St Croix 2M70MHF2 Musky/Saltwater 2 Piece Rod

After having United Airlines lose my Calstar rods on my last trip to the East Cape and the addition of rediculous charges for checking in oversize luggage, I decided to build a series of travel saltwater rods for my Baja adventures. I built a 3 piece, 8 1/2' Lamiglas surf rod and a 3 piece, 7 1/2' St Croix inshore rod both rated 12-25#. I wanted a heavy rod for casting surface iron, trolling and bottom fishing. I chose St Croix 2M70MHF2 and figured I could use it for surf launch NCAL rock fishing. The production rod is the St Croix PM70MHF2 - 7'0":2 piece:20-50 lb. test $150.00. I used cork grips, Amercan Tackle aluminum gimbal, Pacific Bay Channel Lock aluminum reel seet, nylon deck loop leash attachment/hook keeper, Fuji BLRLG Hardloy Turbo Boat guides, and a Fuji MNST silicon carbide tip. The BLRLG guides were overkill but I bought them on sale last year so figured I should use them. The Pac Bay reel seat was also overkill but it is a really cool design and figured it was good for the economy.  Ended up costing a little more than the production rod but that is what makes custom rods special.

Product Review:
The rod feels pretty light in the hand even with the heavy guide set. The 2 piece design makes stowing the rod and lining the rod much easier than a 1 piece rod. I built a rod tube inside my hull to store the rod for surf launches. I matched the rod with a Daiwa Luna 300 with 50# spiderwire invisibraid. The rod is rated at 3/4 - 3 oz but in my tests seems to cast best with 1-4 oz lures. It can cast lures a country mile with decent accuracy. The rod is surprisingly stiff but flexes through the butt section. When pulling on big fish it is more comfortable to use 1 or 2 hands on the foregrip. The size 8 tip is also pretty stiff but the SC2 Graphite transmits vibrations well so you can feel a sandab bite. I wouldn't use this rod for sturgeon fishing, salmon mooching, tossing live bait or finess fishing with light jigs. Overall, it will be my #1 rock fishing rod. I only bring 1 rod ocean fishing so I need something that can both cast and and jig and is easy to store. For Baja, it will be a great trolling rod and also great for kelp-cutting applications.

Conclusion:
If you are looking for a 2 piece rod for rock fishing and you like casting, you should check it out. Hey it is only $30 more than a Baidarka and is better constructed and made in America. 

Scott

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Awesome job on the rod Scott. I'm sure it will be super special catching huge fish with the rod you built with your very own hands.

Jedmo

A work of art! Very nicely done.

I'm very happy with my 2 piece rods and being able to stow them in my hatch.

I will say that the spiral wrap is an especially good choice for a 2 piece cause there is no chance of the rod twisting.

scott, your rods always look like a real pleasure to fish with!

That looks like a great rod Scott. I've been using a noodley 2-piece ugly stik this season as a lighter alternative to my usual rod choice, and it's worked great for a few halibut and choice verms. 2pcs makes it a dream for stowing.

How did you attach the deck loop on the bottom grip?

Sean

Drill 2 large pilot holes through the blank so the threads barely grip. Fill holes with 2 ton epoxy and attach with 2 stainless steel screws. Works great as a leash attachment and hook keeper.

Scott

Good job Scott... Musky blanks are certainly suitable for inshore saltwater fishing.  Lots of power to those blanks.  Yeah, the guides are overkill but hey, you won't have to worry about banging them around.