Crucial Spinning Rods

[Fat-G]

Looking for a review of the Crucial spinning rods. Anyone used the 7' M/F or the 7'2 M/XF? I need an all-around bass spinning rod, and I can get these new for $90.

I don't want to get the 7' M and have it be a whimpy parabolic rod. I want something with a little bit of backbone for throwing light plastics. I'll be throwing it with braid and a CXX leader.

Thoughts?

[canalbrian1]

Dont buy a crucial bass rod! I have two people i know, who have broken them too easily. One is a guy, who works at the local bait store in Akron,OH (Land BigFish). He had three of them break on him in one year. My friend had one break on him while I was fishing beside him. They suck really bad! Try a St.Croix Premier series rod, they are great and durable. I used St. Croix for four years and I now use Gloomis,but for the price the st. croix premier series is great.

[fishingandfords]

I have a 7'2 Mh and it s great all around rod

[BB144]

I have a 7'2" M XF Crucial ds rod that I really like. It has quite a bit of backbone, with a pretty fast tip. I've heard of a couple Crucials breaking, but Shimano has one of the best warranties in the industry.

[goldrod]

I've never had a crucial rod break on me for any other reason than trying to swing a fish..
I've got the ds spinning and casting models and they can handle whatever I throw at them. .. I've caught redfish with them and they fight a lot harder than bass do .. These rods can handle whatever you connect with.. just my own experiences

[captainhookset]

I just got the Shimano Compre 7' M/Xfast spin rod and dude, its sweet. For a hundred bucks its beyond legit. It has a full cork handle which I like, and even has an exposed blank on top of the "reel seat" which I like too.

Check it out, not wimpy at all. I used 20lb braid with a flouro leader and its soft enough to fish dropshots, but got enough balls to set the hook and move a fish with a shaky or wacky rig.

[Fat-G]

I just got the Shimano Compre 7' M/Xfast spin rod and dude, its sweet. For a hundred bucks its beyond legit. It has a full cork handle which I like, and even has an exposed blank on top of the "reel seat" which I like too.

Check it out, not wimpy at all. I used 20lb braid with a flouro leader and its soft enough to fish dropshots, but got enough balls to set the hook and move a fish with a shaky or wacky rig.

Sweeeeet, I was thinking the same thing. Is it tip heavy? What about using it for a light t-rig, with braid?

[canalbrian1]

I have an update on the crucial spinning rod. I was in the bait store the other day talking to my friend and he said he just broke his fifth crucial rod. He was very upset about it. I will never own one, he said he inspected them for scratches to see why they broke. He said he couldnt find anything on the rods that would cause the breakage. He may have gotten bad blanks but he now uses Gloomis and he loves them.

[tehtuna]

I got a pile of Crucials, haven't broken one yet. I have the 72M, and like it. I would have prefered to have something a little faster. It's fine for dropshot, but thats about it.

[soua0363]

I do not own either of the ones you listed but I own a 6'-6" medium light with fast action. I have had to replace mine once for a bad reel seat. The seat was starting to dig into the cork. What made me looked at the reel seat closely was that I was always having to retighten the seat on every trip. Once I noticed that the seat was digging to the cork, I took the rod back to BPS and they replaced with no questions asked. I have used the new one a couple times this year and so far everything is looking good.

Aside from the seat issue, I really like the rod for how much it cost. It is light and pretty sensitive considering the reel does not sit on an open reel seat. The reel sits on top of the cork handle. It also comes with pretty good guides...Fuji Alconite.

[DavidSA]

Very nice rods at any price and a great value.

I've got 2 baitcasters that have been around for 5 years now, they have held up very well and the crucial dropshot rod is very sensitive rodl

[vtbasser]

I've owned Shimano spinning rods from the Compre up through the Cumaras. They are all sweet rods. The Crucials are awesome, for the price you're getting I think unbeatable. I would try and fish with each one and then pick the one you like. Either would be great probably.

[Buck2thPerch]

I have several Spinning and Casters. No problems with them. My 5yrs old Flipping Stick is still going strong. Now if people were complaining about breakage left and right like that of the original Carrot Stix, yes, I would be alarmed but very few people have had issues with the Crucial line of rods. Plus, at $150 per rod with Lifetime warranty, you can't beat that. Shimano Customer Service is Top Notch.
Example: Lost my reciept for my Compre 6'6" MH Spining rod. Told the Rep I slammed my door on the rod tip and it broke. He just told me to send to rod in with a note on how it broke and return address. 2 weeks later brand new exact replacement rod was at my door steps. Call took about 10mins tops. Can't get any easier than that.

I sold most of my Crucial Rods after I upgraded to Cumara's and Zillion Rods. Still have two Crucial Casters and the one Compre. You can't beat the price and performance of these rods. The only other rod I think that is comparable are the Powell rods, but I don't know much about the Warranty and Customer Service since I haven't owned a Powell rod - Yet.