thorne deadstick

[bigbritt]

does the thorne deadstick substitute for a slip bobber system well? i was thinking of just putting on a xl genz worm or phat boy tipped with a shiner and just watch the tip...where i am going the bite is very, very light. split shot and a hook with shiner deadsticked has worked very well, but i will be in a house with four other guys and i am trying to avoid tangles with their lines. any thoughts

[bassNspear]

I have used them and there great. Its a bit different from the slip, but there great to use on the hard water.

[bigbritt]

i have a thorne deadstick already and love the thing, i guess what i meant to ask was that since the tip is so soft, i wanted to see if anyone has used them instead of setting up a float. the fish i am encountering are biting really light...so i want to see if this way will work well instead of using floats...if the tip will act as a bobber. these walleyes seem to not want anything to do with something that jigs, couldnt feel them well with a jigging rod. i wont be able to use it as a deadstick cause there just isnt enough room in the house and i am not going outside with it. too cold this weekend

[livintofish]

I don't have a "deadstick rod", though I have heard good things about the one thorne bros makes. I just tape one of those spring bobber deals to the end of the rod and deadstick with that(a heavier one for eyes). The minnow gets great action and you will see the strip bend before they feel it. Good Fishin

[hanson]

Quote:

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I guess what I meant to ask was that since the tip is so soft, I wanted to see if anyone has used them instead of setting up a float. the fish I am encountering are biting really light...so i want to see if this way will work well instead of using floats...if the tip will act as a bobber.

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That is exactly what the rod was designed to do, that is the soft tip acts as your bite indicator.

In the situation you are describing though, with the walleyes biting very, very light, I'm not sure if using the deadstick is going to be the best way to catch them. The rod tip has enough resistance where the fish will feel it when they are finicky. I like to use the deadstick as a deadstick when the walleyes are a little more aggressive.

I would say your best shot is using an Ice Buster Bobber as your float. Trim the foam from the top of the bobber so it floats even with the surface of the water. Now when a walleye grabs your minnow, there is no resistance at all from your bobber and he'll go down with it.

[bigbritt]

thanks all, i will get an ice buster setup for the weekend. i thought that the deadstick tip might have been a little too heavy. thanks agian

[livintofish]

Any float will work on light biting fish, if it's weighted right. The problem is most people only put enough split shot on to hold the float upright, it should be ready to go under at the slightest pull without the fish feeling it. The ice busters do work well as far as not icing up as do other slip bobbers made by thill were your line is underwater and not straight through the middle. The good thing about ice busters is you cut em to be just right so you don't have to spend the time getting just the right split shot size. Now the reason I would fish a deadstick is for more natural action. When I fish a deadstick I use very little weight and keep it a good distance up the line from the minnow hook em with a little octopus hook(you can do this cause your not weighting down a float). The action is great, but the minnow is more free to swim so this is not a good plan right next to another line. If fish are agressive, jigging spoons and flashier action baits seem to call em in the quickest. Just some thoughts and I still use the spring bobber for an early strike indicator. Anyone else got any thoughts on this, other interesting methods?

[harvey lee]

The Ice Buster bobber on the Thorne Deadstick will work very well. Great combo for those light biting eyes.

[marine_man]

Quote:

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That is exactly what the rod was designed to do, that is the soft tip acts as your bite indicator.

In the situation you are describing though, with the walleyes biting very, very light, I'm not sure if using the deadstick is going to be the best way to catch them.

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What I have really had good luck with is using the thorne brothers deadstick with a rod holder like the rod rocker or rod rocker 2 - you've got the sensitivity of the rod tip indicating any strikes, and if you balance the rod correctly on the rod holder you've also got little or no resistance for the fish to pick up on.

marine_man

[irishwalleye]

sounds like exactly what I need. any site sponsers sell them or where can i find them?

[iffwalleyes]

You can get them at Today's Tackle look at the Rod Rocker 2 and Rod Rocker depending on your situation either of those will work really good. I really like the Rod Rocker 2. You can also get the ice buster bobbers here as well. Here is Today's Tackle Link.

Ice Buster Bobbers, Rod Rocker, and Rod Rocker 2 Here

I do have to disagree some what with what other have said. I feel that if the fish are not agressive this is one of the best ways to fish as long as the rod is balanced right. It isn't as simple to setup as a ice buster but I my opinion it works better. I have caught many fish just because the tip of the deadstick was wiggling a little bit.