Hey all,

I’m new to the forum and relatively new to building. I built a spinning rod on the St Croix 5S68MXF-B a few years back and use it for pitching 1/8-3/8oz jigs for walleye. 6-12lb, 3/16-5/8oz, butt .435, tip 4.5, wt 1.4oz. I absolutely love the rod, but the SCV 68mxf offered now seems like a different blank. At the time I built it, I used the new guide concept and never measured the power or AA. I’m curious if anyone has some thoughts on similar power/action/weight blanks. I apologize if this is a redundant topic but came up empty in my search.

Thanks

What's different about the new ones? I've been around a lot of those rods/blanks in the spinning and casting versions, they are the same length, same power ratings, but not the same blanks.

The specs listed for the SCV 68MXF that I saw was 1/4-5/8oz, 8-14lb, tip 4, butt .418, and weight 1.73oz. I was more or less curious if anyone has measured IP and AA for the blank I built on and if there is something else on the market that is comparable. I really like their medium power blanks for the way I fish, but they are expensive. Just curious is all.

The blanks are still available through RodGeeks. One thing I could always count on was St. Croix's consistent quality. I knew what I was getting. The only thing that could of happened is if they had to remake the mandrel. Also. there is a big difference between a 1/8 oz. jig and a 3/8oz. I pitch a lot of that size too and would not be using the same rod. You might want to look at the SCV610MLXF or even the SCV76MLXF for the 1/8 oz stuff. I have all three of these blanks. Matter of fact a couple of the 76MLXF. You might also want to check out NFC. I used to build with nothing but St. Croix now, I am using a lot more of the NFC blanks. I especially like their extra fast blanks. They have quite a few selections to choose from. Not the easiest site to navigate.
I just built a SCV76MLXF to replace one that was stepped on. The busted one was at least 8-9 years old and there was no difference that I could see. I now have the new one and one that is 5 years old and they are identicial.

See you on the water, Doug
Captain Paddlefoot

Hey Doug. Thanks for the input. I’ve built on the 5S60mlf, 5s66mlf, and the 5s70mlf, but for whatever reason I’ve always had better hookup percentage with the 5s68mxf even with 1/8oz. They are all great great blanks but maybe I’ll have to try the mlxf to get a little stiffer midsection. I tried a couple IM NFC blanks that I like, as well as the eternity 68mxf, but definitely not as crisp as the SCV. I’m starting to lean towards the 5S610mxf because I’m not too excited about the 20+% increase in weight for the 68mxf on Rodgeeks, but maybe I’ll have to check out the 610mlxf. I just wish I had access in my area to check out blanks before purchasing, but I’m sure a lot of folks deal with the same issue. Thanks again