bassmaster4 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I recently picked up a fenwick HMG 6'6 ML spinning rod at a local tackle shop and i am happy with my purchase,my buddy has been telling me that st. croix rods are far more superior in quality to the fenwick rods.(i tend to disagree but i have no problems with st. croix and would gladly buy another) I was an owner of a St.Croix triumph that snapped while fighting a pike (mainly my fault). I was just wondering about your guys opinions on st. Croix rods vs. fenwick rods which company would you rather go with or what is your personal preference and why? Thanks in advance bassmaster4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 First off... Triumph is the cheapest st.croix you can get... Premiers are good... I love my avid And my brother has some legends and they are incredible... Fenwick is at Canadian tire now... Wich says a lot... Fenwick quality has gone downhill... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjgraham Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I'm a Fenwick guy all the way. I own an HMX and absolutly love it. I've heard a few stories about St Croix's snapping. Could just be that they are more popular though. They seem to be all the rage right now kinda like shimano was back in the day. Edited October 11, 2011 by cjgraham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I'd go with St. Croix, I've seen quite a few Fenwicks, including brand new, break for no reason, but only talking about the musky series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Twenty years ago, I'd have said Fenwick...now, St Croix for sure. Had a Fenwick snap off with hardly any force on it while up north this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I had a brand new fenwick spinning rod snap below the first eye on a piece of rush bed grass... Barely pulled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scugpg Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 St. Croix! But if you are worried about warranty etc, check your dealer for warranty procedure. I've never had to warranty mine (knock on wood) but I have heard that you have to ship and pay shipping. Some dealers do over the counter on some brands....even if its a small charge it beats sending it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC1 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I'm pretty sure there is a huge St. Croix fanbase going around all over north america, and they are really are good rods! The triumph can't be the judge, as I'd say you need to try the Avid to really see how good they are. At the same time, I love my Fenwicks. I had a 6'0MH Walleye class that was beautiful for fishing senkos, until I broke it. Then, I had access to an HMX 6'10MH - This one seemed kind of heavy and not very sensitive. But, this is also the cheapest fenwick I've held. (an $80 rod in the 90's paid for a lot more rod than a new $80 rod does now.) Now I currently have a 6'6M HMGAV(Long discontinued) and a 6'6MH HMG - 2 beautiful rods that handles everything beautifully. Fenwick is one of the most underrated rod companies out there now. The older guys will probably have to explain how they were the leaders in the industry at one point way back when. Another thing to keep in mind is that a rod doesn't make you a better fisherman. It all comes down to YOU, time on the water, and lots and lots of practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmaster4 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 ouch looks like my buddy is right, this wouldnt stop me from buying another fenwick or st. croix, keep in mind i was not judging st.croix rods just because my triumph broke. Thanks for everyones input! keep the replies coming i am interested in hearing more opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 St.croix has awesome customer service... I broke a ten foot wild river rod... My fault totally... They have a set up where you can buy the replacement tip section for 30 bucks...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Fenwicks were a decent rod 40 years ago. If they work well for you, great but they really DO have a bad reputation for blowing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registerfly Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 St.croix has awesome customer service... I broke a ten foot wild river rod... My fault totally... They have a set up where you can buy the replacement tip section for 30 bucks...! I wish my replacement/warranty was rectified that quickly. It's been 2.5 months going and it's not even a St Croix company issue per se. Indirectly yes it is, but my dealer is great and gave me an avid in place of my son's legend for the time being. That just reflects the dealer, not St Croix, so take it for what it's worth. Last I heard no one made an indestructible fishing rod unless we all want to fish flagpoles. As for rod company choice, go with what you want to, we all make purchase decisions based solely on personal reasons and objectives. If it feels right in the hand then you will know. BTW are they even in the same pricing category? Doesn't seem to make sense trying to decide between 2 rods if one is double or triple the cost. Unless you are trying to purchase based only on $ and not type of rod and application, ie Fenwick's more expensive against St. Croix entry level rod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 And FYI, go to the Fenwick site http://www.fenwickfishing.com/ and read what it says on the cover page. Those four words alone should give you an idea as to their competence. Fenwick answers Bassmaster's question themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jigger Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Bought a fenwick spinning rod. It broke. Sent it back, they replaced it with a new one. It broke. I bought better rods. Was happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 The Fenwick Highlander goes on sale at CT for 49.99 sometimes... Best rod for that price and CT has an easy return policy, although I've havnt had to use it in 3yrs. I'm VERY hard on equipment but I like quality... The Highlander is the answer for me. It sounds like the St.Coixs are in a different league nowdays, but for 50.00 I will take the Fenwick anyday thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adolson Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) The Fenwick Highlander goes on sale at CT for 49.99 sometimes... Best rod for that price and CT has an easy return policy, although I've havnt had to use it in 3yrs. I'm VERY hard on equipment but I like quality... The Highlander is the answer for me. It sounds like the St.Coixs are in a different league nowdays, but for 50.00 I will take the Fenwick anyday thank you very much. CT's customer service is sometimes sketchy in my area... (I believe the company as a whole changed their policies in recent times, but I could be wrong on that). Be sure you ask them about it, and if it were me, I'd be getting it writing. Some day, when I have extra money, I plan to get a St. Croix. Until then, my $50 rod with lifetime warranty will do. Edited October 11, 2011 by Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike rousseau Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 You gotta think this way... Sure you can buy 2 or 3 replacement 50 dollar rods for what I paid for my st.croix avid... But that means 2-3 ruined fishing days... 2-3 trips back to the store... 2-3 times dealing with the highschool kid at costumer service... And you are using a lower quality rod... What's your day on the water worth to you? In my experience... If you can afford the "investment" on a higher end rod... You'll be happier in the end... Also my brother broke a st.croix legend (his fault) flipping a 5lb walleye and "fumbled" the ending... Lol He contacted st.croix about what happened... They said it sounds like a defect... So my brother said he didn't wanna wait 1-2 months for a new rod... So they sent him a new one charged to his credit card... And when they received the broken rod... Reimbursed him... The new rod was here in less then a week... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F_ast Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I have had good luck with some my HMG AV stuff. It is one of their higher end muskie rods though. They have seen a ton of fish... But these rods are several years old now. Not a complaint out of my St.Croix stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Caster Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 You gotta think this way... Sure you can buy 2 or 3 replacement 50 dollar rods for what I paid for my st.croix avid... But that means 2-3 ruined fishing days... 2-3 trips back to the store... 2-3 times dealing with the highschool kid at costumer service... And you are using a lower quality rod... What's your day on the water worth to you? Haha it's not that bad. I've never had a ruined fishing day because of my $50 rod. The only Fenwick I ever broke was the victim of my car door. I bring a $20 spare with me everywhere I go and it serves me just fine. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a Top Quality rod, but unless you have Top Quality rod holders/carrybags/protectors/boat etc. it hardly seems worth the "accident" factor. It all depends on your fishing style. Either way, according to the masses, it sounds like the overall quality of the St-Croix's is better than the Fenwicks... but for $50 for a rod that is much better than anything else on the shelf, I'll take the Fenwick Highlander. Just my opinion of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I have a 6'6'' MF fenwick HMX, paired with a Pflueger Asaro, and really enjoy fishing with it.Mind you i have only used it for LMB, but i have caught some nice fish on it.Its super sensitive in my hands. My other rods are either Quantum, or Shimano. I hope to get a St.Croix Musky rod for Chritmas so i can pair it with the Calcutta TE 400 that Santa may get me. As you can see, i am not a brand loyal angler, and i fish with what feels good in my hands, rather than what the big advertising moguls tell me is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif[/img] As you can see, i am not a brand loyal angler, and i fish with what feels good in my hands, rather than what the big advertising moguls tell me is best. That makes two of us, but, when a rod blows up for no reason Like I said earlier, Fenwick used to be one of the most reliable rods in the business. Now....not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adolson Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 I hope to get a St.Croix Musky rod -snip- As you can see, i am not a brand loyal angler, and i fish with what feels good in my hands, rather than what the big advertising moguls tell me is best. You're not fooling anyone. We know you've seen this before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 It really depends on the rod for me. There is something about a Fenwick and ultra light trout fishing that can't be beat. However, one of my fav rods is my 7' Avid MH baitcast rod. I put a beating on that thing and it's nice to know if it snaps, I get an replacement without issue. My oldman always says buy your fishing gear once, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Nelson Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 St. Croix legend tournament, or legend Elite! Not cheap, but lightest/ strongest rod u can buy with lifetime warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCTFisher9120 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 First off... Triumph is the cheapest st.croix you can get... Premiers are good... I love my avid And my brother has some legends and they are incredible... Fenwick is at Canadian tire now... Wich says a lot... Fenwick quality has gone downhill... Well said, can't go wrong with a St Croix. Great service, had my Legend replaced within a month through the mail...not bad considering I shipped it to the US. Go with a St Croix but try and get into a Mojo or Premier. You get the 5yr warranty and with a Avid,Legend etc..you get a lifetime warranty. Fenwick is blahh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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