1/6 of tungsten carbide rings..
Definetely an excellent rod designed to fish for bass, walleye and similar.

Premier Traveler: excellent trout rod, 4 pieces, casts well and is quite sensitive, SCII graphite, weight (without reel) 3.0 oz.

Book recommendation: Largemouth Bass Extreme Fishing Guide. Top Secret Techniques Of The Professional Bass Fishing Guides Exposed

St Croix Fishing rods Technological Innovations include:

Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) Technology

"Designed to eliminate all transitional points in the rod blank, IPC-engineered rods feature smoother actions, increased strength and greater sensitivity." (Quoted)
The conical shape (the taper) of the rod is done in a continous line and not in segments.

"IPC allows to build a 4-pieces fly rod that feels and casts like a 1-piece".

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Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™)

"Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™) is a carbon fiber material that strengthen (10X) the blank with virtually no increase in its diameter or weight. ART prevents the blank from deforming or “ovaling” under a severe load, such as a powerful hook set or fish battle. ART is also a critical part of St. Croix slim-profile ferrule design. " (quoted and modified). The slim-profile ferrule has less mass resulting in improved flow from section-to-section. In other words, no flat spots in the ferrule area.

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Laser Guided Technology

St. Croix is probably the only rod company in the world that uses custom-built laser technology in the manufacturing process. This technology asssures perfect placement, alignment and straightness of every rod that leaves the factory.

Contact for St Croix fishing rods, blanks and reels:

St. Croix of Park Falls, Ltd.
856 4th Avenue North
PO Box 279
Park Falls, WI 54552
PH: (715) 762-3226
FX: (715) 762-3293
TF: (800) 826-7042

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