Good jigging setup for a blind fisherman

[ilikefood]

Hello All:

My grandfather is legally blind and really loves to fish. His fishing buddy (my father-in-law) recently passed away. Now I will be taking Grandpa out ice fishing. We went fishing today and I had a decent day jigging. However, Grandpa struggled to pull any fish up. I believe his problem is that he could not see the orange spring bobber on my setup. So this is my question: what is a good jig pole, reel, and line with the most feedback so the user can feel every bite? No need for a spring bobber or ultra-sensitive tip because Grandpa cannot see anything that small.

Thank you for your help!

David

[DeeJ]

I wish I had better advice, but I think it's very cool and important that you take the man out.

The thorne brothers rods are very sensitive. I'm not sure what species you guys generally target, but they make strong equipment so you could probably buy a lighter rod (So he could feel) that could still land bigger fish.

Keep up the good work!

[fishinfey8]

maybe you could have him try holding the line with his pointer finger while jigging? Sometimes when there's a light bite and I don't have a spring bobber I will do this and it seems to work. Tough situation but I agree with the above poster, kudos for taking him out.

[ted4887]

Is there a type of bell system or some sort of sound emitting bobber that might help out?

I'm interested in this thread as well, because my grandfather is also losing his vision. It would be nice to be able to set him up with some fishing gear that would make it less stressful for him.

[DeeJ]

So that better minds than I can help further, tell us:

You said legally blind... Can he see at all? Also, do you own/use a flasher? You telling him when fish are near and honing in on your baits would be very helpful to him.

Again, much respect and good luck.

[mn_bowhunter]

My brother got a rod as a gift that had a beeper built in for when there were bites. Not sure if it is sensitive enough, but it did work when I pulled on the line. Another option is a bitebuzzer. A quick google search brought that up. Maybe a little gimicky, but if it helps him enjoy himself it's worth it.

[mn_bowhunter]

Found the one my bro has, it's called flex bite. Worth a check too. If he has sensitivity in his fingers I'd switch to a faster action rod with braided line to help transmit the feeling of a bite.

[slipperybob]

The St.Croix Premiere Ice rods are plenty sensitive enough to telegraph bite feedback to the hands. The ML should do fine.

[RJMOEN]

I use an extremely cheap rod I bought at fleet farm. Cant think of the name. Pretty sure its south bend, or south fork or something. It was like 5.99 and it takes a spinning reel, the eye guides are all around 1/2" to 3/4" so they dont freeze up. It is as stiff as an old hand wind rod and sensitive as heck. It does not bend, may not be great for anything huge but works awesome for panfish and walleye. Its silver grey. The reason it works so well is the stiffness, if you feel the slightest tap a slight hook set will do...when I use my other rods I miss strikes all the time because I'm not setting fast enough or high enough. People give me grief about how stiff the thing is but all of my hand rods are just as stiff...and I catch more fish.

[Rippinlip]

I Have no advice on the rod, but Thanks to you for keeping him fishing!!

[Cheetah]

A bigger bobber? One that lights up? What did he use before with the other guy?

[pushbutton]

maybe you could have him try holding the line with his pointer finger while jigging? Sometimes when there's a light bite and I don't have a spring bobber I will do this and it seems to work. Tough situation but I agree with the above poster, kudos for taking him out.

if you are able to fish out of the elements this was my first thought also.

[ilikefood]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and kind words! From what I understand, Grandpa can see the outline of large objects such as people but cannot see anything smaller. He could not see the bright-orange spring bobber and had a hard time seeing the size of the fish we caught.

Grandpa always fishes for panfish. I have never seen him ice fish for anything else. So the rod only needs to handle panfish including crappies.

Grandpa always fished with many different rods and reels when he fished with my father-in-law. Unfortunately, Grandpa still had a very difficult time catching fish. After my father-in-law passed away, his fishing equipment cannot be found, so Grandpa is using my equipment. Currently, I do not have an ice shake, but will probably pick one up so he can fish without gloves for better feel of the rod. I also do not have a flasher; we just fish old-school.

I like the idea of a rod with little flex. I will also look into the buzzer, that is really interesting.

Again, thanks for the help!

David

[Northlander]

If he has any feel in his hands try to get him a reel fitted with some sort of superline, way better feel in a superline than mono, then give him a jig heavy enough that he can feel it at all times. As far as a rod it will have to be something with a good amount of graphite with some real good feel. Thorne Brothers are the best but I do have other rods with St. CRoix, Batson and other blanks that are very good as well.

Important thing is he will just enjoy being out there. Heck even if you hook the fish and let him real it in he will love it.

KUDOS to you for getting him out there.

[PlagueWielder]

Keep that codger fishin'! You could maybe just put a piece of tape doubled over on itself on the rod tip or even on some spring bobbers. We use black electrical tape but there is Hi-Viz too. You can get a good sized patch on there and doesn't kill the action too much.

[ilikefood]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a very sensitive rod? Someone suggested St. Croix, any other ideas?

Should I use braided line?

Thanks again!

[Northlander]

Read my post above?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I agree with Northlander!

Get a good light weight graphite rod, spool his reel with Power Pro or Fire Line 4# test line and eliminate the spring bobber.

I never use a bobber of any kind and always go by feel anyway myself.

Keep Gramps fishing!

Cliff

[TruthWalleyes]

I would think that using some kind of braided line will help transfer bites to one of the rods mentioned above.

[irishwalleye]

Like Northlander said, the bait you choose can greatly affect his success. Heavier baits (jigging spoons, forage minnow, tungston jigs) will allow for greater feel.

Test it out yourself, eyes closed. Whatever you feel works best, more than likely, will work for gramps.

Good luck

[Sgt_NellieUSMC]

how is gramps hearing? i know when i went to the ice fishing expo this year, they had this device that i cant remember the name of, but you clip your foam bobber into it. it bairly holds it there, and when you get a bite, it sounds a buzzer. you could also try a light rattle reel. if you are only fishing out of a portable, they make some that can clip onto the poles of your shack. i was up north this weekend and we caught most of our crappies on the rattle reels using just a #6 red hook and crappie minnow. since they were biting so lightly is was almost the only way to catch fish. we still filled the bucket and had a nice fish fry. just another way for the ol' boy to catch some fish. hope this helps

[TooTallTom]

It's kind of a variation on having him hold the line in his "trigger" finger, but what about having him barehand the line in his reeling hand, then fighting the fish with the rod and reel after he hooks one?

Set the hook with his reel hand, raise the rod to take up the slack, then release the line and reel in the fish.

Plus, that way he can jig. And jigging's about all the entertainment you get on the ice without a flasher. Guess who doesn't have a flasher?

[IamZombie]

The St.Croix Premiere Ice rods are plenty sensitive enough to telegraph bite feedback to the hands. The ML should do fine.

I'd recommend one of those as well.

I picked one up the other week, and I love it.

[osok]

I think a rattle reel would be great, as mentioned they do make them for both portable and perm mounts. But if a rod is what your looking for. I agree with the above posts that braided line is the way to go.

Graphite will give the best feedback. Try and find a rod that at the grip there is part of the blank where a finger will be resting, this will provide the best "feel" of a fish hitting (look @ higher end open water rods if you need a visual). Try this test when you are rod shopping; close your eyes and lightly drag the top eye across a surface, you should be able to feel the vibrations transmitted down the rod. Thorne bros can help you if your having problems finding one that fits the bill. Personally I think a UL action or quick tip design would work just dandy coupled with a small bell and dead sticking or holding the rod as still as possible. Growing up I used to do alot of salmon trolling (commercially), and we would attach bells to our gear as bite/strike indicators. I don't see why this wouldn't work on a smaller scale attached near the very tip of the rod. Might not get every fish but I bet he'd get some.

Major kudo's to you for being able to get him out there and keep him going.