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Rod Review


 

St. Croix's 8'8" Legend Glass : What's the Dealio?

 

Date: 2/13/19
Tackle Type: Rod
Manufacturer: St. Croix
Reviewer: Cal






Total Score: 7.92 - GOOD

Introduction:
With the BASS tournament restriction on rod length extended from eight to ten feet back in 2016, several rod manufacturers, and of course anglers, have been busy finding a way to take advantage. One obvious technique that can benefit from more distant casts a longer rod could help enable is deep cranking. The further your cast, the deeper your bait will run and the longer you can keep it in that precious strike zone. St. Croix has answered the call within their Legend Glass series of cranking sticks and today, we take a look at their 8'-8" LGC88HM.

 

St. Croix Legend Glass LGC88HM Specifications

Material SCI Linear S-Glass
Length 8'-8"
Line Wt. 12-25lb
Lure Wt. 1/2-1 3/8oz
Pieces One
Guides 10 + tip (Fuji K-Series SS frames w/ Alconite inserts)
Rear Handle Length 14"
Power Rating Heavy
Taper Moderate
Rod Weight 7.9
Origin Made in USA
MSRP $270


Introducing St. Croix's top cranking series, Legend Glass.

Impressions: The LGC88HM is the longest rod in St. Croix's Legend Glass casting rod lineup which includes two 6'-10" and one each 7'-2", 7'4", and 7'-11" models. It is made from the company's lightweight linear S-Glass blanks which deliver a much lighter and more responsive glass rod than previous generation fiberglass technology allowed.

 


The LGC88HM is an 8'-8" cranking stick!

 

The first thing that struck me when I pulled this stick out from the rod tube was "Dang, this rod is long!" I find it difficult enough to manage an eight foot rod on our recreation sized, TackleTour bass boats, so I knew this 8'-8" beast was going to prove a real challenge. Nevertheless, the curiosity over the advantages a super long cranking stick could provide was too strong to dismiss.


It features a split rear grip of good quality cork.

Real World Tests: I matched the LGC88HM up with a reel that is strong, heavy duty, yet can cast a variety of lure weights. This of course is none other than Shimano's Bantam MGL. Zander beat me to the punch on the review of this gem only because it took Shimano an extra month or two to deliver a left hand retrieve model to the market.


Each section of the grip is finished off with a subtle but refinded metal winding check.

Casting: For our initial tests with this rod, I spooled up my Shimano Bantam MGL with 20lb Sunline Super Natural nylon monofilament and tied a Spro Little John Super DD Crankbait. My primary goal, of course, was to get a feel for this rod and though this bait is weighs slightly more than the rod's max lure rating (1 1/2oz vs 1 3/8oz), the LGC88HM really felt as though it could handle it.


The reel seat is capped of wit a decorative piece of cork.

I started off with a few easy casts to get a feel for this extra long rod and once I felt comfortable, I really laid into a couple to see what kind of distance I could get with the bait. I was pretty under whelmed. The rod felt like it loaded fine, but on the release, it felt a little soft and my bait wasn't getting any further than it would on a standard length rod, so I switched to a lighter bait (Molix's Sculpo XD) and tried again - same result. The rod just wasn't behaving like the catapult it should.


With just a little pressure on the rod, only the top part of the rod deflects, but with more pressure, like when a fish is pulling, this stick is more moderate.

Thinking it through, I surmised there must be too much give in my setup for an efficient cast. I naturally gravitate towards nylon monofilament lines on my cranking setups because I want the line to have some give when fighting a fish. But the LGC88HM has some natural give already because it's glass. It's just longer than any glass cranking stick I've ever fished.


A larger stick requires a larger reel seat - but St. Croix manages to source a seat from Fuji that still has an exposed blank design.

Next Section: The right setup is critical...

 

   

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