St. Croix LEGEND Surf Rods

 As many of you know, I did a review on my St. Croix Avid surf rod a while back on this blog. That rod was great and served me well. One day last fall I was using it along some rocky dropoffs when I hooked a decent size striper. I was on a high perch and when I got the fish rear the rocks, I did something really stupid.  I attempted to lift the fish up, and when I did, I heard a "snap". My favorite surf rod was now in two pieces. I knew the rod had the best warranty in the rod business-no questions asked if it breaks, one of the great advantages of St. Croix rods.  I filled out all the paperwork and sent the required $60 payment for replacement under warranty.

Unfortunately, the replacement rod was not in stock, and I would have to wait till December for the rod to come in.  In the meantime, I planned use an old Mojo surf rod I had. It was just way subpar compared to the newer Avid rod.  With two months left to the season, I decided to check out the St. Croix website and see what else was available. That's when I noticed they had the 10 foot Surf Legend in stock.  So, I went ahead and purchased it.

I bought a 10 foot medium power, moderate fast action rod, #GSS100MMF2.  The website describes this rod as "an elite surfcasting performer" and I have to agree 100% with that evaluation. This rod has a legendary feel to it.  It's a bit stiffer than the Avid, and it has a real solid feel to it. But, it's still lightweight. It has a lot of power on the cast and is super solid when fighting a good size fish. The website says it can handle 1 to 4 oz. plugs and I agree with that assessment. 

Everything about this rod is elite- a beautiful blue color, titanium guides and a unique a handle of neoprene overlay that looks and feels cool. In addition, the Legend carries an incredible 15 year warranty. Yes, it's pricy, but not any more expensive than some of the top brands of surf rods these days.

So, I finished off my season with my St. Croix Legend, fished in some rugged terrain with big water and came away with a good number of large fish. I have to say the rod performed flawlessly. 

I think I have found my ultimate surf rod.

This is my new St. Croix Legend surf rod that I used at the
end of the fall. It was a elite performer and was flawless
on the cast and on the fight.

First "Big Show" Seminar- New England Fishing Expo, Jan. 31

 

I start my 2026 fishing seminars at the big shows on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 2:00 at the New England Fishing Expo in Marlboro, MA. This is one of the biggest pure fishing shows in New England.  It features a lot of freshwater fishing as well as saltwater fishing.  There are reps from a lot of companies showing their new stuff as well as independent tackle dealers selling their wares along with guides and charter boat captains. They also feature an all-star line-up of seminar speakers.  The seminar schedule is on their website at nefishingexpo.com

I will be doing my all new 2026 striper fishing seminar titled Situational Striper Fishing. From the high surf of the oceanfront to the backwaters of bays and ponds, we’ll explore a number of situations (how-to approaches) that striper fishermen encounter as they cast for these gamesters. Such topics as how to fish skinny water (from shore and kayak), how to tackle rocky shorelines, how to take a finesse approach, big bait tactics, storm tactics, and many more situations will be covered to help anglers to catch more fish and bigger fish.  The seminar mostly focuses on shore fishing, but has segments for boaters and kayakers.

The New England Fishing Expo runs for three days from Jan. 30 to Feb.1. It is held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlboro, MA (181 Boston Post Rd.) right off Rt. 495.

Hope to see many of my followers at the show!

On the Ice

I landed this nice size largemouth
bass today while jigging.

 With all these cold temperatures the ice is thickening all across southern New England.  I got out in the last couple of days and found safe ice in northern RI and nearby MA. The ice seems to be running 3 to 6 inches thick with higher amounts the further north you explore.

Today I got out with my two youngest sons, Ben and Jon.  Jon is an avid ice fisherman and fishes extensively in the three state area of RI, MA and NH. He's already been steadily hitting the ice for the last couple of weeks, mostly in NH. Ben is on "maturnity" leave and has some time on his hands. He also lives on lakeside property along a very productive shoreline so that makes things easy.

We mostly jig when we ice fish and that usually leads to a lot of fish and a lot of variety.  Today we landed perch, pickerel, largemouth bass and yellow perch in good numbers.  Ben and I were jigging small, 1/12 oz. Kastmasters tipped with fake, plastic meal worms.  Jon, who landed the most fish, was using a 1/12 oz. grub jig. We cut a lot of holes looking for fish using my power auger, a real valuable tool when ice jigging. It's a trial and error game and we hit the jackpot after about a half hour of fishing.

Jon landed this good size pickerel on a grub jig.

If you are looking for some wintertime action, think about jigging freshwater ponds in southern New England.  If you are fishing in RI, CT, or NH, you will need a new 2026 freshwater fishing license.  In RI, your old 2025 license is good until the end of Feb.