[nc1100c]

Just wondering what you guys who have fished with both the St. Croix Legend Ultra and the Legend Elite think about this. I recently bought a Legend Ultra 7'9'' 3 wt. and have fished with it several times. I live in western NC so it is mostly small to med. size streams. I enjoy going after wild specks. I like the Ultra, but lately Im wondering what the elite would be like. All the fly shops around me just has the Ultra in stock. Is there alot of differance between the two rods? I know it is a $100. price differance. Is it worth it? Or should I just keep what I have?

[wtex50]

The Elite is an Ultra Fast rod... I assume if you are fishing a 3 wt you are fishing mostly small streams with tiny flies. So long distance casting probably would not be an issue. Also I would be concerned that such a fast rod would snap tiny flies off the tippet. I have the Ultra and while it is listed as Fast action, it, to me, is a tad slower than other "Fast" action rods I use. I love it, but if I am small stream fishing I usually go with my St Croix AVID or one of my Boos.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi nc1100c,

I have not cast the Elite rod. You said you have fished your Ultra several times but you didn't say how it worked for you. Since you are fishing a 3wt rod I don't think I would go any faster than the Ultra. If you are not having any problems with the Ultra I would stick with it. If you are having trouble casting the Ultra then I would suggest the Avid if you want to stay with St Croix. If you are just wanting a new rod that may be really good for your type of fishing, save your money and get a Scott G2. The Scott G2 in a 3wt would be a great rod for your type of fishing.

So I don't know if I have helped or not. One other thought is if you fish a lot of subsurface or Buggers, I would stay with the Ultra. What it comes done to is no one can tell you what rod is best for YOU. It has a lot to do with where you are in your trip we call fly fishing.

Frank

[hardhat]

I have three 3 wt rods. A 2 pc 7' , a 4pc 7' 9" and a 4 pc 7' 6". They are all on the short length because of how I use them. I like short 3 wt rods as I am doing small stream light weight fishing. The areas usually have limited space do to the amount of vegitation. I also usually need to hike into the area of the stream. Also, at times my casting needs to be creative in how the I am presenting the fly.
Now if you desire there are companies who make 9' three wts if that is what you need. I think Frank gave excellant information and a very good recomendation in the Scott rod( my wife sure knows that I like Scotts)and the St Croix choices. But if I may make one more suggestion in that a 3wt 2pc rod could be the option you are looking for. Both the Avid and the Sage Fli have this option.

[nc1100c]

Thanks for all the advice guys. My current rod ,(Ultra) seems to fish just fine. Its just I had never been able to compare it to the elite. I think I will just keep what I have. I dont really like a real fast rod. I used my friends Sage z-axis the other day and I like mine better because its not as fast of a rod.

[Frank Whiton]

Hi nc1100c,

The Sage Z-axis is not a good rod to compare with your Ultra. Yours is a 3wt and your friends was heavier. If you get a chance, take a look at the Sage TXL. It is a good choice at $540. If you want a real nice light line rod look at the Sage ZXL in the $600 range. Both of these will feel better to you than the Z-axis. As I said befor, if you get a chance take a look at the Scott G2. All three of these rods are light line rods intended for soft and accurate presentations.

Your choice to stick with your Ultra is a good one.

Frank