St. Croix Evos Fly Rod Review and Notes From 2+ Years in the Field

Another year (2025) is in the angling rearview and I’m looking forward to plenty of planned – and unplanned – fly fishing adventures in 2026. Whether I’ll be fly fishing in Montana or off on some distant journey, the St. Croix Evos family of fly rods continues to be a constant companion.

Read my initial thoughts and reviews in this article, originally penned back in early 2025. Today’s article is an addendum to the original St. Croix Evos fly rod review, written about a year after the original.

I’ll hold my ground regarding initial impressions with an enthusiastic “thumbs up” on the fly rod review. 2025 ended up being a huge travel year for me, during which I really put the salt series to the test, and they delivered.

Continued Praise for the St. Croix Evos Freshwater Fly Rods

The freshwater series has become a staple of mine, whether I'm in the drift boat or wading Montana's rivers. The more I use them, the more I like them – it’s that simple.

From personal and family outings to guiding anglers with mixed casting skills, the St. Croix Evos fly rods are fun to fish with and have handled any scenario that I’ve yet to encounter.

These aren’t “noodly” presentation rods for a calm day on the Henry’s Fork, waiting on a spinner fall. No, these are everyday, versatile, high-performance American-made fly rods, well-suited to modern anglers.

They stand out when the weather and fishing techniques are grounded in the reality of Montana fly-fishing conditions.

They are versatile and powerful.

These are the fly rods for anglers who don't mind nymphing under a strike indicator, throwing a chubby chernobyl with a perdigon dropper, or fishing hoppers in the wind.

When I refer to a fly rod as being versatile, I am speaking to its ease of use by anglers with different casting styles and experience levels, in addition to being a useful tool over a wide range of fly fishing applications.

Proprietary Secret Sauce

MITO graphene fibers are used to make certain rod sections stiff and stronger while using less material. The result is a fly rod that's light and durable with a smooth flex profile.

The Freshwater Evos Update

The core freshwater models I use are the 590, 595, and 691 - all 4-piece models.

Revisit the original write-up for the specifications and review – my opinions haven't changed.

The only significant thing I want to add today is that they have proven durable and easy to cast for anglers of all skill levels.

Revisiting the St. Croix Evos Salt Fly Rod

Overall, the salt series evaluations remain the same, but I have more days on the water with each of the originally cited models.

Strong, but not Idiot Proof!

I broke an 890, 990, and 1090 in 2025.

• The 890 tip section broke on the skeg of my guide’s skiff while trying to “horse” a redfish out from under the boat.
• The 990 broke while “power-lifting” a big bull red at the end of a great day in Louisiana, with the drag cranked all the way down and my lead hand up high on the blank for added leverage.
• The fighting butt on a 1090 cracked and partially disintegrated after falling on it while maneuvering around boulders while fishing in Bolivia.

I’d chalk each of these mild disasters up to angler fatigue (or error), rather than manufacturing or design flaws.

The St. Croix Evos Salt Fly Rods

790 Evos Salt – Tried, true, and trusted first-rate bonefish fly rod. There’s nothing wrong with an 8 or 9 weight for bonefish – I prefer a 7 weight, with a couple of caveats. It needs to have a powerful butt section to handle casting in the wind and minimize “fight-time.”

Typical issues with a 7-weight when targeting bonefish include handling windy conditions, casting heavy flies, and exhausting fish during long fights. Whereas, the advantage of a 7 comes into play when minimal false casting and delicate presentations– a quieter “plop” – are essential for success when working wary fish in calm conditions.

The Evos 790 checks the presentation and power boxes; 20-pound Umpqua Deceiver Fluorocarbon and a Hatch Iconic 5+ handles shortening those blistering runs.

Bonefish Pro Tip

When fly fishing for bonefish in “sharky” waters, reduce the fight-time by using reels with strong drags, upsize the tippet, minimize handling, and ensure that the fish is fully revived before releasing – take your time and ensure that the fish is ready to swim off with vigor. Sharks will often lie in wait for an exhausted bonefish to be released and then hunt it down as it slowly swims away before being fully recovered.

990 Evos Salt – 20 years ago, I had very little use for a 9-weight. These days, I don’t know what I was thinking 20 years ago!

The Evos 990 and I have become well acquainted over the last couple of years.

It’s the perfect blend of power and finesse in a big game fly rod that's well-suited to anglers of mixed skill levels.

From carp on the fly in Montana to mid-sized giant-trevally in the Seychelles and redfish in Louisiana to peacock bass in Brazil – my Evos Salt 990 has been through the wringer in 2026.

Heck, its butt section served as my only line of defense against jungle predators one night while stranded in the Bolivian jungle – fortunately, its primary role was to stoke the coals of a gravel bar fire, that night. The jaguars let us be that night.

At sunrise, I put the rod back together and headed out to catch another golden dorado and pacu before our rescuers arrived.

Versatile casting tool, fire poker, and jaguar deterrent with the lifting power to turn powerful jungle fish like black pacu and golden dorado.

As I mentioned earlier, my 990 lost a tug-of-war (1 out of hundreds) battle with a bull red in fall 2025. Angler fatigue and error were the culprits; the rod broke when it was severely overloaded by a lazy angler (me), fighting a ridiculously large bull red in tight quarters.

1190 Evos Salt – My experience with 11 and 12-weight fly rods, in general, is limited when compared to the 4 to 10-weight realm.

A week or two a year of tarpon fishing – let’s be honest - that’s more standing on the bow of a boat than fishing.

I’ve sure cast a lot of 11 and 12-wieghts over the years, but my on-the-water experience is limited to modern rods, including the Scott Sector, Orvis Helios D, Hardy Marksman Z, Sage Salt, Sage Salt HD, Sage Salt RB. Winston Air Max, G.Loomis NRS+S, and the original G. Loomis Asquith

So, when I showed up at Astove Atoll in the Seychelles last January, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the Evos Salt 1190. I had enough experience with the St. Croix fly rods - by that time – to know that power and durability weren’t going to be the concern. However, casting GT-specific fly lines with Beast Fleyes tied on 8/0 hooks, into the wind and surf was a “whole new game.”

Again, no problem for the Evos Salt, and I put the 1190 to the test with some ill-advised angling techniques.

The fly line broke before the rod, which is a story best left for another day.

Back-handed, overhead Belgium casts, and straight-up power casting skills were called on daily and were essential to getting tight to the target – typically a fast and erratic GT hunting the shallows during low tide.

I followed that up with a couple of weeks chasing migratory tarpon near Homosassa, Fl. and the central Caribbean.

Sight-casting to tarpon and giant trevally can be quite different. Presenting a fly to a sighted tarpon requires situational accuracy, whereas the optimal presentation to a giant trevally is about the lead and the retrieve.

When an angler comes tight to either one, power becomes paramount.

The 1190 Evos Salt is an exceptionally versatile, big-game fly rod. Strong and powerful like a 12-weight with the “castability” of a stout 10-weight.

The Legacy Is Stronger Than Ever

St. Croix has been building performance fishing rods at its Park Falls, WI. factory for over 75 years. Highly coveted by conventional anglers, their typical customers focus on warmwater pursuits like bass, walleye, pike, and musky.

Today, they have some of the best fly-rod casters and designers overseeing the revamped fly-fishing category. The Evos is the St. Croix pinnacle fly rod for good reason. Cast it, fish it, and compare it to current models from Orvis, G.Loomis, Sage, Winston, or Scott – I think that you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Anglers will find St. Croix fly rods at a growing number of local fly shops across the USA. Learn more about the entire St. Croix fly rod lineup at online and buy direct.

A final note regarding the St. Croix warranty service. Be sure to register your rod online on St. Croix’s website before contacting the warranty department. File a claim online, and expect to wait a week before the repair department contacts you. They will send you a new rod once the claim is processed, and they don’t require you to send back the broken pieces - it's a great system!

I’ve dealt with more fly rod repair and warranty policies than one could imagine! The St. Croix process is inexpensive and efficient in my experience.

From the Montana Fly Fishing Blog