New Rod....

[riverrat56]

I'm looking to purchase a new panfish rod, stuck between the Jason Mitchell 26" Perch rod or the 24" Springbobber rod, or Thorne Brothers Power Noodle?

The rod will be used for hole hoping outside the house most of the time. I fish mainly for Perch and Crappies through the ice.

Any thoughts?

[Team Otter]

Jason Mitchell, 24" Spring Bobber

[pkwalleye]

where do you fish.

and i'll second team otter

[riverrat56]

I knew you'd say that.....I was impressed by it last year when I saw it in action and it was #1 on my list, I would just like a little bit longer rod.

[dkf]

Might want to look at a rod with larger guides for fishing outside to help prevent freeze up. A TB 28" panfish sweetheart outside rod would be a good choice.

[Flaco651]

The JM Spring Bobber is really nice. Picked one up last season and became one of my fav's quickly.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Either rod will treat you right... heck.. get both!

[riverrat56]

I would but can only afford one, another reason I am leaning towards JM's rods, less than half the price.

[wanger29]

Less than half..? Well then buy them both! Two for the price of 1 if that's the case.

[harvey lee]

I really like the Mitchell perch rod for jigging eyes. Either choice as mentioned would be a good rod to use. The Mitchell will save you a few dollars.

[Scott K]

I agree with Harvey Lee, The JM Perch rod is perfect for jigging!

[riverrat56]

How well will the perch rod handle bigger jigging spoons?

[blueroof]

The rod will be used for hole hoping outside the house most of the time. I fish mainly for Perch and Crappies through the ice. Any thoughts?

The T.B. Power noodle is a sweet panfish rod, but terrible for outside use because of the tiny guides. I wouldn't get that. As noted, you can get both the Mitchell perch and spring bobber rod for the price of a single custom T.B. I'd go with a Mitchell with the spring bobber or save up and get a panfish with the outside guides as suggested.

Regarding lure size, I personally think the Mitchell perch can handle a 5/16 oz or slightly larger lure. It won't handle larger baits as well as a perch sweetheart without getting spongy, but does well. I tend to ride bigger baits on lighter rods than most out of personal preference.

[Wookiee]

How big of spoons are you talking? I know the perch stick can handle the 1/8 and 1/4 oz. very well. Get a reel with some 3 or 4 pound test and you're set to go.

[DTro]

Of all the Jason Mitchell rods I own, my favorite is the Perch. It is small enough to to work well for the Pannies, yet is still able to handle a nice size eye.

[PerchJerker]

I have the JM Perch rod and like it a lot. I use it for perch and walleyes, not for sunfish or crappies.

I also have the JM 24" Lite rod (I think that's what it's called). I use that rod a lot for sunfish and crappies, works great with small plastics or waxies / euros.

But if I was only getting one rod for hole hopping outside of the house, I think I'd get the JM Springbobber rod. I have that rod also and use it a lot, especially with plastics. The spring bobber can really pay off when the bites are very light, or if you're outside and maybe cold or wearing gloves so it's a little tougher to detect the bites and react.

[riverrat56]

Thanks for the input guys, I think I will be going with just the JM Springbobber rod for now.

[hanson]

How well will the perch rod handle bigger jigging spoons?

If you are looking for a spoon rod, I'd go with the 28M Walleye from Mitchell. Its a bit stiffer through the tip than the Perch model so you'll get a little better snap when you are jigging. A big pet peave of mine is a rod tip that loads too much for the lure I'm using, it just kills the jigging response. The 28M Walleye should be perfect for 1/8-1/4oz spoons.

[JohnMickish]

Buy what you can afford, but if you can't afford what you want then wait till you can. I've got one JM rod and several TB rods and you can't compare the two. The JM rod is "good for the money" (I really hate that statement) but it's not the same quality as a TB rod, but like you said, it's half the price. As it's been mentioned here many times, the Thorne Bros rods are the best rods available. If it where me, I'd go sell some plasma and get the one you want. IMHO, the best single ice rod out there is the TB Perch Sweetheart.

[DTro]

IMHO, the best single ice rod out there is the TB Perch Sweetheart.

That seems to be the consensus amongst many fisherman. I'm pretty sure there is a spot in my bag for another rod this year, and there's a very good chance it will be one of these.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Last year I bought a couple of rods from Capra's Sporting Goods in Blaine.(28"M's) They were extremly nice rods for the money (around $40) and worked well with lighter tackle and also had enough backbone for bigger fish. They too had bigger eye's on them which make them nice for fishing outside. Just wondering if anyone else happened to try one? If not I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend stopping in and talking to Jerry over there and checking those out as well if your in the area.

[hanson]

IMHO, the best single ice rod out there is the TB Perch Sweetheart.

Can't argue with that. I've got one Perch Sweetheart that is about 10 years old, and have added a few more over the years as well, both 28" & 32".

Give me a TB 28" Perch Sweetheart, TB 32" Deadstick, and some kind of spring bobber rod (my favorite is still the St Croix Legend) and you are covered for nearly every species of fish in the state of MN. Pike & Lakers you'll need to add a few more rods but those 3 will cover you from perch to 10lb walleyes.

[HOT SPOT]

What is more important to you guys a good rod are the reel?

[DTro]

That's a tough one.

IMO, a bad drag equals lots of stress and potential lost fish.

I think the gap between a quality reel and a bad reel is much greater than the gap between a quality rod and a bad rod.

But if you get a quality rod AND reel you don't have to worry about it.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get both either

[Deitz Dittrich]

I'm with dtro on this.. but its somewhat a trick question... A good drag is very important, unless you are good at backreeling. If I had to choose though I would say a quality rod is more important for ice fishing.