St. Croix Bank Robber

[RALMD11]

Has anyone fished with the Bank Robber series of rods from St. Croix? I had the opportunity to cast one at my local fly shop and was quite impressed. It seemed to have good feel in close at ~20 feet, and I had no problems casting 50-60 feet without a haul. The components seemed to be of good quality and it had very nice cork.

I'm interested to see if anyone has fished with the rod, or has any other further hands on experience.

[hap]

My wife has a 7wt and I have a 6wt. It is a seriously well-designed rod with the Kelly Galloup line that was designed for it. I am less-impressed with the presentation and more impressed with the distance they can generate with ease... Not at all what I expected. The biggest problem my wife has had with hers is the fact she cannot keep our son away from it.

I can comfortably cast the entire line with minimal wind and in the wind casting a 12' piece of T14 and a fly the size of a mallard worked quite well. We caught lots of very large rainbows on hers on the Kvichak River in June. Which is why I have the new 6wt.

You will like it!

[John_N]

It seemed to have good feel in close at ~20 feet

Well that's a pleasant surprise. Given what it was designed for, that's exactly what I expected it wouldn't handle well.

[zaxaca]

Sorry, I haven't tried one. I've had good experiences with St. Croix rods. They are not flashy and sexy, but are solid go-to rods at a decent price point. I like the "Bank Robber" name, too.

[loufly]

I bought the six weight a few months ago and will tell you I am impressed. I do most of my streamer fishing from a drift boat and can keep the big flies out of ears and backs. When wade fishing, I am able to cast most of the line with ease. I have the 200 grain sinking head line that was designed by Kelly Galloup too. I have four St. Croix rods and this is my favorite so far.

Loufly

[Thomas]

I have not even seen one but have steered away from these specific rod series.Loomis has there shore series also and in there bait cast and spinning rods I think that they have everything you can imagine up to a sinker,hook,chicken liver model!I guess if people have the money the companies will continue to make em.

[Mojo]

I have not even seen one but have steered away from these specific rod series.Loomis has there shore series also and in there bait cast and spinning rods I think that they have everything you can imagine up to a sinker,hook,chicken liver model!I guess if people have the money the companies will continue to make em.

Or, it could be people want a dedicated streamer rod, made for that style of fishing. Some people do think outside the box.

[Fly Goddess]

Has loomis changed their customer service? I know a lot of EX- Loomis owners. I recently was given a St.Croix (my first and not the Bank Robber). While a little heavier than my other rods and the cheaper hardware, it is not a bad rod at all. It is advertized as Med-Fast, but definitely fast.
With that being said, I am impressed. This new Bank Robber being USA made, Lifetime Warranty, and Mid Price, it could easily make a strong statement.

As far as the 20' cast????? Isn't that just a lob or a flip? How does one cast two rod lengths of line?

[hap]

Yes, Loomis did just change their customer service standards and not for the better. They were bought out by Shimano and then did some really stupid stuff like making their #1 dealer angry with them over the rod repair issue. I think they lost a tremendous amount of everything, especially good will.

What the Bank Robber is really designed to do is cast really big bugs well and turn them over at the end. It does that extremely well...

[Mato Kuwapi]

I've had my 6wt Bank Robber for two seasons now. I'm loving it. It does exceptionally well for what it's designed for. Casting big streamers (I'm using the Galloup streamer express sink tip and floating lines). It casts like a dream. I find it's very light weight. I don't find I'm getting tired as fast as with the rod I've used for this previously. (older St. Croix Legend Elite) It has a very responsive tip, that bends like an ugly stick, with a fast mid and back section and powerful backbone. Hooking up takes a little getting used to when you've been used to a very fast rod (stiff tip) in the past.

I usually build my own rods but decided to give this a try. Glad I did.