For nearly 50 years, one technique has been synonymous with walleye fishing across North America: Live bait rigging. And for 2018, St. Croix has introduced a live bait rigging rod that can help catch more walleyes. From an outsider’s perspective, nothing could be simpler than the tackle used for rigging minnows, leeches, and crawlers; apparently, nothing more than hook, line, and sinker.  Yet, any card-carrying walleye aficionado can spend hours debating the finer details of their own rigging recipes, from sinker weight and design, to leader length and material, to hook geometry and even color.

On the other hand, ask that same group of live bait specialists about the characteristics of their favorite rigging rods and the group will reply, in unison: “long, sensitive and strong.”

St. Croix Rod’s Legend Tournament Walleye LWS86MLXF Live Bait rod is a long wand that can help walleye anglers or all skill levels detect bites–even predict bites–and hook and land more walleyes.

The Improved Legend

Completely redesigned with new reel seat, refined guide train and restyled full cork handle, the St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye series represents a family of technique-specific spinning and casting rods that will exceed the requirements of the most demanding walleye angler. The longest spinning rod in the series, the LWS86MLXF is 8 feet and 6 inches of live bait rigging perfection, allowing anglers to drive the hook home with ease, even with extra-long leaders. That same rod length also acts as an extraordinary shock absorber against the walleye’s vaunted head shakes and deep dives. It helps protect the thin diameter leaders needed to fool wary fish in clear water.

Rigging made easy

The 8-foot, 6-inch length of the Live Bait is only the beginning of this rod’s unique story. This Legend Tournament Walleye rod features medium-light power and extra fast action, and is handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin from high-modulus/high-strain SCIV graphite for unparalleled sensitivity, a characteristic that allows live bait riggers to feel when their redtail chub has transitioned from calm to nervous, or when a lively leech rigged along a summer weedline has picked up a single blade of strike-repelling grass. That same all-graphite construction, fortified by St. Croix Rod’s proprietary IPC, ART, and FRS technologies, ensures strength and durability for a lifetime of positive hooksets and livewell-filling walleye adventures.

Bro Knows

St. Croix Rod pro and recognized expert in all things walleye, Minnesota’s own Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, knows what it takes to tempt oversized eyeballs on live bait rigs.  Bro notes that, “the new Legend Tournament Walleye Live Bait rod from St. Croix is the answer to long leader live bait rigs that are 8-10 feet long, or even longer. The extra length of this 8-foot, 6-inch rod helps to maneuver long rigs with sinkers, and also acts as a craning weapon in a sweeping hookset. It also gives you the reach needed to drag light rigs and bottom bouncers further away from the boat, which is especially important in clear or shallow water. And the legendary sensitivity of SCIV graphite ensures that I can feel the panic in my bait as a big eyeball approaches.”

St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye LWS86MLXF features:

• Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) mandrel technology
• Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™)
• High-modulus/high-strain SCIV graphite with FRS for unparalleled strength and durability
• Fuji® K-Series tangle-free guides with Alconite® rings and Corrosion Control™ (CC™) matte finish frames
• Fuji® TVS blank-touch reel seat
• Machined-aluminum wind check and trim pieces
• Slim-profile ferrules
• Kigan hook-keeper
• Two coats of Flex-Coat slow cure finish
• Super-grade full cork handle
• 15-year transferrable warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service
• Designed and handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin, USA

Visit us on the web at www.stcroixrods.com, or stop into your favorite St. Croix Rod dealer to handle the Legend Tournament Walleye Live Bait LWS86MLXF for yourself, and see the difference it can make in your walleye fishing. The Live Bait is available now at MSRP $290.

Another great story about walleye fishing from our site, check out: Walleye World: Hard to Beat the Tried and True.  

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