I bought the 73mlxf and found the blank is great for finesse fishing, but am really disappointed with the handle design. The handle and reel seat is too far back. The handle is anything but up to St. Croix standards and the reel seat needs moved forward to balance the blank in your hand. It is too butt heavy and the Legend Extreme or Mojo Yak spinning handle would make this more sensitive and comfortable in the right location.

I bought my 12th St. Croix spinning rod yesterday, the Victory 6'10" MLXF model. A friend bought one a few weeks ago, and I tried his yesterday on the water, and immediately upon leaving the lake, I drove to the local Florence, Alabama Dick's Sporting Goods store and bought the only one they had left in stock. I have seven St. Croix ML spinning rods, including the superb Legend Elite MLXF 6'10" rod, but I think I may just end up liking the Victory the best. The Mojo Bass MLXF 6'10" rod is also a fine rod, but for less than $50 more, the Victory MLXF 6'10" rod has a tighter action than the MojoBass, and also has a 15 year warranty, being made in the USA. The Victory also has a more comfortable handle than either the Mojo Bass or the Legend Elite, feeling better in the hand on casting and retrieving. The only downside of the Victory that I've seen, and I've already corrected this with the installation of a Fuji EZ Keeper on the blank above the handle, is that the Victory's hookkeeper is mounted on the blank below the reel seat on the handle, which could cause a problem with a fish hook in the hand if grabbed improperly. I'm looking forward to many days of successful smallmouth fishing on Pickwick Lake with this new rod! Great job, St. Croix!
Kerry Shapiro

I've had my Victory 610MLXF for 12 months now. I live on & fish the coastal rivers & estuaries on the mid north coast of NSW, Australia. Fortunate to have caught hundreds of fish on this rod, including bass to 19", mulloway to 36" (20lb) & flathead to 41" (approx 20lb). Paired the rod to a 2500 Stradic Ci4, either 8 or 10lb braid, with 10 to 12lb FC or mono leader. If I could take just one rod on the boat with me, this would be it. For the lure fishing I do, it's just so versatile. Be it topwater, casting small jigs & chatterbaits, hard bodies or small vibes, it's just a joy to use. The casting weights recommended by St Croix are fair, but for me, the sweet spot is probably around 1/6 to 1/4 ounce. Apart from its versatility and being a beautifully balanced rod, I just love its smooth transition between power and sensitivity. Especially when fighting mulloway and flathead on braid, the rod absorbs those big head shakes beautifully. Although having a sensitive tip, the rod also has enough power to steer a solid bass out of heavy timber or big flathead away from oyster racks and without any noticeable twist in the blank. I also love the handle and fore grip. You can cast with this rod all day, but when you have to play out a fish, it's very comfortable & balanced in your hand. Also hats off to the people at Tackle Warehouse. The rod was delivered to my door here in Australia, within 5 to 6 days of order. Fantastic service. Thank you St Croix, this rod is a gem.

Picked up a VTS73MLXF for river smallies. Love the feel and sensitivity. This is my twelfth St. Croix rod, and won't use anything else. Thank you St. Croix!

This is my first St. Croix and definitely not gonna be my last. I’m very impressed with the spinning rod I purchased the improved casting ability over my old rod and the sensitivity and action as I stated, I’m very impressed and I’m going to be buying more this week.