Tomorrow’s Surf Rods for Today’s Surf Anglers:
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All-New St. Croix Seage Series Ready for Launch at ICAST 2021 New Product Showcase
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Cutting-edge design combines with superior construction and technology to deliver anglers the longest casts, the hardest hooksets, and next-level ergonomics
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PARK FALLS, Wisc. (July 8, 2021) – Today’s extreme surf casters are finicky about their equipment. They’re always on the lookout for new technologies and products that will give them an edge… the ability to fish longer, cast farther, present a wider range of baits, or subdue massive fish with more authority. After beta-testing these new rods exhaustively, I can say people like me are going to be impressed by them. They set new standards in surf rod performance without having to break the bank and are backed by an incredible 15-year warranty.
Not our words; it’s just some of what renowned surf junkie, “Crazy” Alberto Knie, has to say about the all-new Seage Series of next-generation surf rods from St. Croix. He summarizes: “The 7’, 10’6” and 11’ models I had the pleasure to test were very light, well-balanced, and geared for distance. And Seage has the ‘it factor’ that will subdue massive fish.
Tomorrow’s Surf Rods Today
Any rod from St. Croix starts with a specific blank designed, engineered, and handcrafted in-house from scratch, incorporating all of the specific characteristics to ensure that each finished rod achieves its desired performance. With respect to the blanks that become all-new Seage Series surf rods, those characteristics are defined by extreme strength and durability in a slim and lightweight form.
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“We’ve learned a lot in the past two years about how we can dramatically increase strength and durability in our rods without sacrificing sensitivity or making them heavier,” says St. Croix Product Manager, Ryan Teach. “This knowledge and ability is going to pay huge dividends to surf anglers with our new Seage rods. Surf rods ride on the tops of trucks and Jeeps. They get banged around and used as wading staffs. They’ve got to be tough, but above all they have to be extremely fishable. That means making them as light as possible while maximizing hoop strength and impact durability at the same time. We’ve accomplished that with Seage and built a comprehensive series of a dozen distinct models that are going to help surf anglers fish longer, better, and with less worry.”
The Park Falls witchcraft inside new Seage rods begins with a new formulation of premium, light, and sensitive SCII carbon material, which increases flexural strength while reducing weight. From there, St. Croix adds ARTTM and all-new Veil technology. “A lot of our anglers know what ART (Advanced Reinforcing Technology) is,” says Teach. “It’s an exotic carbon fiber material that adds a significant magnitude of hoop strength to keep the rod section from ovaling under load with virtually no increases in blank diameter or weight. We’ve used it for several years in a lot of our Legend series rods and others. Now, we’ve applied it to our new SCII material for the first time with the Seage Series.” Teach says new Seage Series get an additional dose of strength with St. Croix’s launch of its all-new Veil technology. “Veil is a tri-blend of carbon fiber, fiberglass and explicit resin, combined to exponentially reduce the effects of impact on blank integrity. The long and short of it is that Veil protects rods from bumps, lure knocks and other impacts that could otherwise cause damage and lead to rod failure.”
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For the surf angler, all of this means they can enjoy fishing a slim, lightweight, and sensitive Seage rod, which also maintains extreme, next-level strength and durability. “These rods are a joy to fish with, but they are built for punishment,” says Teach, who adds that Seage rods cannot be broken on the company’s Dynamic Analyzer, a machine purpose-built by St. Croix to test and quantify variables like power, action, strength, and sensitivity. “We’re breaking 80-lb braid on these rods, but not the rods themselves.”
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In addition to slim, lightweight performance, extreme strength and rock-solid durability, surf anglers will notice an all-new handle design on new Seage surf rods comprised of X-Flock-covered slim-diameter handles and Winn® comfort-focused foregrips which are minimalistic, sleek, and tech-forward. X-Flock is essentially a textured shrink tube that St. Croix forms directly over the blank. This gives the handle a slim profile with a very grippy and tacky feel, combined with slight compression for added comfort. Meanwhile, comfort-focused Winn polymer foregrips reduce hand fatigue for longer, more-comfortable fishing.
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Seage’s Blue Granite colored blanks are married to Sea Guide® Hero Hi-Grade guides with slim aluminum oxide rings and SS316 stainless gun smoke frames, as well as Sea Guide® NPS reel seat with integrated black hoods.
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All-New St. Croix Seage Series Features
- New formulation of premium-quality SCII carbon with FRS for unparalleled strength and durability
- Crafted strategically placing ART and Veil reinforcing technologies increasing strength and impact protection
- Off-set ferrules on two-piece models deliver one-piece performance
- Sea Guide® Hero Hi-Grade guides with slim aluminum oxide rings and SS316 stainless gun smoke frames
- Sea Guide® NPS reel seat with integrated black hoods
- X-Flock covered slim diameter handles
- Winn® comfort focused foregrips
- Two coats of Flex-Coat slow cure finish.
- 15-year warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service
- Designed in Park Falls, U.S.A. and handcrafted in Fresnillo, Mexico
- Retail price $210 to $380
When it comes to the 12 distinct models included in the all-new Seage Series lineup, Teach says St. Croix made sure it covered the most popular lengths, powers, and actions, as well as some new configurations surf anglers were specifically requesting. Specifically, some of the 7’ to 9’ models were engineered and delivered to meet the unique needs of the Western coastal markets. “Surf anglers asked us for some smaller rods better suited for smaller species, lighter lures, and fish closer to the beach,” Teach says. “Our new 7’ medium-light and medium power rods and 8’ medium power model deliver those requested light-lure-weight blanks so anglers can match rods to the conditions and the predominant species. These smaller two-piece models also give anglers the 50/50 splits they requested,” Teach adds. At the other end of the spectrum, the new Seage Series also includes a 12’ heavy power model (reminiscent of St. Croix’s discontinued Ben Doerr rods) that’s capable of bombing a full one-pound payload beyond the bar. Longer Seage two-piece models feature angler-preferred 60/40 or 70/30 offsets.
All-New St. Croix Seage Series Models
- SES70MLMF – 7’0”, medium-light power, moderate-fast action spinning / Retail $210
- SES70MMF – 7’0”, medium power, moderate-fast action spinning / Retail $220
- SES80MMF – 8’0”, medium power, moderate-fast action spinning / Retail $230
- SES90MLMF2 – 9’0”, medium-light power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $290
- SES90MM2 – 9’0”, medium power, moderate action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $290
- SES90MMF2 – 9’0”, medium power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $290
- SES100MMF2 – 10’0”, medium power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $300
- SES106MLMF2 – 10’6”, medium-light power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $300
- SES106MM2 – 10’6”, medium power, moderate action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $300
- SES106MHMF2 – 10’6”, medium-heavy power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $300
- SES110MHMF2 – 11’0”, medium-heavy power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $320
- SES120HMF2 – 12’0”, heavy power, moderate-fast action, 2-piece spinning / Retail $380
What Surf Pros Are Saying About Seage
Crazy Alberto isn’t the only high-profile sudsman singing the praises of St. Croix’s new Seage Series rods. “For a company located in Northern Wisconsin, St. Croix has an incredible heritage and legacy of crafting finely-tuned surf-casting rods,” says Long Island-based surf rat and fishing editor, Matt Broderick, who has fished almost every model in the new Seage lineup. “I’ve put a good bend in almost all of them,” he reports. “There’s a lot to love about these rods, but the strength of these blanks alone are a great selling point. I fish in a lot of extreme, heavy current from New Jersey to Cape Cod… stopping a 40-pound fish in a 5-knot current showed me the strength of this rod,” continues Broderick, referring the 10’6” medium-heavy model that’s come to be one of his favorites. “All these rods are very durable while remaining lightweight, sensitive and responsive. I’ve also found them to have a great recovery, which means longer casts. I really like the 10’6” medium-heavy. It’s a versatile rod that casts great with two-to-six ounces of weight, which is a sweet spot for a lot of the fishing I do. That 9’ medium-light rod is a really versatile one, too,” Broderick adds. “I found it ideal for targeting fluke, false albacore, and smaller bass from the beach. I’m sure a lot of Florida and West Coast anglers are going to love that one along with the 7’ and 8’ models, too.”
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Broderick says St. Croix nailed the ergonomics in the new Seage rods. “The blanks run a little thinner, which I like, and the guides are updated for a more modern feel while handling line well. The grips are also thin and comfortable. I love the way the Winn foregrip feels on my hand, and thinner X-Flock handle terminates with a nice butt cap that reminds your lower hand where it’s at on the handle when casting.
New Jersey waterman, Rich Swisstack, pours fuel to Seage’s fire. “These thin and lightweight rods are strong like a bull without fishing a baseball bat. St. Croix technology has gotten us to a place where we can now have rods that are light and comfortable to fish with all day or all night without getting worn out. The days of fishing with big, heavy rods to try and catch the biggest fish of our lives is over; we can now use a much more comfortable fishing rod with excellent strength and performance without feeling under gunned.
Swisstack has fished every Seage model from the 7 footers to the 10’6” medium-light. “The 7’ and 8’ models will be great for surf fluke fishing, as well as all the smaller surf species that travel up and down our coast in the warmer months,” he says. “I fished these rods with smaller ¼-ounce to one-ounce bucktails and they have performed above my expectations and are really a lot of fun to fish.”.
Swisstack has deployed various 9’ to 10’6” Seage rods for striped bass, bluefish, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and albacore. They all performed very well,” reports Swisstack, who says 10’6” medium-light power Seage is currently his favorite model in the lineup. “This rod will catch anything that swims up and down our coast, and being it’s so thin and light to fish with it, it doesn’t wear you out casting lures all day.” Swisstack says anglers shouldn’t be put off by this or the other medium-light power models in the Seage Series. “It feels very light when you pick it up, but it will fool you; this rod has much more power in it than you’d imagine before you actually cast it or fish it. And it casts a mile, which is what is needed most times for Spanish and Albacore fishing. And when those bass are just out of most people’s distance on the outer side of the bar, this rod will get you there.
“I’m just very impressed and believe Seage will become the preferred platform for a lot of today’s surf junkies,” Swisstack concludes. “They feel great, perform even better, come in at a moderate price, and are supported by one of the best warranties I’m aware of. Once anglers fish Seage they will never want to go back to the old-school type of surf sticks.
St. Croix’s all-new Seage Series gives today’s passionate (dare we say crazy?) surf anglers new, high-performance rod choices, handcrafted for maximum strength and durability with crisp and lightweight performance to support diverse surf presentations on any coast. New Seage Series rods are being introduced at ICAST 2021 and will be available for purchase at St. Croix dealers worldwide this fall.
See the all-new Seage in the Saltwater Rod category of the ICAST New Product Showcase or in Booth #2223.
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About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for nearly 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.
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