This is a fantastic rod for light surf and salmon fishing. Truly a fantastic rod, and every rod in my collection is St. Croix. However, it has one major issue that plagues every single one I have owned. The tips just break suddenly at the worst times. I've had to warranty 2 of them so far, and each time it breaks in the same exact place. The tips are just way too fragile, but the rest of the rod is fantastic! If St. Croix could reinforce the last 1/3 of the top piece of the rod, I think every angler should have one in their collection. With the issues they currently have, I really can't recommend it unless you are able to reinforce the top 1/3 of the rod.

The only place I can find the perfect 8' 6" trout rod

Used this rod for less than 15 minutes and it broke about 6" from the tip. I was reeling in my 3rd cast of day and it broke.
This is the 1st St.croix rods I have had break on me. It was bought for my annual Lake Nipigon trip. I was upset that it broke because I have owned numerous St.Croix rods and their quality and durability has never let me down.
Phil

Bought 5 of the 8'6" heavy action "salmon & steelhead" rods for use with king salmon. Within a years use I had to warranty 4 rods. Rods were cared for exceptionally well. They broke on both hook sets and during fish on right above the upper half joint eyelet in the exact same spot. St. Croix didn't have an answer other than "user error" according to the guy on the phone every time I called. We used the rods back trolling on anchor with a jet diver on a line slider paired with a spin n glo and salmon roe. 5000 series Penn reels with a loose drag.

I can understand one breaking.....but 4 is a trend and the rods broke in all different people's hands.

Our local tackle store where purchased also had 8-10 of these come back to the store as well that broke in the exact same spot. The local Alaska St. Croix rep has identified that these rods do indeed have a defect.

I eventually got all the warranty upper halves back and rid myself of all the rods as they are not trustworthy.

I have had zero issues with my 1 piece 7' Triumph spinning rods, I own 8 of these and they are terrific!

I would have left a review of one star, but the fact that St. Croix has a great warranty even though I had to pay for shipping on a defective product is the reason I gave it two stars.

Bought this rod (8’6” MH) for throwing jerkbaits, swimmies, and metal jigs from the So Cal sand. Mounted a 4000-sized reel with 20# braid and a 20# fluoro leader on it. It’s the perfect combo for targeting larger fish in the surf. The flexibility to toss bigger baits a country mile, while having the backbone to tackle anything I hook into. The cork grips don’t get slippery when wet, and the hardware seems to be top quality. My only complaint is that the reel seat wouldn’t stay locked down … but, nothing a little plumber’s tape couldn’t cure. Got lucky and bought it during a sale. But, even at full price, you’re getting a lot of rod for the money.