Advertisement 
Keeping a promise to anglers, St. Croix unveils its improved, next-generation Mojo Inshore Series, offering new levels of performance at familiar Mojo prices
The ICAST New Product Showcase recognizes the best new product introductions of the year. In 2020, the Best of Show Saltwater Rod category winner is the redesigned St. Croix Mojo Inshore. Here’s the lowdown on these rods.
St. Croix’s popular and far-reaching Mojo family of North American-crafted fishing rods delivers anglers an exceedingly rare combination of technology-driven performance, workmanlike durability and reasonable pricing. The formula is so popular, in fact, that St. Croix offers a variety of distinct Mojo rod series to meet the needs of anglers in pursuit of everything from tiny stream trout to amberjack. Mojo Inshore is one of those distinct series, and it has been completely overhauled from tip to butt – and expanded – for 2021.
“The redesigned Mojo Inshore Series for 2021 offers significantly increased performance and versatility while maintaining affordable Mojo pricing,” says Alex Smay, NE Regional Account Manager for St. Croix Rod. “We listened intently to our pro staff, customers and dealers to really focus in on some key improvements that would make big differences for anglers.” Smay emphasizes that the new series breaks new ground in the market place. “There’s no other lineup at this price point in the saltwater inshore market that can boast such a combination of power, durability and sensitivity.”
Mojo Inshore’s significant transformation for 2021 begins with lighter, upgraded, premium-quality SCIII carbon blanks, further enhanced via Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) mandrel technology. IPC mandrel technology eliminates all transition points in the blank from butt to tip. The SCIII carbon and IPC upgrade has been recently made to other Mojo series, and the angler response has been fantastic. “The performance increases are seen and felt in terms of increased smoothness, better sensitivity and even more durability without an increase in weight,” says St. Croix Director Product Manager, Ryan Teach. “It’s been a really popular upgrade, because anglers notice the differences immediately.”
Great care, thought and angler-input was also employed in the development of new Mojo Inshore’s handle designs. Split handles have been replaced by full cork on light, medium-light, and medium power models by angler request. Medium-heavy, heavy and extra-heavy power rods have been upgraded with unique, full-length cork and EVA combination handles. This provides protection to stowed rods as the more durable EVA is positioned where the rod is most likely to contact the holder. The combo handle also allows anglers to enjoy the soft touch of the EVA in the upper part of the grip while retaining that familiar cork grip feel toward the bottom.
These hybrid-handled Mojo Inshore rod models also feature an Alps non-marring rubber gimble which inhibits rods – especially those carrying larger, heavier reels from banging around in the rocket launcher or holder during rough rides to and from the fishing grounds. The gimbal can also be tucked against an angler’s hip during tough battles without causing the discomfort of a plastic or metal gimbal. This new soft gimbal and full handle assembly combination provide anglers the greatest leverage when trying to turn large predators away from structure like boat docks, boulder fields and bridge stanchions.
In addition to a host of upgrades and improvements, St. Croix has added eight brand new models to the new Mojo Inshore lineup, expanding the full series to 27 total rods. Now encompassing 19 spinning and 8 casting models, the Mojo Inshore Series provides anglers the flexibility to target virtually any species along every saltwater coast. “Whether you are throwing ultralight finesse baits, 9″ swim shads, or full-sized popping plugs, there’s a Mojo Inshore rod that’s ideal for the situation,” says Smay. “The range of this series is incredible.
“For saltwater sharpies chasing trophy-class fish ranging from stripers to tarpon, we added a 7’11” heavy, moderate-fast action rod in both spinning (JIS711HMF) and casting (JIC711HMF) configurations, as well as a 7’11” heavy, fast action spinning (JIS711HF) rod. These were designed based on pro-staff, angler and dealer feedback in the Northeast striper fishery, but are also great for jumbo snook, jacks and permit, or live-baiting tarpon in southern waters. Additionally, they excel when making long casts while sight-fishing for giant cobia. The moderate-fast action models soak up much of the abuse anglers absorb with faster rods while battling beasts weighing 40 pounds or more. These truly are trophy sticks,” Smay adds.
Additional 7’11” Mojo Inshore spinning models added for 2021 come in the form of medium power, fast action (JIS711MF) and medium-heavy power, fast action (JIS711MHF) models, ideal for bombing long, accurate casts to smaller inshore species.
A pair of new 7’9″ extra-heavy, moderate-fast conventional (JIC79XHMF) and spinning (JIS79XHMF) models have been designed to handle 2- to 6-oz. lures, including large metal-lip swimmers and 9″ swimbaits, and to put maximum pressure on large inshore and nearshore fish. Thanks to SCIII composition and IPC mandrel technology, these extra-heavy power rods remain exceptionally light in the hand for such powerful sticks. Anglers will admire the strength and backbone of these models for everything from dragging giant snook out from under rickety docks up to popping medium, school-sized bluefin tuna. Simply put, they provide more Mojo in a lighter saltwater package. The 7’9″ extra-heavy, moderate-fast, conventional Mojo Inshore rod (JIC79XHMF) is St. Croix’s entry into ICAST 2020 Online’s New Product Showcase in the Saltwater Rod category.
Both the new 7’11” and 7’9″ rods are designed to take anglers who chase trophy inshore species through an entire season. A 7′ light, fast-action spinning rod (JIS70LF) – perfect for speckled trout – rounds out the new additions to the expanded and reinvented St. Croix Mojo Inshore lineup.
“I love the range of the updated Mojo Inshore Series,” says St. Croix Southeast Regional Account Manager, Randy Hamilton. “In finesse situations for big speckled trout during spring and fall, I’ll team the new Mojo Inshore 7′ light (JIS70LF) with small Z-Man baits and ultralight jig heads. With all that sensitivity you can truly feel what’s happening at the end of the line, and with the lightweight SCIII IPC construction, you can cast all day without fatigue. The medium-light and medium power models are my bread-and-butter trout and redfish rods through the rest of the season. It’s worth noting that with the light, medium-light and medium power rods in this series, we went from split-grips to full-length cork handles. Our anglers told us they prefer the full handles, primarily for durability reasons.”
St. Croix pro-staffer and accomplished tournament angler Justin Carter of Charleston, South Carolina, agrees with Hamilton and Smay on the overall performance upgrades of the reimagined Mojo Inshore Series. “These rods provide exceptional value for the money,” he says. “They’re lightweight, powerful, perfectly balanced and exceptionally adaptable, with a great combination of spinning and casting models to cover the entire spectrum of inshore gamefish. And the new full cork and hybrid cork/EVA handle designs mean these rods are going to stand up to abuse even better than the originals.”
As for that lauded Mojo big-fish capability, Smay says accolades for the new Mojo Inshore Series are arriving at a furious pace. “We have reports from all along the coast of trophy class stripers, cobia, permit, tarpon and more being tamed by anglers we’ve selected to beta test this updated series,” he says. “In fact, we are so thrilled with the overall performance that – even though we have several other truly groundbreaking saltwater rod introductions this year – we’ve decided to enter the St. Croix Mojo Inshore Series into the ICAST New Product Showcase Awards in the highly competitive Saltwater Rod category for 2020. The new Mojo Inshore is that significant and that special.”
New Mojo Inshore Series rods range in length from 6’6″ to 7’11” and feature light to extra-heavy powers with moderate, moderate-fast and fast actions that cover the gamut of inshore saltwater presentations from finessing sea trout to launching giant swim shads and live-lining big baitfish for stripers, snook and tarpon. All are backed by a 5-year warranty plus St. Croix Superstar service.
ST. CROIX MOJO INSHORE SPINNING ROD MODELS
. 6’6″ one-piece, medium power, fast action (JIS66MF) $160.00
. 6’6″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, fast action (JIS66MHF) $170.00
. 6’6″ one-piece, heavy power, fast action (JIS66HF) $180.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, light power, fast action (JIS70LF) $160.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium-light power, fast action (JIS70MLF) $160.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium power, fast action (JIS70MF) $170.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium power, moderate action (JIS70MM) $160.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, fast action (JIS70MHF) $170.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, moderate action (JIS70MHM) $170.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, heavy power, fast action (JIS70HF) $190.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, medium-light power, fast action (JIS76MLF) $180.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, medium power, fast action (JIS76MF) $180.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, fast action (JIS76MHF) $200.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, heavy power, fast action (JIS76HF) $210.00
. 7’9″ one-piece, extra-heavy power, moderate-fast action (JIS79XHMF) $230.00
. 7’11” one-piece medium power, fast action (JIS711MF) $180.00
. 7’11” one-piece medium-heavy power, fast action (JIS711MHF) $210.00
. 7’11” one-piece heavy power, moderate-fast action (JIS711HMF) $220.00
. 7’11” one-piece heavy power, fast action (JIS711HF) $210.00
ST. CROIX MOJO INSHORE CASTING ROD MODELS
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium-light power, moderate action (JIC70MLM) $160.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, fast action (JIC70MHF) $170.00
. 7’0″ one-piece, heavy power, fast action (JIC70HF) $180.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, medium-light power, moderate action (JIC76MLM) $170.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, medium-heavy power, fast action (JIC76MHF) $190.00
. 7’6″ one-piece, heavy power, fast action (JIC76HF) $200.00
. 7’9″ one-piece, extra-heavy power, moderate-fast action (JIC79XHMF)*$210.00
. 7’11” one-piece, heavy power, moderate-fast action (JIC711HMF) $210.00
* Saltwater Rod ICAST Online New Product Showcase entry
ST. CROIX MOJO INSHORE ROD FEATURES
. Designed for inshore specific techniques, the Mojo Inshore series puts exceptional performance rods in angler’s hands at an affordable price
. Premium-quality SCIII carbon
. Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) mandrel technology
. Sea Guide Hero Hi-Grade guides with slim aluminum oxide rings and SS316 stainless gun smoke frames
. Fuji® DPS Deluxe reel seat with gun metal hoods on spinning models
. Fuji® ECS and TCS Deluxe reel seat with gun metal hoods on casting models
. Fuji® Back Stop lock nut on select models
. Contoured handle with EVA and Cork combination on select models
. Alps non-marring rubber gimbal on select models
. Kigan hook-keeper
. Two coats of Flex-Coat slow cure finish
. 5-year warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service
. Specialized inshore saltwater rods designed and built for superior performance
. Designed in Park Falls, U.S.A. and handcrafted in North America (Fresnillo, Mexico)
With new, lightweight, IPC-tooled SCIII blanks that make casting more accurate, smooth and enjoyable; unique new handle designs for comfort, durability and extra leverage; plus eight completely new models, the entirely reimagined Mojo Inshore Rod Series will delight even the most ardent saltwater sharpie. Whether you fish the surf, inlets, back bays or nearshore wrecks, St. Croix’s new Mojo Inshore rod series offer increased performance and incredible value. Available at St. Croix dealers worldwide in Fall of 2020.
Advertisement 