Question about ice fishing rods

[mike morris]

Why does it seem that the higher quality ice fishing rods don't come with the two reel holders? I've found out lately that the high quality rods come with a plain cork shaft.

[Cletus]

Not all high-quality rods come without reel seats. The St Croix Legends have reel seats.. though the St Croix Premier does not. Really is a pain... but a little electrical tape will keep them in place.

[mike morris]

Yeah, I've found just a couple strips of electrical tape does the job.

[federline]

5 layers of electrical tape doesn't crack in 0 degrees like reel seats. And it's user-serviceable.

[Craigums]

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1223521&page=6&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I prefer my ice rods not have reel seats.

[Dark Cloud]

There is a product out there called "tommy tape" that is nicer than electrical tape. It only sticks to its self and leaves no sticky residue. There are a few brands, maybe someone else can chime in. Get it at auto type stores. It's pricy I guess but two 5 inch pieces do a reel...

I build rods and dont use reel seats on ice rods. Most people like the reel in a diff spot on the handle. I like mine up front but have a friend who like em all the way towards the butt of the rod...

[Jim Almquist]

DC that sounds like some good tape that I will have to look for the next time I get in a automotive parts store. I have always used electrical tape and have found that the higher quality tape will stretch better.The 3M 35 is a great tape and comes in different colors.

[PerchPounder]

If you are buying the cheap electrical tape it will leave a black or whatever color it is sticky residue but if you buy better tape 35 or even better super 33+ it will not leave this residue you could also wrap it sticky side out the first wrap and the reverse it to sticky side in if your concerned about the black marks.

[upnorth]

In the cold the graphite and or metal gets colder than tape. I even tape part of the stem of the reel seat so that is more comfortable in the cold. I build custom rods and I have had a few folks ask for reel seats. I have built a couple of Laker Ice rods and both guys wanted reels seat, but most people looking for Walleye or Crappie rods want a plain cork or wood handle.

[Dark Cloud]

jimalm - T-Bone and Gissert put me onto that tape around 5 years ago. It is great! I will get some more info...

[Wanderer]

I prefer hockey tape. Cloth, comfortable, warm, and grip.

[metrojoe]

Just ask for silicone tape. I found it at Home Depot. It's elastic tape that only bonds to itself.

[captainstevo]

I run what I have come to consider the highest quality rods available right now. They are custom built by a top notch rod builder that has received many awards anyway, the way he explained the lack of rod seats to me was for two reasons. One was that the lighter movements of minnows, fish and whatever else you would like to feel while fishing are transfered much better through a tighter taped connection, the second was who really wants to hold onto a cold rough piece of plastic all day. I think that once a quality rod is used and compared it becomes quite obvious why some changes are made. If anyone is interested in finding out more about top notch custom rods at a very good price feel free to contact me at [email protected]

[bassislife]

Hey Mike,

The reason the high quality rods don't have the reel seats is because then you have the ability to line up the reel strait with the eyes. If you look down most rods with the reel seats in them already, they almost never line up with the eyes. The rods I use are the Cabela's XML ice rods. For $30, they are great. I've never seen one yet with a crooked eye!

[slipperybob]

Until I find that tommy tape, I'm using velcrow wraps on mine. Not too shabby in the cold with just the soft backing on them.

[sodajerk]

I checked Menards and ACE Hardware for "tommy tape" or silicone tape as I've seen it called via a Google search. Nobody at either place knew what I was talking about. May as well have been speaking Mongolian.

Then I called a long-time independent auto parts/machine shop place and asked for silicone tape or tommy tape. He didn't know what I was talking about either, but when I described it (only sticks to itself, no adhesive, has a backing that needs to be peeled off, stretchy...) then he caught on. They call it "shrink tape" or more aptly, Waytek Cold Shrink Tape, since some kinds require heat to shrink them. Cold shrink tape works at ambient temperature.

Anyway, I got a 10-ft roll of it for $6.77 and it seems like really good stuff, if a bit pricey. I cut a short piece, peeled off the backing and wrapped it around my finger. It grabbed and held like iron and gradually constricted around my finger a little bit. Then I took the same piece off my finger and wrapped it around the shifter knob on my work truck. It held just as well there.

It seems like the ideal stuff for attaching a reel to a seatless rod handle, and probably a million other things I haven't thought of yet. It's sold as an electrical product, for wrapping and protecting wiring.

So the moral of the story is, look for it at auto parts stores, as someone else said earlier in the thread, and be prepared to describe it a bit.

[Jim Almquist]

Perchpounder when I started to read your post I knew that it had to be a electrician that was responding because in your line of work tape dose make a difference on how well it will wrap and how tight before it breaks.Its all in the stretch of the tape. That shrink tape stuff is something I have to look into next time I get to a auto parts store.