St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

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Scud_Muffin
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St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:45 pm

Question for those familiar with the St Croix Legend lineup enough to know the difference between those two surprisingly different rods:

Looking for a multipurpose rod that is focused around jigs and t-rigs, with the ability to throw a wider variety as well. What I am looking for is a well rounded "1 rod" for when I only want to take 1 casting rod or paired with something spinning.

I basically handled a version of each in the store. The 7'MHF seemed to have a really stiff butt section with a soft-ish tip. Its clearly a great rod for t-rigs and jigs. Its rated for 3/8-1 oz so its the heavier of the two ratings. I'm thinking that this one will expand into frogs, carolina territory but may not be as suitable for the moving baits.

The 7'1 MHXF was actually surprisingly a bit softer in the tip and it bent further down into the blank. Its rated for a slightly lower range as well, 1/4-3/4. I'm guessing this will pair better with moving baits like spinnerbaits, swimjigs, maybe flukes or even some topwater, but may have trouble going into heavier stuff. It makes me wonder how well it will do with 1/2 oz jigs comparatively to the other though.

I've heard people say that one particular rod is more versatile than the other, but I've heard it both ways. So am I accurate in my assumptions about which areas one will outperform the other? Which one is actually the more versatile?

I tend to fish for a mix of river bass (wading) and lake bass (shoreline, kayak, inflatable pontoon) down in Georgia.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I appreciate the help!

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Drakestar » Wed Jan 13, 2021 4:32 pm

I fish a lot of moving baits with single jig hooks on F and XF rods. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, underspins etc. It’s moving bait with trebles that you wants a slower rod for, to absorb shock and keep trebles from ripping out. But jig hook moving baits usually have a much more solid hook set.

So I wouldn’t worry about that part of the equation. It you’re planning on throwing actual treble hook baits (squarebills etc.) and topwater with trebles (poppers etc.) I’d go with the slower rod.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by ss30378 » Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:15 am

I've used many of the st croix blanks and have become especially fond of their XF tapers and have used their ML, M and MH XF blanks in the legend tourney and legend elite lines. The soft tip allows for nice accurate pitches and loads well with without having to force the rod to load. Since I'm a wade/shore/kayak fisherman I usually only take one rod at a time so versatility is key for me. I have used cranks, spinners, jerkbaits, t-rigs and others on these blanks and as long as you don't load up and pull like it's a glass rod I haven't had issues of ripping out trebles.

With the MHXF 1/2oz total is doable but 1/2oz jig with trailer is probably a bit much, especially if you're getting into cover. I like using t-rigs with a 1/8-3/8 bullet on the MH and that works well which is probably 3/8-5/8oz total weight. I've played with the legend-x 7-1 MHXF in the store and was actually surprised at the nice balance of that model. Never gave in and bought it but I will say it felt very nice.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:30 am

ss30378 wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:15 am
With the MHXF 1/2oz total is doable but 1/2oz jig with trailer is probably a bit much, especially if you're getting into cover. I like using t-rigs with a 1/8-3/8 bullet on the MH and that works well which is probably 3/8-5/8oz total weight. I've played with the legend-x 7-1 MHXF in the store and was actually surprised at the nice balance of that model. Never gave in and bought it but I will say it felt very nice.
That confirms my suspicion that it had considerably less power than the 7MHF. I suppose it could still be a benefit though, if it opens up more of the options that would normally be cast on a medium and could even handle some treble applications. Then it could be paired with a MLXF spinning rod as the "duo" when wanting to keep it simple, or even add the 7'4 H to have a well rounded group.

I noticed in the two reviews of legend series rods by TackleTour the ROD charts seemed a bit different than I would have expected. The first is the Medium in fast taper legend elite. The second is the 71MHXF Legend Extreme in the previous model which I assume is still the same taper. If I am reading this deflection chart correctly, the MF actually has more power than the MHXF despite being 1 power down.
chrtstcroixlec70mf.jpg
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chrtstcroixlegendextlxc71mhxf.jpg
chrtstcroixlegendextlxc71mhxf.jpg (59.87 KiB) Viewed 3887 times

ss30378
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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by ss30378 » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:01 am

I'm reading those charts as showing that the MHXF St. Croix falls in between the two Loomis MH sticks in power. The Medium fast St Croix stick has a touch more deflection and is therefore a touch softer than the 843 (MH) Loomis stick.

Its' showing the soft tip deflection early aligning with the 843 then the MHXF st croix backbone aligns closer with the glx2000 stick.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:09 am

ss30378 wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:01 am
I'm reading those charts as showing that the MHXF St. Croix falls in between the two Loomis MH sticks in power. The Medium fast St Croix stick has a touch more deflection and is therefore a touch softer than the 843 (MH) Loomis stick.

Its' showing the soft tip deflection early aligning with the 843 then the MHXF st croix backbone aligns closer with the glx2000 stick.
Is the higher number on the vertical axis a greater deflection? It sounds like I may have confused myself by looking at it like a picture of how the rod bends for a given weight. I’m becoming very accustomed to figuring out which bonehead mistake I’ve made :lol:

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by ss30378 » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:37 am

chrt_pointblankpb761xxhmf.jpg
chrt_pointblankpb761xxhmf.jpg (64.63 KiB) Viewed 3870 times
I'm basing my reading off a chart like this recent one where the finesse SB sticks have more deflection than the heavy SB sticks.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:45 am

ss30378 wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:37 am
I'm basing my reading off a chart like this recent one where the finesse SB sticks have more deflection than the heavy SB sticks.
That actually makes way more sense now that I think about it. If you were charting deflection as it increases with weight, that would like totally different than simply showing the curvature how a rod bends with different weights via chart--don't even know how you would do that last one. I guess pictures of it holding various weights would likely be better if that was your goal.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:23 pm

Drakestar wrote:
Wed Jan 13, 2021 4:32 pm
I fish a lot of moving baits with single jig hooks on F and XF rods. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, underspins etc. It’s moving bait with trebles that you wants a slower rod for, to absorb shock and keep trebles from ripping out. But jig hook moving baits usually have a much more solid hook set.

So I wouldn’t worry about that part of the equation. It you’re planning on throwing actual treble hook baits (squarebills etc.) and topwater with trebles (poppers etc.) I’d go with the slower rod.
So I guess my question for this comes down to, if the XF feels less stiff and bends deeper into the blank, despite its label is it actually the "slower" of the two rods?

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by NOLRAMB » Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:06 am

I have two 7ft1mh xfast legend xtreme rods and one legend x model, they are my multipurpose rods, one of them is primarily used for 1/2 finesse keitech football jigs with 4 and 5 inch Yamamoto twin tail grubs as trailers, I've never have a problem getting a good hookset and I'll fish those jigs up to 50 feet where I live excellent feel and deflection.

I also use them for light cover texas rigging, square bills, open water topwater, spinnerbaits, 3/16 + shakyheads, underspins etc, to me it's a true multipurpose casting rod.

I have the 7ft mh models also in Xtreme, X and Avid X but they are used for full sized large hooked football jigs, and generally larger offerings, 3/4 baffle bugs, 3/4 ounce spinnerbaits, 4.8 + keitechs and so on, I would not consider the 7ft mh model to be multipurpose, far too stout.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:21 am

NOLRAMB wrote:
Fri Jan 15, 2021 4:06 am
I have two 7ft1mh xfast legend xtreme rods and one legend x model, they are my multipurpose rods, one of them is primarily used for 1/2 finesse jigs...I also use them for light cover texas rigging, square bills, open water topwater, spinnerbaits, 3/16 + shakyheads, underspins etc, to me it's a true multipurpose casting rod.

I would not consider the 7ft mh model to be multipurpose, far too stout.
Thank you for your input! I was really hoping someone would come along that owns or has used both and could give me the skinny on those two rods. You have confirmed my suspicions and it sounds like the 71MHXF is the winner for versatility without sacrificing jig/trig competence.

I’m trying to make a selection of rods where I could have one baseline “multipurpose” rod, that can be paired with any of the others depending on what I want to do that day. I’m thinking something like the 71MHXF, paired with the 74HF, one of the M or ML spin models for finesse, and either a crank bait rod or a jerkbait rod. The “cover everything” quiver that I can take in my pontoon or a kayak without bringing too many rods.

That’s a big help, thank you!! The first step is figuring out which rod for the multipurpose MH, then upgrading the other current placeholders to the legend rods above.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:01 pm

Just to follow up: ended up snagging a 71MHXF Legend Extreme and ooooh boy did it scratch the itch I was looking for.

This whole thing started because I keep a 2 piece mojo bass 7’1 MHF in the car as a travel rod. I kept finding I was impressed at its ability to do a wide variety of tasks but wanted the upgrade version to get better sensitivity etc. What I really liked was the soft tip when fishing bottom contact and how it casted. I felt that the legend 70MHF was much stiffer but the 71MHXF seemed like it might be closer to what I was after.

And it turns out that was absolutely the right move. It’s totally perfect for how I fish. It casts effortlessly in all the weird little ways I find myself casting around structure and branches when wading/walking the bank of the river. My biggest concern was it would be overloaded with 1/2 oz jigs but I slapped a heavier than average beaver tail on a 1/2 oz jig and it was right on the money. Action was just right for how I like to fish bottom contact but it worked great with moving baits too. It was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the input!

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Gone Phishin » Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:35 pm

Scud_Muffin wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:01 pm
Just to follow up: ended up snagging a 71MHXF Legend Extreme and ooooh boy did it scratch the itch I was looking for.

This whole thing started because I keep a 2 piece mojo bass 7’1 MHF in the car as a travel rod. I kept finding I was impressed at its ability to do a wide variety of tasks but wanted the upgrade version to get better sensitivity etc. What I really liked was the soft tip when fishing bottom contact and how it casted. I felt that the legend 70MHF was much stiffer but the 71MHXF seemed like it might be closer to what I was after.

And it turns out that was absolutely the right move. It’s totally perfect for how I fish. It casts effortlessly in all the weird little ways I find myself casting around structure and branches when wading/walking the bank of the river. My biggest concern was it would be overloaded with 1/2 oz jigs but I slapped a heavier than average beaver tail on a 1/2 oz jig and it was right on the money. Action was just right for how I like to fish bottom contact but it worked great with moving baits too. It was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the input!

Right on! That's outstanding news.

I'm late to the party, but I have the 71MHXF in the LT series and it's my go-to for 1/2oz swim jigs.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by Scud_Muffin » Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:33 am

Gone Phishin wrote:
Mon Jan 18, 2021 8:35 pm
Right on! That's outstanding news.

I'm late to the party, but I have the 71MHXF in the LT series and it's my go-to for 1/2oz swim jigs.
It’s a serious front runner for the “if I can only have one rod” category. I just love that action for so many things, though it’s still new and I have yet to test it with a lot of different baits.

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Re: St Croix Legend X 7MHF vs 71MHXF

Post by NOLRAMB » Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:45 pm

[/quote]

It’s a serious front runner for the “if I can only have one rod” category. I just love that action for so many things, though it’s still new and I have yet to test it with a lot of different baits.
[/quote]

It's a awesome blank no doubt in any series in St. Croixs lineup, of course to me the AGS Xtreme is the best a close second is the X series.

It can do most things very well.

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