reviews on the meatstick?

[portageman]

I was going to buy a meatstick... another customer at the store said not to buy it because he had trouble with the tip. I thought these things were supposed to be cats a$$. Anybody else have problems? Thoughts?

[tunrevir]

I have one I use for perch and panfish and it is 3 years old and going strong. I had an older noodlerod that blew up and I bought the meatstick and really like it much better due to the backbone of the rod. I could see that you might have some tip problems if you were routinely catching bigger fish like eyes and pike but I have not had any issues with mine even though it has put a few eyes on the ice when perch fishing.

Tunrevir~

[slurpie]

It's a good rod but don't use outside when it's cold, that is when youll have problems.

[chrishalvy]

I like the rod.

I battle with getting the slip-tie caught on the tip of the rod when bringing in a fish.

Resulting in having to reset my slip.

Not the worst problem to have.

I think the rod has great feeling and backbone.

I'd say go for it.

[dan z]

There's a reason I have 5 of them.

[PFUNK]

Listening to the opinions of other ice fishermen is a great way to get info on products, but I always try to not base my decisions off of a single person's opinion. It all depends on how they fish and how they take care of their gear. I would not hesitate to buy a meatstick if I were you. If you hole hop a lot outside, you will have problems with the line guides freezing up. It has very small guides on the rod tip. If you fish inside obviously you wont have this problem. If you are hard on your gear and shove it into a rod bag that gets thrown around in the sled, you could end up with a broken tip. If you care for your gear and take a little extra time to pack it so that it doesn't end up broken, you shouldnt have a problem. Overall I like the rod and recommend it to you as long as you keep these few things in mind.

[Rouney725110]

I love mine. I like the strong backbone that it has because I hate real light rods but I also really like the light tip on the end. I know it's a contradiction but I also like sight fishing which is hard with heavy rods. So I'd definitely recommend it.

The one problem I had with mine is that on the hook set of a bigger fish, the paint on the light tip split on me. Now it's missing the paint on top which looks kinda sloppy (I don't know if this has happened to anyone else) but it still works great. I'm guessing Clam/Jason Mitchell has warranty but I've been too busy fishing to turn it in.

So I would say go for it!

[Borch]

I still have one of the original meat sticks without the tip painted as well as a few of the newer ones. It's my go to rod for panfish as well as catfish and eyes if it's a tough bite. I use it for hole hopping all the time without major ice up issues. As with any rod you'll need to clear the ice off the tip from time to time. MAke sure you get a good rod case as that's well the tips usually get broken.

[Sifty]

There's a reason I have 5 of them.

+1

Sifty

[MuskieJunkie]

It's a great rod but they break easier than most.

[magic_minnow]

best rod I own actually. I use it primarily for panfish, and like others have said, its all in how you take care of it. It has a sensitive tip, so treat it as such. Don't jam it into some PVC rod hodler and youll be fine. Take care of it and itll take care of you. I've used a st croix legend with the spring bobber as well, and although the st croix is a good rod, the meatstick beats it anyday plus its cheaper.

[bk_MN_iceman]

I have one. Love it. If I'm going out pan fishing, it is my go to rod. The sensitivity is excellent and I'm going on year 2 with the rod now. Landed a few bigger fish (unexpectedly) over those 2 years (25" northern & 20" Walleye) and it handled well, even on 2# test.

Have not had tip issues, do not use with a bobber since the tip is so sensitive, the only thing is the guides are small so occasionally outside the tip will freeze up.

[DTro]

I have to say that the 15 min that I spent with mine, I could tell that I was going to like it. Unfortunately that is about as long as it lasted.

i caught a fish right away and it was a cold day. As I was fighting the fish, I was reeling in and a small ice chuck hung up on the first eye and the force of me reeling folded the tip over and it splintered and broke.

I thought maybe there was a chance that it was an anomaly, so I contacted Clam and they were awesome about sending me out a new one right away. I actually bought 2 originally, so with the replacement I now had 2 new ones again.

The next time on the ice I pulled the new rod out of the padded sleeve I keep them in and discovered the tip was broken before I could even use it.

i didn't even want to mess with the other one (but I did take a look at it and it was fine). So I just used the JM Perch rod that day.

The next time out I still had the one new rod that was fine and I checked it before I left the house. I got out on the ice and wanted to use it, so I pulled the rod out and I couldn’t believe it when the tip was broken.

So that is three trips out and three broken tips. I kept the rods in a padded sleeve (came with JR’s Soft sided rod bag) and then they were placed in a Clam rod locker.

It could very well be that I am just hard on my gear as I have a lot of fishing buddies who love the JM Meatstick and have not had any issues, but I contacted Clam and told them I couldn’t chance it anymore and they were kind enough to replace them with a JM Perch Rod instead.

I do a lot of praising of products I have good experiences with and I feel it is only fair to share the not so good issues I had with these rods and again it could very well be user error.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

My experience was similar. I had about 5-10 minutes on it before it broke on the first fish. I probably could have gotten a replacement, but I knew the same thing would happen again. If you treat it like an egg you'll love it.

[pushbutton]

Huhhh?....wonder if they had a bad run this year. I have a couple that are 3 years old and never have had a problem. Am admittedly brutal on equipment, and that goes without saying for my fishing partner. Not often out in extreme elements, but still plenty of opportunity to break in just an ordinary bag or bucket. They also have been used as a sword, and ice hole slushy stir stick

[muc33]

Although I understand the above comments. I went from my first original 28" Jason Mitchell Meatstick breaking, I learned a lesson from that. Because it broke in my case. I now have my 28 and multiple 20" JM Meatsticks in my Otter Box. I use them every outing. I love the tip, The 20's are not near as easy to break as the 28's can be. I have not purchased a 24 yet as the 20's serve me well in my one man fishing for panfish. Treat them as a fragile indicator, they will work! Treat them like an open water rod you throw in the back of your truck, they will grow shorter!

[Scott M]

Glean a thing or two from the above: Use and wear and tear are not equal amongst anglers. As others have said, this is an inside rod, don't try and hole hop with it.

I bought two the first year they came out, finally broke a tip last year when the reel engaged with instantaneous anti-reverse and had no give. I fixed that tip and it's still going, although less sensitive.

The other three are still in use. I put them in cases with the anti-reverse turned off or the lines clipped.

For a production rod, they are pretty darn sensitive and useful.

[BoxMN]

Glean a thing or two from the above: Use and wear and tear are not equal amongst anglers. As others have said, this is an inside rod, don't try and hole hop with it.

I bought two the first year they came out, finally broke a tip last year when the reel engaged with instantaneous anti-reverse and had no give. I fixed that tip and it's still going, although less sensitive.

The other three are still in use. I put them in cases with the anti-reverse turned off or the lines clipped.

For a production rod, they are pretty darn sensitive and useful.

Ditto to da_chise - I have two now, one with a tip that started to go due to anti reverse while in rod bag. Now I have my rods in otter case and no probs since. And ditto to those who say use inside or when warm out. I do like them, but use the spring bobber rods for outside/cold.

and don't let kids or "rookies" use meatstick, as they totally don't understand how fragile they are.

[Northlander]

I have broken too many of these tips to count. So many that I went to a JR's version of the rod because its the same feel/action but cheaper. I have now gone to custom DH rods and not had the breaking issues.

[Coon]

I loved em too, but broke the tips on two spring bobber rods and two meatsticks...enough for me...although i'm trying to be more carefull with my equipment this year...

[luckycrank]

As stated before noodle rods have such a fine tip. they are not a great choice for everyone's fishing style. If slip corking is your preferred method of angling , I personally would chose a different stick. if you hang the knot up on a guide while cranking and don't realize it , could break really easy.

Not to mention just plain out defeating the purpose of the tip!

I own a few DH Al dente's and A power noodle , just the same. treat them right they can take on some pretty big fish.

After the first couple I broke. you learn not to leave them strung up , while transporting or during storage.

Invest in a hard rod case there are a couple nice ones on the market, or look into arrow cases if your on a budget ,

don' t toss them in a bucket with other rods and such. and you should be fine.

for this reason I no longer build a hook keeper on any glass rods.

and by all means never point the but end of the rod at with the rod held over head while grabbing a fish out of the hole while on a tight line. BAD things happen.

I was actually considering getting a couple meat sticks and swapping guides with alconite guides. since IMHO thats the only down fall of the meat stick