California Tackle Reels?

[Bobb-o]

anyone try these out at all for ice fishing? they are selling for $12 at a local bait shop and come with a lifetime warranty and it has 7 bearings but i was gonna check and see if anyone had any experiences good or bad with them

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Diplomacy - The art of saying "nice doggie" while you find a rock.

[Northlander]

Scoot how much for a 30" Avid ice rod? Med/lt. action?

[Scoot]

I have a rod my dad made last week here that is $65. I'm not the rod expert, like my dad is, but I don't believe that the ice rods carry the same names as the long rods do. Obviously, you can get an ice rod from a broken off Avid, but that'll have different flex points than a true ice blank- not ideal to use.
The rod I have is the top-o'-the-line St. Croix ice blank, probably equivalent to an Avid Series summer rod. It has a woven graphite handle (lighter and stronger than cork), good and large guides (including tip-top), and is 32" long. Equiped with a California Tackle M-7 it's $65 or $70 give or take a little bit depending upon the bells and whistles you want (cork/graphite/wood handle, silicone carbite/titanium/standard guides, feather inlay, etc.) More bells and whistles = more cost, but I don't think he can make them any cheaper than $65 (with reel). I'm guessing now, but I'd say you can get one without a reel for about $45- but you'd have to talk to him on that one.
Lots of guys on this site have rods that he's made- talk to some of them and see what they think about them- Backwater Eddy Pherris, RoscoeP, MJCatfish, Rockin' Rod, me and quite a few others who I can't remember right now.
Let me know if you're interested.
Scoot

[Northlander]

Im real interested. Could you mail me a # to call him at? [email protected] Thanks.

[MJCatfish]

I tried one of Rod's ice fishing rods late last ice season on the Woods. Fished mostly in 30 feet of water and it really had great feel. It sounds liek the same one Scoot was describing with the woven handle. It's really neat looking and works great. Just pulled my ice fishing stuff out tonight and it was the first rod I looked at and fondled. Won't be long. Most ponds are frozen over in Ottertail area. Next comes the lakes!

Give these rods a try! They are comfortable to fish with and Rod certainly knows what he is doing. I'm interested in trying one of those California reels. . .

MJ

[Scoot]

These reels are sold by a company out West and are distributed primarily through custom rod builders. My dad makes rods and I've used a few over the last year or so. I really like the M-7 on my ice rod. Drag's good, bail works well, line finds the roller each time- seems like a good rig. I've also liked some of the other spinning reels. I used a couple CT baitcasters and have to admit that they need work. I plan on using CT M-7's on several of my ice rods this winter though. If you're interested in using them with a custom ice rod made by my dad, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected]. My pops is making some ice rods that are super sweet! St. Croix ice rod blanks- very sensitive and great for walleyes.
Scoot