St Croix Premier or Fenwick Elite Tech

[bigstorm]

Looking for a new rod that will be used for Walleyes mostly. I have a St Croix Premier 28" Med now, just wondering how this compares to the Fenwick Elite Tech. Both are priced about the same ($30).

[lundin-loading]

I can't compare to the St croix, but I had an elite tech, and to me it was unnecessarily heavy due to way too many eyelets on a 28"long rod...It was my heavy spoon/jigging rap rod...until some unfortunate circumstances took it out of commission. I promptly ran down to sportsman's to replace it, and started fiddling with other rods and I ended up buying a 32" Med hev frabil that I'm pretty tickled with.

[jwetovick]

I have both. Orderd two premiers this year and one rod the guides are not even close to lined up. The Fenwick quality seems better. My personal opinion would be that both are ok if you get yours hands on em in a store before you buy but would lean a bit more towards the Fenwick.

[jwetovick]

Not to mention the Fenwick combo is on sale at cabelas and it's a good one for the price.

[greenbackhunter]

Check out the new fenwick aetos. Much nicer than the elite tech, IMO. Switched all my non-custom rods to these.

[bigstorm]

Thanks for the info.  I'll go to the store and check out and compare them

[toofuss]

Fenwick all the way. I love their med light for crappies

[Workemup]

St. croix ice rods are junk imo. I call em "St. crock of sh*t".  LOTS of problems with offset guides, tips and guides breaking (even higher dollar models), and for some reason, it seems like they thought that ice fishing isnt important enough to line up the spline of the blanks and place the guides properly.  I have a premier where its completely obvious. I admit, that St. crok isnt the only company cutting corners on this tho.

The Fenwick Elite tech are a much better choice imo. I own Jason mitchell, st. croix, and fenwick rods. They all have 4-5 guides. Weight isnt too big of an issue for me with them at all. The Fenwicks are a bit different than the other brands mentioned. They have more of a moderate action than most walleye rods in the 26-30" range. Most standard 28" medium and med. hvy. rods have a fast tip, some maybe even could be considered extra fast. The fenwicks have more bend than other rods in that class (probably why they use 5 guides).. For that reason, i use them as my braid rods. I always like having that extra forgiveness in a rod when using braid. The 27" medium bends like a stronger medium light, and the 28" medium heavy bends more like a regular 28" medium power rod, but it still has a bit more of a moderate action than your typical 28" medium. Hope that clears it up.

If ya got a little extra, i would say go with the JM line. Best of all 3 brands mentioned imo.  I have a meatstick, a 28m, 30m, a 26 perch, and the 28" meat stick. I love them all equally! Best thing short of a custom. But what do i know, im just some random guy that ice fishes;)

[jeffro9023]

I definitely second that st. Croix quality has nose dived big time...nothing they make is worth the money they command anymore and i hope they read these comments...Jason Mitchell rods are ok and i own a fenwick and it is a nice solid rod as well

[SeisMec]

It does speak for poor quality control if the spline isn't aligned right, bent blanks or eyes not in alignment; unless it's a acid wrap rod. I hate to see a manufacturer move a product overseas to maintain a higher profit margin only to lose quality control on their product. It does nothing to maintain or improve their reputation and it WILL come back to hurt their bottom line.

[Idahogator]

St. croix ice rods are junk imo. I call em "St. crock of sh*t".  LOTS of problems with offset guides, tips and guides breaking (even higher dollar models), and for some reason, it seems like they thought that ice fishing isnt important enough to line up the spline of the blanks and place the guides properly.  I have a premier where its completely obvious. I admit, that St. crok isnt the only company cutting corners on this tho.

The Fenwick Elite tech are a much better choice imo. I own Jason mitchell, st. croix, and fenwick rods. They all have 4-5 guides. Weight isnt too big of an issue for me with them at all. The Fenwicks are a bit different than the other brands mentioned. They have more of a moderate action than most walleye rods in the 26-30" range. Most standard 28" medium and med. hvy. rods have a fast tip, some maybe even could be considered extra fast. The fenwicks have more bend than other rods in that class (probably why they use 5 guides).. For that reason, i use them as my braid rods. I always like having that extra forgiveness in a rod when using braid. The 27" medium bends like a stronger medium light, and the 28" medium heavy bends more like a regular 28" medium power rod, but it still has a bit more of a moderate action than your typical 28" medium. Hope that clears it up.

If ya got a little extra, i would say go with the JM line. Best of all 3 brands mentioned imo.  I have a meatstick, a 28m, 30m, a 26 perch, and the 28" meat stick. I love them all equally! Best thing short of a custom. But what do i know, im just some random guy that ice fishes;)

Thanks for the review Workemup.  Enlightening on the Fenwick(s).   

And, Welcome to Iceshanty.

[IceFisher64]

own three fenwicks .two elite versions and one aetos version for lake trout very well built

[eiderz]

I have eight Fenwicks, medium light to mediums. I like the soft action. I agree with workemup that the action is a bit on the light side for each respective rod compared to how it is marked. 

[cyclones30]

We have a few Elite Tech ultra lite's that we love. Best handle on a rod I've ever owned and rod is very nice for the price. I'm always looking for another one on sale... 

[IceNeck9292]

Buy a 13 rod ... wicked or white out both awesome rods I matched it up with the black betty 6061 flat line awesome set up....

[Workemup]

-Seismic, I couldnt agree with you more. I would have no problem paying a little extra for a quality product that will last me a long time, and is built in the U.S.A. The right way...the way it used to be.

Idaho- Thanks for the welcome. I look forward to being an actual member now. See you around!

Icefisher- How do you like the Aetos? Are they the same blanks? Or is it just an upgraded handle? Is the action the same "moderate" bend as the elite techs?


I honestly thought the elite techs were made of fiberglass at first because of the extra bend, but they state that they use solid graphite. I may also add that i do like the cork that they use. Easier to grip, smaller diameter than a lot of other rods have. Its like wavy taper that form fits your hand. The st. crock corks have no taper and are about the diameter of a large polish sausage. I would much rather fish with a hot dog form fitted handle, than a straight sausage;)

[IcefisherSteve]

Buy a 13 rod ... wicked or white out both awesome rods I matched it up with the black betty 6061 flat line awesome set up....

I just bought both of those rods. One for me and one for a gift. I may keep the gift and buy them something else lol

[frostbittin]

If you twist the blank below the mosaligned guide and hold the rod firmly with the other hand, you can make them line up perfectly. I went through the same thing last winter when i bought 3 28" UL st croix rods, once you reset them one time they are good to go and won't go back to being misaligned again.

[cccc]

Of the 2, Fenwick gets my vote. The way that the rods bend are way smoother, and is slightly less stiff - not that it really matters. Have done amazing with my st croix premier and legends as well as the fenwicks.

As of this year though, I believe that 13 gets my vote. They are the first where I owned more than 1 of the same rod.

[pimplejigger84]

I ordered a 36" MH St. Croix Premier with a lock down real seat for laker fishing. I will be sure to let you know how it works out...I ordered it online so hopefully the line guides are lined up as I've heard a lot of uneven guides. The Fenwick Elite Techs look really nice too for the same price range. I saw some of them at my local Dick's on sale for 16.99 seems like a good deal.

[bigstorm]

Ended up getting another St Croix Premier 28"M, was kind of forced into that as none of the local stores have a decent selection and I normally prefer to see the rod in person before purchasing. I was pretty dissapointed (but not surprised) that Gander Mnt only had a few St Croixs, a few Fenwick AESTOS (but all were UL) and that was it. The other store (Fram & Fleet) only had combos

[MN Bassfisher]

I love the Premiers. I think I have 8 or 9 of them. I have them in 24", 28", 32", and 36" as well as Ultralight, Medium Light, Medium, Medium Heavy, and Heavy actions. They all have a specific application and species in mind. I purchased a 26" Fenwick Elite (Medium Light) for my GF for a trout rod and it's worked great for her. She loves the sensitivity and it has a good action - it is a little heavy with the handle and the guides but it's a nice rod. I would say compared to the Premiers the Elite Tech's actions are a little light/more flimsy. Their Medium Light seems closer to the Premier's Ultralight action to me.

[squ1rr31_]

I'm a bit fan of the Fenwick's, I have 4. I had a St. Croix for less than a season and it broke its own tip sitting in my bag. Had great luck with the Elite Tech's kind of curious about the Aetos, seem kind of like a tuned up custom looking rod.