thorne bros vs midwest rod and reel

[devildog]

thanks for getting back to me, ive heard alot of people talking about these guys, how good of quality rod do they build and do they stand behind it?

[Paul Waldowski]

devildog,

They build very high quality rods, and yes they will stand behind them. There customer service is top-notch. You will not be dissapointed should you have them build a rod. As a matter of fact, you will probably be like the rest of us and order another one, or two, or three, or....

[cory]

i want a rod with a tennesee handle. not a reel seat. with the wood tennesee handles a hole is drilled in the wood and the blank is epoxied directly to the wood. no fillers or whatever they use to get the cork to fit to the blank(masking tape). i would have to think a blank glued directly to hardwood would be more sensitive than cork.

as far as balance, where u tape the reel on would determine on how it would balance. but what do i know. i've never seen a thorne bros. or midwest rod before other than on the internet or any other wood handled rod for that matter. i talked to bill at midwest and he liked the wood handle alot better. he said it is more sensitive and he really likes the way it feels in his hand. he also said the wood handle is only a slight bit heavier than the cork. you can get a midwest rod with a cork handle for the exact same price as the wood.

it would be great if i could have an opportunity to be able to test drive a 32" med midwest rod with a tenn cork handle, a tenn wood handle, and a thorne bros 32" walleye sweetheart all with the same reel(quantum catalyst pt 10) and see which one i like the best but if that were able to happen i would have never started this topic.

if for some strange reason i don't like to fish with the midwest rods(i doubt it) i know they will sure look awesome hanging in my office and then i get to try something else.

cory

[Surface Tension]

I've got a 28" med action cork handle ice rod from Midwest.

Got it early last season so I and had the pleasure to use it all season long. I absolutely love it. Cork may have a damping effect to some degree but it has very good transmission of the ever-so-slight nudge or ticks.

I've boughten quite a few over the counter rods, some good ones too but never seem to be exactly what I want.

If you order a Midwest Rod your going to talk directly with the guy that'll be making it so you'll get exactly what you want.

[priorbass]

devildog check out store sales...we have a great deal on a few blanks we are closing out on at a really good price.Cory thank you for your order...your rod are in the making.

[iffwalleyes]

I have yet to order a Midwest. But I own several Thorne Bros. I agree with everything that Matt said in his previous post. I can feel the cork handle flex through my hand on the Thorne Bros rods when a fish hits. With a soild piece of wood I feel like I loose that. I also think that with a reel seat it throws the blance of the rod off and it is too heavy and out of proportion to me. I have a laker rod from Thornes Bros like this and I don't like quite as well as the rods I have without reel seats. I have one of Rod Engles rods with the hard wood handle and St. Croix blanks and I love the looks of the rod and it is a great fishing rod. But I already had my Thorne Sweetheart walleye rods and I just can't find another rod that I feel compares. I will be ordering a midwest rod with a cork handle this year to give them a fair comparsion. I saw and felt some of Northlander's midwest rods last year and they look to be very nice so I need to give them a shot.

[Northlander]

Just ordered a 36" medium ice rod from Bill. Going to be my heavy current (Red River) walleye jigging rod. Cant wait to see and use this baby! Those Cannuck eyes dont stand a chance now!

[cory]

northlander which handles do have on your midwest rods?

cory

[iffwalleyes]

Northlander when are you planning to head to Selkirk. Early Dec?

[Northlander]

Cory I have at least 1 rod with each type. I have 2 Laker rods with cork handles, 1 32" with a cork, 2 other rods (28" and 32")with wood handles. I havent noticed 1 type being any more sensitive. Maybe the wood a tad but my finger is on the line 95% of the time so it dont matter all that much to me. If I fished out of my house a lot I would go with cork.

If you have any more ? e-mail me at [email protected]

[Northlander]

IFalls Im looking at as soon as they get safe ice. Ya Im guessing early Dec. Want to tag along or something? [email protected]

[iffwalleyes]

Possibly Northlander. I have been talking to some buddies about heading up that direction. If we went it would probably be early Dec.

[Northlander]

Let me know maybe we can get a crew together.