Power noodle or Mitchell meatstick?

[bassislife]

Which one should I get? Is it worth coughing up the extra cash and getting the power noodle or will the meatstick perform just as well?

[Northlander]

The powernoodle would get my nod but the meatstick is a great rod for the money. Find a place with both and check them out and decide if the powernoodle is worth the extra cost to you.

I ran the meatstick last winter and had a ball with it.

Im going to get a a new powernoodle this year and compare the 2 side by side.

[harvey lee]

Both are good rods. I have found that I use my Mitchell meatstick more and more.

[pipesmoker]

I've never usec the meatstick but have two TB noodles.I love them. Very senstive tip to see the slightest bite.

I'm a huge fan of all Thorne Brother's rods. I will always spend the extra money.

Steve

[Hotspotter]

I've used them both and the power noodle gets my nod every time. The meatstick is a different rod meant to compete at a different price point. I wouldn't compare anything on them other than the action. The differences are apparent enough, that I don't think you'd need to compare them side-by-side to determine likes/dislikes.

Regarding ice rods, I'm of the philosophy that I'd rather have 4-6 rods I used all the time than a dozen I only use 4-6 of.

Joel

[mozy]

You might want to check out the new "Bro" series rods as well. He has a 27" quick tip rod that has a very similar action to the JM Meatstick. Check the guides though, I'm sure they are no where near the quality of the JM rods.

[Sifty]

I have both and both have there own feel.

I'm a big fan of the power noodle and us it more then the meatstick.

Sifty

[MASON38]

All I can is I am SO glad I bought my Sweet Peas and Power Noodles before the prices jumped so high in the middle of last season.

The first three Noodles I bought were off the HSOforum, and I was not happy at all with what I got. Not because of the quality of the rod, but of the hi-vis paint at the tip to the second eye down. I use them for finesse jigging, not as a dead stick, so when I studied the rod, the paint actually deadens the action at the tip. I was able to remove it without any problems though. The next four I ordered I made two changes, first was to eleminate the paint, the second thing I had done was go with the outdoor eyes instead of the small ones that normally come with the rod. Love them! But, you have to ask for them, and I think it cost me five bucks more for each rod at the time.

Haven't tried the Mitchell rod yet, and I have a Frabill QT on the way to review. Should know by the end of next week what the rod is like once I put a reel on it.

[mozy]

MASON38, a word of caution: make sure you check the guides on that Frabill quick tip. I've noticed on quite a few of them that the guides start to run crooked towards the end of the tip.

[Kyle Sandberg]

Heres a quick something I noticed when I was comparing the two rods. One thing about the meatstik is it has an awesome tip but the transition to the backbone it too abrubt where-as on the PN, it seems to be more tapered so the fish would use the entire rod.

The best thing to do would to compare the two with someone who had one or both and see which one you like best.

[WinterHaven]

Is the power noodle really worth the money that they are asking for it? That is a lot of money to spend on a ice fishing rod.

[Hotspotter]

Was talking about this with a buddy the other day, and we're both of the opinion that the Thorne rods really ARE worth the money.

Many of us are willing to drop hundreds a year on an open water rods, for all kinds of specialized presentations. Trolling rods, lindy rods, jigging rods.......more and more, the open water rods are revolving around specific, detailed presentations like Carolina Rigging, Spinnerbait fishing, etc. That's just in bass circles!

For ice fishing, though it's half the components, the Thorne Rods are the equivalent of the highest of top-end open water equipment. However, unlike open water fishing, unless you're a true multi-species ice-fisherman, you're probably only going to need/use a handful of different ice fishing rods at a time. While many of the serious ice-fishermen I know own dozens of rods, quite truly, they typically only use a half-dozen or less consistently throughout the ice season. No matter what they tell you!!!

Thus, my approach has always been utilizing a handful of top-end Thorne Rods, rather than dozens of cheaper combos for the same price. In the end, I'm twice as satisfied with the performance for the couple of rods I use on a steady-basis throughout the season.

Joel

[Matt Johnson]

Craftsmanship of the Power Noodle is second to none in regards to a "noodle" rod. Every rod is built by hand at the store in Fridley, MN... a 100% USA made rod. Absolutely no corners are cut when building the Power Noodle. Every handle and set of guides are hand-picked to make sure there are no flaws/defects. Each guide is wrapped by hand and sighted in perfectly to fall along the blank's sweet spot. This is very important to ensure the rod performs to the best of its ability. Every blank has a sweet spot (or fall-to point) and a lot of rod companies don't put emphasis on this. Every Thorne Bros rod has the guides lined in perfect position so the rod's sweet spot is right.

After the guides are wrapped by hand and sighted in, then every coat of epoxy/clear coat is added by hand. And, when the rod is completed, they get a final run-through by our head rod builder Lonnie before they reach the stand or customer. If everything is not up to par then the rod is put in a different pile and a new one is built.

Like I said, no corners are cut

So, now that the building process of the Power Noodle is out of the way, I'll explain why the Power Noodle is really "worth" the extra money...

All the highest components are used. Fuji guides are important for life-span and perfromance. Cork is high-grade and not brittle or porous, which equates to durablilty and life. The glass blank is tapered so that you don't loose power in the hook-set. A quick tip does no good if you can't put the metal to a fish in short order. The blank is designed to see not only the hard, aggressive hits, but also the much-needed detection of the "up bite." Most ice anglers fail to realize the importance of detecting the up bite, and most of the time our desired species... gills, crappies or perch... will act in a way that oftentimes means being able to detect the up bite. Other than the sight-indicator, the overall physical weight of the rod is quite amazing and when balanced with a reel its virtually weightless in your hand. This all equates to more fish on the ice.

Bottomline here, yes you're going to pay more for the Power Noodle, but like any aspect of open water fishing, we've come to the acceptance that you're going to pay more for the high-end G-Loomis and St. Croix rods (which we buy and run in the $300+ range... compared to a $65 ice rod that's small beans especially if you put any sort of time in ice fishing like you do out in the boat). And for anyone who has fished with the higher end gear you know why you pay what you do... no different in the ice fishing realm...

[CNY Tim]

Thanks Matt - Ordered two noodles today!