St. Croix Rod Shop: North-Woods Craftsmanship Meets Precision Engineering
MidCurrent’s advertising/sponsorship sales director, Jeff Dow, tests the Tannic Bass model on the river. Photo: Rick Mikesell
For seventy years, St. Croix Rods has been building fishing tools in Park Falls, Wisconsin, a north-woods town of just 2,375 people that is surrounded by lakes and rivers full of smallmouth and largemouth bass, panfish, pike, musky, and sturgeon. Here, fishing is not just a pastime, but it is a shared language, as well. St. Croix’s place in this landscape is as natural as the rivers that cut through it. The company’s roots run deep in both the community and in the craft of rod building.
Every rod is shaped by advanced engineering, yet refined through the skill of long-tenured craftspeople, many of whom have worked here for decades. Before it leaves Park Falls, each rod passes through thirty-two pairs of hands—hands belong to neighbors, friends, and in many cases, generations of the same family. Ten percent of the town’s residents work for St. Croix, you are just as likely to share a beer with them at the local restaurant as you are to see them at a workbench the next morning. Jesse Simpkins, St. Croix’s marketing director and our host, beamed with pride as he shared the St. Croix difference, introducing us to the hardworking people who build the company’s rods, recounting their stories, and greeting every fellow employee warmly at the local watering hole in the evening.
People and Machines
During our visit, Engineering Supervisor Gavin Falk walked us through the rod-building process, from raw materials to finished rod. All rods begin with a steel mandrel, the form around which the blank is rolled. St. Croix maintains an extensive library of mandrels, for both its conventional and fly-rod lines, each tuned between batches to ensure perfect straightness and tight tolerances. Patterns of carbon or fiberglass, cut with precision CNC machines, are wrapped around the mandrels. St. Croix has long been a leader in materials innovation, selecting specific carbon fibers and resins to achieve the exact blend of strength, action, and weight desired for each model.
The mandrel library is where the tapers for each rod are stored. Photo: Rick Mikesell
The layup process blends human skill with machine precision. Craftspeople tack the carbon patterns to the mandrels by hand, then rolling machines apply consistent pressure to eliminate any gaps. Polypropylene tape is wrapped to compact the blank before curing in computer-controlled ovens. Each step is followed by a meticulous inspection. Any blank not meeting the company’s exacting standards is reworked or rejected outright.
A craftsman aligns and tacks the carbon-fiber material to the mandrel before rolling. Photo: Rick Mikesell
Once cured, the blanks are sanded smooth and finished with a lightweight coating. Ferrules on multi-piece rods are hand-fitted to ensure seamless action. The final step on the blank side is laser alignment. Using a laser, the craftsman determines the ideal guide placement for each blank and marks it with a UV pen. This process ensures perfect alignment and consistency, with no variation from one rod to the next.
Gavin demonstrates the precision-sanding process. Photo: Jeff Dow
On the finishing side, all components are selected and assembled by hand, with each grip, reel seat, and component package crafted under the expert eye of skilled builders. After another round of quality control, the tip-top is laser aligned and affixed. Guides are wrapped either in the factory or by one of nearly forty skilled home wrappers in the community.
The wrapping process is hands-on and meticulously done. Photo: Rick Mikesell
After the final coats of finish are cured on large rotating drums, model and logo decals are applied, and each rod is packaged and sent to the distribution center, a converted grocery store just down the road from the factory, to be shipped to anglers around the globe.
American Ingenuity and Value
In recent years, St. Croix has reinvested heavily in its fly-fishing lineup. Industry veterans Scott Forristal and Zack Dalton now lead that effort, blending decades of fly-rod expertise with St. Croix’s manufacturing infrastructure. Their ability to scale high-quality production allows the company to offer American-made fly rods at prices that are rare in today’s market. St. Croix’s position as an industry leader in the larger conventional market directly strengthens its fly-rod offerings. Its deep knowledge of materials, blank design, and manufacturing efficiency not only produces excellent fly rods, but also allows the company to leverage production volume to keep prices accessible for American-made rods. Many of the most popular and feature-rich models are priced under $700, and the classic Imperial—updated as a modern, capable all-around performer—remains built entirely in Park Falls at $395.
A finished Tannic Musky ready for action. Photo: Rick Mikesell
Future Fly Rods
We fished two upcoming models—the completely redesigned Legend Elite and the new Tannic, a bass and musky/pike specialist—on a nearby river with e-commerce manager Curt Schlesinger. Casting them within sight of the waters and the people that shaped them was a fitting close to the visit. The performance of the rods was impressive, but what stood out even more was the spirit behind them: a combination of precision engineering, skilled hands, and a deep love for fishing that can only come from a place like Park Falls. Stay tuned for full reviews of both rod lines.
St. Croix is a rare American fishing company where cutting-edge rod design thrives alongside the traditions of family, community, and handcrafted skill. Its people, process, and hometown fisheries are as integral to its success as the advanced materials and engineering that power its rods.
Explore St. Croix’s Line of Handcrafted Fly Rods Here
