9 ft. St.Croix "Big Nasty" Specifications

[Red Childress]

Just spoke to St.Croix this morning and got the specs on the new 9ft. Big Nasty.........

2-6 oz/Heavy action with Fast Tip

It is not exactly like the Sling Blade even though it is rated the same. The factory guy told me it loads differently and can really launch the baits much easier. The reel seat has been moved forward a little bit when compared to the SBlade. It also comes in two different cork designs just like the rest of the Legend Tournament line.

[catchandrelease]

I like the sound of the reel seat being moved up. Do you know how long the butt section is going to be?

[Red Childress]

No idea and afraid to speculate. I will find out later today, hopefully.

[Red Childress]

Well, after a different factory guy measured both rods (Big Nasty and SBlade) he came up with identical measurements regarding the butt sections......14 inches of butt cork on both rods with an addtitional inch to 1.5 inches of space from the cork to the trigger/reel seat.

I was glad to hear that since that definitely puts an extra 6 inches of rod in front of the reel seat instead of in the butt section.

I just ordered one and the delivery date is early-Oct. There are only a handful of these out there right now with most being a few local guides in the Park Falls, WI area. There have been dozens of these pre-ordered already so if anyone wants to have one in their hands to use this Fall, now is the time to order.

[catchandrelease]

Does that measurement include the last inch or so of non-cork material (the black part)? How far away is the trigger from that measurement?

[Red Childress]

14 inches is the length of the cork, only........the extra space was (supposedly) not included.

I will check my SBlade tonite and get back to you.

[catchandrelease]

Alright, thanks Red

[Red Childress]

13.75 inches of cork........14.75 inches to base of trigger.

[Red Childress]

Guess what was waiting at my house when I got home today........Happy Birthday to me. My wife just found out that she bought the Big Nasty for my early Bday present........time to check it out.

[Red Childress]

I put a rod balancer on the 9 footer last nite and had to had an extra lead piece to balance it. Now, I can lay the rod across my finger (right at the reel seat) and the rod is perfectly balanced. When I put the reel on it, that should offset the MagDawg/large jerkbait weight and not allow the rod to be so "tip heavy".

If none of you have ever used "the Balancer", I highly recommend it. Not only does it ease the fatigue of your forearms but it also extends the rod butt by about 1.5 to 2 inches (depending on how much weight you add) creating a little more leverage when casting with these longer rods.

Just my opinion.

[catchandrelease]

I was curious how much length those added to the butt. I bought the Maina rod (now Musky Angler) just for the handle attachment. Far from a St. Croix, but the extra length really helps. Which balancer are you using? Here's the link to the one they sell at Bass Pro. They're on sale right now if that's the one.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_16515_175003000_175000000_175003000_175-3-0

[Red Childress]

That is the one. I put them on all my rods no matter the length. They really help especially when jigging or using longer rods. It feels very weird for me to use any rod unless they have that balancer on them.

[Red Childress]

Just be sure to coat your butt with baby powder before putting them on....rod butt that is.

[catchandrelease]

I'll have to give them a try. I always consider buying one when I get a new rod but I never to do. Now seems like a good time since they're on sale.

[Red Childress]

Got a chance to use the rod yesterday and did not put it down the entire time. Launched big blades easier than the Sling Blade and lobbed/pitched MagDawgs nicely as well. Wide fig-8"s/circles at boatside are much easier too. I am extremely happy with it to say the least.

[catchandrelease]

That's good. I was a little disappointed to hear it was only rated to 6 oz. I would have expected it to go to at least 10. I'm sure its phenomenal with blades, but I didn't have much faith in Mag Dawgs.

[Red Childress]

My guess is that (just like the Sling Blade came out first and then the Big Dawg Rod) the 9 foot/4-10 oz. rod will come out next summer/fall.

Makes sense to me.

[Red Childress]

After using the 9-footer almost exclusively the past couple of weekends, when I grab an 8.5 for chucking big rubber/big jerks it now seems like a 'short' rod. I am really liking the length of the 9-footer when fishing on the front deck. I hardly have to make any adjustments to my body position when performing boatside maneuvers.

This thing is making me a lazy fisherman.