New Walleye rod

One of the items on my wish list for the spring is a new walleye rod. I am heavily leaning towards picking up a St. Croix but not sure which on to get. This would be for mostly jig fishing and I am looking at 6’3″ to 6’8″ medium action with an extra fast tip. The budget is most likely tapped out around $200.

I am currently looking at the Eyecon, Avid and the Legend Tournament walleye rods. Of course I have heard good things about the Eyecon and the Avid but not much about the Legend Tournament.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Dave

There will be several good replies on your post. Also several great product offerings available in the marketplace today. In regards to the legend series, a great rod no doubt, but since the up grade of the Avids a couple years back,the gap was narrowed between the 2 models IMO.Not every action is available in every series of product lines. I am a big believer in the lifetime warranty myself.

A couple of other factors to consider is, which action for what presentation and hard line vs mono for how you plan on using the rod. I would also advise you to actually use or fish the rod you are considering, to see first hand if it meets or hopefully exceeds what you were hoping for.

Thanks Dean I was really temped to try out your rig last Wednesday but am thinking that is not in my price range for this spring – I’ve committed to a new bow and need to hold back a few pennies

I generally fish mono (Suffix Siege or Cortland) but really liked the new Suffix 832 last week for vertical jig fishing. I assume that line also would work well for pitching plastics which would be my two primary uses for the new rod.

I believe the Avid and the Legend Tournament are in the same price range – are you saying you like the Avid better since the changes? I believe the Avid and Legend both have the models and the lifetime warranty. The Eyecon only listed a 5 year warranty but did still offer 6’3″ and 6’8″ Medium extra fast models.

Dave

Avid is the best value, in my opinion. Lifetime warranty is the greatest thing around. I’d recommend the AS68MXF for fishing with mono, and the AS69MLXF for braid/fireline. I like mono for casting jigs and braid for vertical jigging, blade baits, and smaller cranks. You can use either line for all of the above, but not as effectively. I have two of each rod/line combo to avoid that problem.

I’ll poke in my 2 cents worth. If it came down to the avid or legend tournament I would definitely save the $50 and get the avid. Now from a personal level , I like to jig (both vertical and pitch) with a split grip rod and so I think I would go with the new Eyecon series. From there it all depends on what weight jigs/blades/plastics will be jigged/pitched to determine whether medium action or Medium-light action is better. IMO always get the x-fast tip in jigging applications. By the way it sounds is that you will be using this rods for all around jigging (pitching and vertical)? IF this is the case then definitely get a 6’8″ -6’9″ rod. I personally like a shorter rod for vertical jigging. But the shorter rod won’t do the pitching game nearly as well and you cn always vertical jig with a little longer rod.

In the end then if you want medium action (x-fast tip) duel purpose jigging rod then : regular grip = AVID (AVS68MXF) and : split grip = Eyecon (ECS68MXF)

IMO anyways

I don’t like the color blue, so I always grab the Avids. I only wish they’d print what I’m supposed to use the rod for on the Avids like they do on the Tournament Series…I’d hate to vertical jig with a cranking rod, or bobber fish with a trolling rod.

Thanks for all the feedback

Yes, to an extent, I am looking at this as a multipurpose rod for jig fishing – vertical and pitching. I have tried a few different 7′ rods and just can’t seem to get used to the length. I currently have a bunch of the Bass Pro Bionic Blades and Extremes since I got a good deal and loaded up a few years back. These have fast tip and most are the 6’6″ medium power – these have been decent rods but looking to upgrade a bit

Dave

I really don’t think you can go wrong with the AVID (AVS68MXF) then.

great topic by the way. I could talk about it all day. Just not enough time or money when it comes to rods and fishing eyes.

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I really don’t think you can go wrong with the AVID (AVS68MXF) then.

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This rod gets my vote as well for fishing jigs and mono. Have not used some of the other models mentioned but have been happy enough with this rod I have not had to

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Thanks for all the feedback

Yes, to an extent, I am looking at this as a multipurpose rod for jig fishing – vertical and pitching. I have tried a few different 7′ rods and just can’t seem to get used to the length. I currently have a bunch of the Bass Pro Bionic Blades and Extremes since I got a good deal and loaded up a few years back. These have fast tip and most are the 6’6″ medium power – these have been decent rods but looking to upgrade a bit

Dave

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If you are thinking the St. Croix rods are going to be better than an Extreme, you are going to be sadly disapointed with your investment. While St. Croix makes some great rods, the BPS Bionic Blade are comparable in sensitivity, feel, and balance with the Avids. The Extreme’s I would put above the Avid.
What you are buying is the warranty.
I have a full arsenal of both rods and have had friends hand me the St. Croixs so they could use the BPS rods without knowing the names of each rods. It was all by feel/fit/function.
The draw back to the BPS rods is that they are quite fragile and their warranty doesn’t compare. but they are less than half-price.

To upgrade on the St. Croix/G-Loomis brands from your BPS models, you will be digging well over $200/rod.

However, I could be truly mislead here.
With that said, see Dean. Get the rods he recommends and compare them to what you have side-by-side. Aint too many people who can set up a rod/reel better for the individual fisherman than Dean.

Thanks Gary. I have been very satisfied with the BPS rods I have but I have broken a few and like you said, the warranty is just not there. I think I was buying the Bionic Blades for $60 and the Extremes with the Shimano Stradics for about $100 when they were on a good sale. These were hard to beat for the feel and the price/value at the time.

I do appreciate Dean’s “try before you buy” option and will definitely be talking more to Dean about this before I take the plunge.

Dave

Might as well try Dean’s test fleet since he’ll let you. I’m with the rest on 6’8 med XF for light jigs w/ mono and mono IS important. Blades is a job for superline and a 6’9″ ml xf Avid or Legend Extreme, get what you can afford. I have been really happy with my 6’8″ Legend Extreme for pitching light jigs/plastics. IMO,the added sensitivity has paid off. I also have the Avid in the MLXF and it is a great rod.

Either way, St. Croix makes a great product with good support and it will be hard to pick the wrong one.

6’9″ MLXF Avid. Prefer my Avids over my Legends. Just my opinion.