st. croix avid rods..........

i apologize for being a pain, but personal input is far better than a flashy ad.  anyone have anything good or bad to say about avid 7 wt. fly rods? 

I own 3 St. Croix avids, but they were custom built by me.
 
The factory rods, like Former said, are a little heavy, but work fine. St. Croix labels them as Moderate Fast, I would say they have a Moderate Action. There is not much difference between the older model and the new "green" colored model. The actions seem to hold true, decent components, and good cork on both models.
 
However, I believe you can find a much better deal out there for less money.
 
 
 
Best,
Fisher

I bought an avid 9'6" 7 wt. last year. Hands down the best steelhead rod i've used. With a cortland precision salmon steelhead demo line from a few years back (I think it's the western drifter line now). It casts sz. 16 bead heads and 2 steelhead spey and dee flies with authority. Med. fast to fast action but sill protects lighter tippets. The cork fits my hand better than any rod i've casted. The green pearl blank is nicer to look at than alot of the new sage rods. I have it paired up w/ a ross cla.

rapala11,
   I have an avid and I like it.  I have many others also but my favorites are a 8 wt Browning and , (Believe it or not) an 8 wt ugly stick.  Yep it's heavy but I can pressure a fish and I don;t have to worry about the rod.  My best steelhead was 32" on the ugly.  this year I'm going to try a 5 wt bamboo to see if I can land another one on the 'boo';  one of my own making.

The St Croix Avid model is my favorite for steelhead.  I have a 7 wt 9' 6" and love the moderate/fast flex.  Another rod to consider is the Redington CPS.  Both are in the same price range.  I own the CPS in a 8 wt.  Like it also.  Fish USA sells both models.

I own an Avid 9'6" 7wght and I love it for steelhead, it is a little heavy for the Bass in the Yough so I have a Cabela's PT 9' 4wght for them.  I also have a Redington 9'6" 7 wght that I really like alot as well.  Haven't used it for awhile,maybe I'll give the redington a workout tomorrow.

I have owned 3 St. Croix Avid 9 and half foot 7 wts...........1 was stolen, 1 was lost and 1 was sold due to hard times......It is an excellent steelie rod.........and I have landed salmon up to 30 pounds on this rod......I matched it with a Fly Logic FLP 567 reel--great drag........it was a great combo...........
 
IK.........the imperial series was a rod class down from the avid......medium action rod with a brown blank........I used a 9 foot 5/6 imperial for many years--it was my first REAL fly rod ( still have it )......I used it and abused it.....the only problem ever had was that the ceramic in the stripping guide kept falling out....sent it to St. Croix and they fixed it.......the Imperial series has met its end--but the rod was made in the USA----the newer st. croix cheap rods are made overseas..........Legend Ultra and legend elite are still made in USA---

The Reign and the Triumph are made overseas. All others are made in Park Falls. The Reign is gone for 2009, replaced by the new Imperial. These rods look nice and are "Made in North America." We should have them up on FishUSA in the next few months.

the old model Imperial was the first real fly rod I ever bought........9 foot 5/6 wt
still own it, but it needs a new ceramic guide.........have not fished it in years, but can't part with it......it was and still is a very good rod....................I caught everything from 7 -26 trout on that rod and my first 2 years of steelheading were with this rod.............ah the memories!!!!