ST CROIX WARRANTY

[cape_fisherman]

Speaking of busting rods...I have a Cape Fear that bit the dust on a Blue fish! The thing sounded like it exploded. We'll see how they stand behind their warrenty!

Chad, from what I hear Cape Fear never stood behind their warrantee very well. I hate to be the one to tell you, as it sounds like you don't already know, but Cape Fear is out of business. That rod is probably yours. Sorry to tell you that.

Jay

[BMC Tackle]

Swivel,

At 9 LBS of drag, that LB Class rod should have never broken! I caught an 11 foot hammerhead shark off Jupiter last year. I caught it on an MXL 6 spooled with 80 LB Jerry Brown spectra on a Crowder ESU 7010KF which is an 8-25 blank, it was bent over pretty good during that fight but at no time did I feel it was going to break. The reason I asked you about the reel was because of the ratio, I was curious to see which of the 3 reels you were using. On a personal note I made the decision to go with the 2 speeders. That lower retrieve comes in handy, I can't tell you how the shark experience influenced this decision. I have also come across black fin tunas, and an occassional amberjack that decided to take our live baits, these species typically sound/fight deep, it is during these times that the lower ratio comes in handy. The 2 speed reel would not have influenced the breakage of the rod, the rod broke because the blank was obviously defective. Keep us abreast of the warranty issue. I hope you get it resolved quickly. Fishing down time stinks!

[Swivel]

its all done and over, they are not replacing. i bought the fast retriever for the deep. all of my offshore reels are 2 speed, however i have only used low gear once. i reel them in by lifting the rod and cranking in the slack.

[Sublime]

Bash them a few sites and send them the links on their customer service section of their website. I sent them this one, doubt they open it but at least I tried. I going to post some stuff on a rod building forum that I belong to and which they are one of many sponsor's to see what kind of response I get.....probably kicked off or deleted but at least I'll have voiced my displeasure with the company.

JT

[Swivel]

thanks for the support sublime, much appreciated. i posted it on another site in the same section, but unfortunately the tackle sections dont get viewed as often as the other sections do. i also didnt want to post it in the ones that get seen as often as i didnt want to abuse the board since this is the only section it rightfully belongs. thanks again.

[Title Wave]

I have a Tsunami rod that broke. It was replaced free of charge with no questions asked. They didn't even ask to see a receipt! I always thought of St. Croix as a high end product. I quess I'll stick to my Tsunamis.

[BayRunner Rods]

Sublime hit the nail on the head. After a couple years many anglers will not go back looking for a warranty replacement as the rod may show some signs of...let's just say less than ideal care. I've had a couple broken rods returned that were slammed in trunks or car doors and those are hard to swallow that the manufacturor or the builder has any responsibility in the failure. I also used to use a lot of St Croix blanks but when a new rod failed on a hookset, and showed no indications of damage or abuse, and St Croix required that the entire rod be shipped to them ($$$) along with pre-paid postage ($$$) for the replacement blank, and the original rod if you want the expensive guides back ($$$)...it becomes cost prohibitive to seek a replacement and that seems to be their strategy. I use a lot of Rainshadow blanks now and when I recently found damage on a blank after the grips and seat were installed, they not only replaced the blank (sight unseen) but also replaced the grips and seat that had been lost in the process. They did eventually want the blank back for evaluation but the process was much more user friendly.

[Capt Chad]

Chad, from what I hear Cape Fear never stood behind their warrantee very well. I hate to be the one to tell you, as it sounds like you don't already know, but Cape Fear is out of business. That rod is probably yours. Sorry to tell you that.

Jay

Jay,

Thanks for the update. I did hear the news shortly after my post. What a bummer!