New Rod....

[DTro]

Good point Deitz

A good backreeler I am not, and I totally forgot about that option.

I think what also is important is matching your rod to the species you are targeting.

A good rod will usually mean less fatigue and better sensitivity.

[HOT SPOT]

I do agree. I think that a reel is more important. I like to fish out side and nothing bothers me more when a drag are the back reel freez up. And with vexilars and what not you can perty much predict when the fish are going to bite are how they are acting/ reponding to teh presentation.

Dont get me wrong I still love the sensitivity of a good rod.

[Wookiee]

Originally Posted By: mnfishinguy

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.

I would have to agree with that spring bobber choice now if you could just buy them online and not have to worry about crooked guides or coming without the tips I would be even happier with those rods.

[Northlander]

A good rod has to be the most important of the 2. You dont feel bites with a reel.

Im for a good quality rod. Unless your a bobber watcher than you dont have to worry about the rod.

[hanson]

A good rod has to be the most important of the 2. You dont feel bites with a reel. I'm for a good quality rod. Unless your a bobber watcher than you dont have to worry about the rod.

Totally agree with you.

Good rod is very important. Sensitivity, Feel, etc... A $30 Tica Cetus will do everything you want a reel to do.

[Jim Hudson]

Be on the look out for the new combo packages from Jason Mitchell Elite series. This should accomplish the good rod with good reel scenario.

[JohnMickish]

For $100 a guy can have a TB rod and a Tica Cetus rod. A hundred bucks really isn't that much when you consider that both the rod and reel should last a guy for 20 years if taken care of. Think about how much a guys spends on beer, smokes, chew, McDonalds and pop and it wouldn't take that long to save up that hundred bucks.

[mitchell]

As Jim mentioned, we do have some new high quality combos available this fall. We are very happy with the quality and performance of these reels and believe these combos will be the highest quality prepackaged ice combos on the market.

We will be updating our HSOforum soon with pricing information. Combos will retail for $48.99