News

US rod expert St Croix has unveiled a series of rods designed specifically for technical trout fishing. Unsurprisingly, they bear the name TECHNICA.

The TECHNICA series answers the call of PhD-level trout fishing thanks to its responsive, moderate action paired with an advanced carbon fibre matrix and exclusive MITO Graphene technology, which are said to delivers exceptional line speed, endless loop stability, and absolute accuracy.

“After talking with a bunch of dedicated trout guides about the challenges of dry fly fishing with clients, a common issue emerged,” explained St Croix Fly brand manager, Tom Larimer.

“What we heard from the Deschutes to the Delaware is that traditional deep-flexing dry-fly rods are fine for parking lots and calm days but, when the wind ramps up and you’re trying to get a long leader to turn over, they fall short. These conversations led to a unique action specifically tuned for technical trout fishing.”

He revealed: “The best way to describe TECHNICA’s action is balanced. Simply put, a softer lower-end and mid-section stores energy and produces a smooth-loading, soulful in-hand feel while helping the caster make efficient mends and protect light tippets and small flies.

“Higher up on the second and tip sections, the taper maintains the perfect amount of stiffness for picking up long lengths of line when recasting, sniper hook sets on long, downstream dry fly feeds and fast tip recovery for turning over long leaders in the wind.”

But there’s a deeper layer to the story of TECHNICA’s action: – the functionalised MITO Graphene.

Tom added: “We learned a lot about the rod-performance attributes of MITO Graphene with the three-year development of EVOS, released last year. So, when we began the job of designing TECHNICA, we knew we could bend the rules of traditional moderate-action design.”

 When viewed on a deflection board, TECHNICA appears to be a very soft rod. But MITO Graphene greatly impacts how the rod casts.

“The addition of functionalised graphene to our established SCVI, SCIV, and SCII carbon fibre matrix increases rod recovery by 20 per cent,” Tom continued.

“The benefit is an incredibly stable loop with maximum line speed, while the overall result is a blank that possesses all the feel, finesse, and tippet protection of a moderate-flexing rod, with the speed and power of a medium-fast action.”

Light line package
Outside of refined blank performance, TECHNICA incorporates numerous design aspects inspired by the environment and demands of technical trout fishing.

The Baetis Back Green matte paint reduces rod glare and ensures a stealthy approach to wary trout, while single-foot RECOIL guides paired with CERECOIL stripper guides are ultra-light and durable, ideal for sliding in and out of rod vaults or boat storage.

With accuracy being critical for success in the dry-fly game, the snub-nose grip promotes a forward-hand position, helping the angler cast with increased precision.

There are six four-piece, moderate action models in all, from a 7ft 9in 3-wt up to a 9ft 5-wt.

Models

TE590-4 / 5-weight, 9ft, 4-piece, moderate action

TE586-4 / 5-weight, 8ft 6in, 4-piece, moderate action

TE489-4 / 4-weight, 8ft 9in, 4-piece, moderate action

TE480-4 / 4-weight, 8ft, 4-piece, moderate action

TE389-4 / 3-weight, 8ft 9in, 4-piece, moderate action

TE379-4 / 3-weight, 7ft 9in, 4-piece, moderate action

stcroixfly.com