Favorite panfish rod??

[harvey lee]

Blackjack, I have not broken one yet but I have been told they can break. I guess that can be the price ones pays for a tip that sensitive.

I keep mine in a rod bag but just take my time removing it. If a person breaks off an inch, no biggie as one can take the tip top off and re glue it back on the end and the rod will still work. Or, get it warrantied.

I have not heard of one breaking from a fish, only from accidental damage. Not saying it could not break from a fish but I have iced alot of fish with mine.

[BLACKJACK]

I would recommend the St. Croix Legend ice rods, in Light.

As for reels, I'm a sucker for the Shimano Sienna 500's. I have a few Sahara's as well, but I think the Sienna's are a great reel for $30.

Got to try the St. Croix rods this weekend - I think they're going to work out great!!! Took me awhile to get the hang of it, trying to watch the Vex and the rod tip at the same time, but Sunday morning I was able to snag a few sunfish, a couple in the 8+ inch range!! Followed your advice and outfitted them with the Shimano 500 reels, they're nice too. One I put 4 pound test on and one I put 2 pound test on, the 2 pounder was harder to use and get the line down the hole, had a small jig on and it just was hard to get down - guess it takes practice!!

Mnbassfisher, how do you adjust the spring bobbers?

Harvey, had the meatstick with, took some line with to string it, but never found the time. Will try it next weekend.

Thanks for the advice guys!! I can see more of those St. Croix rods in my future - just in case the wife wants to go with!!!

[MN BassFisher]

Got to try the St. Croix rods this weekend - I think they're going to work out great!!! Took me awhile to get the hang of it, trying to watch the Vex and the rod tip at the same time, but Sunday morning I was able to snag a few sunfish, a couple in the 8+ inch range!! Followed your advice and outfitted them with the Shimano 500 reels, they're nice too. One I put 4 pound test on and one I put 2 pound test on, the 2 pounder was harder to use and get the line down the hole, had a small jig on and it just was hard to get down - guess it takes practice!!

Mnbassfisher, how do you adjust the spring bobbers?

Glad to hear they worked well for you! They took me a few minutes to get comfortable with but once you catch a fish or two on them and understand them, they are great. It's the best spring bobber I've seen so far. To adjust them to your jig size you can just push the spring into the grommet for heavier jigs and pull it out farther for lighter jigs. Just be somewhat careful when doing this so you don't bend the spring (if you do or if you want more stores and their HSOforum sell replacements/extras). Here is a general rule of thumb for the different actions of the spring bobbers I found:

Weights to keep spring bobber at roughly the recomended 30 degree angle with spring pushed all the way in and all the way out:

Light (orange) for < 4 grams. However best upper limit is about 3/32 oz.

Medium (pink) for 2.6g - 8.5grams. Best limits are 3/32oz - 3/16 oz.

Medium Heavy (yellow) for 5.3g - 14 grams. Best limits are 3/16oz - 1/2 oz.

Medium Heavy (yellow) spring will hold a 3/4 oz (21.26 grams) jig/spoon but it will be about at a 45 degree angle instead of the recommended 30 degree angle.

[BLACKJACK]

So when you move up to Medium Heavy or even a Heavy spring bobber, are you still using them for panfish (with a heavier jig) or are you also using then for walleyes??

[harvey lee]

I have purchased a few St Croix spring bobbers and then added them to my rod tips.

One can take a smaller guide and add an grommet so the spring slides through the grommet.

I took the guide, wrapped it to my tip top and then epoxied it to the rod like one would do for any guide.

Its well in place, one can adjust the tip and works as well as one of a St Croix rod.

Great way to take a less expensive rod you like and add the spring bobber for the light biters. I have also repaired ice rods that have had the tip broke and they also turn out nice.

[MN BassFisher]

So when you move up to Medium Heavy or even a Heavy spring bobber, are you still using them for panfish (with a heavier jig) or are you also using then for walleyes??

I basically will be using them for light biting trout and panfish. And the weights of the spring bobbers are essentially to coordinate with the different weight of jigs. I don't see much point in fishing for largeee jigs or spoons on a spring bobber because most cases, if you're going to get bit, you will be able to tell without a spring bobber. But they do make the Legend Ice rods in long sizes and with heavy spring bobbers, so some people must still use them for larger species. They fit in well for my finess and light biting situations.

[Scott M]

Here's a few options for panfish ice anglers with heavy to light wallets. Keep in mind these prices are for just the rods; you still need to pair these with reels and line. I own all of these rods although I don't fish them all equally.

Thorne Brothers PowerNoodle or Quiverstick. I have a couple of these, if you take good care of them they will take good care of you. $70-90 retail, top end of price points.

I also have a St. Croix UL Legend Spring Bobber Rod. I don't use it too much but it's nice for a finnicky bite. For whatever reason I find myself using other rods more often, but it could just be my fickleness. Next year I might use it a bunch. $50-60 retail, higher end price point.

I have a handful of Jason Mitchell Meatsticks. I've found a variety of uses for these rods including deadsticking and pounding jigs then freezing them looking for bites. $30-35 retail, middle price point.

Clam Ice Spooler Rod Combos have been a hit this year. For dedicated bluegill anglers, these are useful combos for presenting a bait without spin. If you want to acquire some straightline rod and reel combos, this is a good way to get started without breaking the bank on expensive reels. Combos retails for $40.

It's odd, but one of the most effective ways to catch fish doesn't rely on an expensive rod...tightlining. I bought a palm rod some years ago that I played around with but don't have much use for anymore since I don't fill buckets nor fish competitions. You can buy a palm rod for $10-15 (and the reels is built in). Make sure you are getting a good rod with a good bite indicator...otherwise you are going backwards in technology to get a glorified jigglestick. The bite indicators are really the selling point; you want to use these to hang a heavy jig (they were made to utilize tungsten jigs) straight down and watch the line for movement. It's not a feel game, it's a sight game. Watch the line first and the indicator secondarily. Low price point.

Some of the first dedicated panfish ice fishing rods I had were HT ice blues UL. They were short little things (24-28") with orange noodle tips. They were decent for bite detection albeit a little whippy. You could get pretty good feeling with them in time with experience and you know when a fish had the bait in its mouth. The biggest disadvantage was fighting big fish, be it slab crappies or the occasional bass or pike. This rod had next to no backbone. Backbone on rods is the great equalizer; it's a buffering, compensating mechanism for changes in speed or direction. Without good backbone, a fish can get momentary leverage to throw the hook. I got good at feeding line and angling the rod to take that leverage away from the fish, but nobody's perfect and mistakes are made. I still have 3-4 ice blue combos that I will never throw away...I'm holding onto them for my kids so they can start with something useful but inexpensive. My rod bag with the HT blues has sat in the basement shelf for a few years. HT Ice Blues are getting harder to find (I tried helping a friend new to ice fishing and light on disposable income look for some) in stores, but they were usually going for $8-10 retail.

Good luck. Jay Leno's love for cars is kind of like my love for ice fishing panfish rod. I'll probably try them all one day.

[bassinboy3]

Thorne Bros Power Noodle in the winter, and in the summer my light action Veritas gets the finesse bass bait cut off and crappie jig tied on if I decide to take a break on the bass.

[Pigmeat]

Great info, thanks! Just pulled the pin on a Powernoodle, can't wait to try it out. I really wish I would've done in 3 months ago . . .

[bassinboy3]

You wont be dissapointed!

[amateurfishing]

congrats! fair warning it is a very addictive rod and you may want more. I was even thrilled when I pulled in a 15 plus inch northern with mine on 2 lb test 2 weeks ago!