36 replies to this topic

[hamiltonangler94]

Hey guys, looking at purchasing a good ice fishing combo for pike. The lake I fish at has 3-10 pound pike on average. I have always done hand lining for pike, but would like to purchase a rod for pike. Budget is around 50 or 60. Thanks guys!

[BowSlayer]

i would look at some of the frabil combos, quality rods and reels.

[Christopher K]

Frabil is good stuff, but I'm not a fan of their reels. Check the NEW berkley lightning combos the old ones had absolutely awful reels but the new ones are pretty good and the rods aren't half bad either!

[JeffSimms]

You can always just buy a solid ice rod, and use one of your normal reels. My preference is a St.Croix ultralight combo for pike, the fight from any size fish is fun lol. I've heard from my friends that Ugly Stik has really reliable products, but i'm not aware if their in your price range.

[hamiltonangler94]

Ya I have the st. croix combo that i use for perch, I find the rod pretty good, but the reel in my opinion kinda sucks. Im looking at getting a medium heavy fenwick elitetech ice rod and throwing a sienna 500 size reel on it

[Rowbow]

I use the MH Rapala R-Type ice combo. It's the casting version too so it's pretty fun!

I think it's about $60 at sail and comes with MH rod, and 10lb line on the reel. 

[JeffSimms]

I'll have to agree that the reel isn't really up to par lol. But so far it's held up well enough for the price, I'll definitely be upgrading next winter though.

[hamiltonangler94]

Ya I find a lot of the times if you purchase a combo you'll be getting a subpar reel, that's why I'm considering buying the rod and reel separately

[JeffSimms]

Yeah one or the other in the combo is lacking in most cases. I find the same problem with higher quality baitcasters coming with lesser rods.

[NADO]

I would go with a st croix or Rapala R-type rod, both rods are top quality and both are in the 30-40 price range. Medium 30"ish is what I would use.

[PUMP KNOWS]

Have you guys ever broke your ice fishing rods fighting a fish?

 

Im looking for a ice rod for multi species.  Or would you recommend buying 2 different rods?

[JeffSimms]

I've yet to have my ultralights break off on pike, but this is only the second month of use they've seen. And i'd base it off the species you intend to catch. I imagine it wouldn't be near as much fun if you're targeting a smaller species if you had a heavy rod for pike/trout. Maybe a medium action with a fast tip would be a good choice, but i'll let the more experienced ice anglers tell you with certainty.

[BowSlayer]

i use an ul for just about nothing, believe it or not, I've pulled up 15 lb lakers with it on joe, take your time and its all good.

[Basschaser]

I just picked up a Rapala F2 UL reel at Sail for $25.
I plan to use it with a BPS med rod and Power Pro #15 ice braid for Lake Trout. Is that suitable? I am new to ice fishing.

[Basschaser]

I just picked up a Rapala F2 UL reel at Sail for $25.
I plan to use it with a BPS med rod and Power Pro #15 ice braid for Lake Trout. Is that suitable? I am new to ice fishing.

[Basschaser]

I just picked up a Rapala F2 UL reel at Sail for $25.
I plan to use it with a BPS 36" med rod and Power Pro #15 ice braid for Lake Trout. Is that suitable? I am new to ice fishing.

[MuskieBait]

Never snapped a rod icefishing (knock on wood)...but then again I use appropriate gear for the appropriate targets.

 

But I would recommend getting 2 rods with different action.

 

1) UL or L for sunfish, crappie, perch, cisco and even whitefish

 

2) ML or M for whitefish, lake trout, pike and burbot.

 

The action has less to do with whether the rod can sustain the fish on the run...but rather detecting bites and sustaining allowing you to set the hook on the bite.

 

Too soft a rod and you have a weak hookset on larger fish with bony mouths, especially when using lure that have stout hooks intended for larger fish. If you try to set the hook to hard, then you risk snapping the rod on the hookset. You can always ease the drag when you fight a fish, but if you ease the drag on the hookset, you simply won't set the hook if the hook finds cartilage.

 

Too stiff a rod and you pull the hook out, or rip right through, fish mouths, especially smaller fish like perch, crappie and cisco. It will be more difficult to detect a lift bite that is so typical of perch, crappie, cisco and whitefish. You may just barely see the line slack for a second but the tip of the rod will not bend. With a soft rod, even smaller lures will keep the rod tip bent. When a fish picks up the lure, you will see the tip bounce up but the line is still relatively tight. You can set the hook (if you have fast reflex) immediately on these lift bites.

[Christopher K]

UL rods are a blast and whenever possible I fish them, BUT consider the lures you are using, a 1/2 oz jigging spoon will bend an ultralight in half, if all you do is dead bait then just use an UL if you jig, get an UL and a M rod.

[Christopher K]

 

Too soft a rod and you have a weak hookset on larger fish with bony mouths, especially when using lure that have stout hooks intended for larger fish. If you try to set the hook to hard, then you risk snapping the rod on the hookset. You can always ease the drag when you fight a fish, but if you ease the drag on the hookset, you simply won't set the hook if the hook finds cartilage.

Don't use the rod to set the hook if you're using light gear, instead treat it like you're strip setting a hook, tighten the drag and reel to set it instead.

[MuskieBait]

I just picked up a Rapala F2 UL reel at Sail for $25.
I plan to use it with a BPS 36" med rod and Power Pro #15 ice braid for Lake Trout. Is that suitable? I am new to ice fishing.

 

I hope you pack enough line for Lake Trout. I assume you got one spool of the Power Pro 15lb braid. One spool is 50 yards...or 150 feet of line. I hope you don't plan to fish too deep. Where I fish on Lake Simcoe, we typically fish from 100-125 feet of water. With only 150 feet of line, you are quickly running out of line if a larger Lake Trout takes a run. Don't forget that you will be tying and retying from trip to trip, perhaps from bite to bite, and definitely change lures often (although I use a micro snap for that reason)...etc...and you quickly will run out of line.

 

My suggestion, if the reel has the capacity, is to add some backing. Put on maybe another 20 yards of 8lb mono backing before you put on the braid. This gives you some extra capacity. The 8lb mono is not too stiff and it can withstand Lake Trout just as well.