Ice Fishing Rods
When it comes time to land that fish through the ice, sometimes the most important piece of ice fishing gear you can have is a good ice fishing rod. To that end, finding the right one for the job is imperative to being successful fishing the hard water of winter. With so many choices on the market today, a good ice rod need not be like finding the holy grail. Simply choose the ice fishing rod that best fits your needs and give it a shot while on the water. Here is a guide that we wrote on how to choose the best ice fishing rod for your tastes:
When it comes to ice fishing, there are few things more imperative to landing fish than an ice fishing rod. Sure there are ways to get around using one such as a rattle reel or a tip up (also known as a trap on the east cost of the United States) or even a hybrid of the tip up known as a tip down, but in the end you are almost assuredly going to need to have at least one ice fishing rod in your arsenal. Knowing this a guide to selecting that perfect ice rod is in order and I will do my best to detail all the salient points here.
What Action Type Should My Ice Fishing Rod Be?
Perhaps a better first question would be what action is and why should I care? The “action” of a rod is the amount of strength and backbone it has. The heavier the action, the stronger it is. In comparison and light or ultralight action is meant for detecting small nibbles and bites seen often out on the lake. In general you want to match the action with the fish you are targeting. This usually scales with the size of fish likely to be caught of that species and how they are wont to bite a lure/live bait. In simple terms this means an ultralight rod is perfect for panfish and when ice fishing crappie. However, if you are ice fishing pike, you would be better served with a medium to heavy action rod to be able to withstand their many runs and powerful swimming. One word of caution, in almost all cases I have found that people go with too heavy of an action on their rod no matter what type of fish they are targeting. I would implore you to keep your rod action as light as possible, it really helps to detect bites and get you onto more fish. Don’t be afraid to go with a light action for walleyes. I have seen many people use a rod that reminds me of a wet noodle for panfish and they invariably catch far more fish than those using the medium action rods that permeate many ice fishing houses today.
In summary, here are my recommendations for types of fish and the action you should target:
Ultralight rods – panfish such as sunfish and crappie.
Light rods – perch and perhaps even walleye
Medium rods – walleye, bass, trout (except for ice fishing lake trout), and whitefish
Heavy rods – ice fishing pike and ice fishing lake trout.
What Length Should My Ice Fishing Rod Be?
Here is a question that doesn’t seem to matter to most people. When it comes to length, obviously we want one shorter than the standard open water rod, but how short is good enough. And is there a length that is too short? The important thing to consider is the space you will be fishing in as the first priority. You want a rod that you can easily fish with. This usually means a shorter rod if you are fishing in a portable ice fishing hut or an ice fishing tent. If you are outside in the elements or in the comfy confines of a high tech ice fishing house then a longer rod is a great bet. Just keep in mind that the longer the rod is, the more shock absorption it offers and a little more give for when those strong fish shake their heads or take those runs. This goes away progressively as you move to shorter and shorter ice fishing rods.
Should I Be Looking At Specific Materials In An Ice Fishing Rod?
When it comes to the material that your ice rod is made of, there are a few things to consider. First, the most common materials used in ice fishing rods are fiberglass and graphite. Graphite is lighter and more responsive, but also carries with it a higher price tag. In addition to its high price tag, it also is more brittle and doesn’t bend in the same way that fiberglass does. This can lead to rigid hook sets that may not work for finicky bites. If you are looking for a rod that will give you great feel for lite bites and also is feather light in your hands then go graphite, but if you are hard on your ice fishing rods or are going to be using them as dead sticks then I would steer you towards fiberglass.
Ice Fishing Rod Guides
Often over looked, but never underappreciated in my ice fishing house are the guides. There is nothing worse than a rod with 3 small guides used to guide your line through the rod. I always aim for many eyes, at least 4 and more importantly to me large eyes that won’t get screwed up with ice while out in the cold. Let’s face it, ice fishing takes place in cold conditions. You are going to be fighting with ice no matter what, and if the guides on your rod are small it will make the entire eye freeze over. Then you get to fight with that for a while. No thanks. To the other point, if you have too few of guides your rod won’t load correctly and you will be cumbersome when fighting fish through the ice.
Don’t Forget About The Ice Fishing Rod Handle!
The final thing that I would suggest you pay attention to is the handle. The cheapest and least desirable option is a foam handle. You will find this on all the lowest end rods and there is a reason. It absorbs water and you don’t want that when it gets cold, heaven knows our hands are cold enough as is. I would steer you towards either a cork handle or a graphite one. Graphite will be far more expensive, but if you want to really feel those light bites it is the best material to transfer that feeling from the rod to the handle (and thusly your hand and body). If you aren’t going to be worried about this, then a cork handle works efficiently and won’t get waterlogged.
What Ice Rod Brands Have A Good Reputation?
Rather that listing the rods that are known to leave a little to be desired, I generally try to limit my thoughts to only good brands. Who wants to rehash the bad things over and over again? To that end, I have found that a few brands continue to shine above the rest and produce superior rods. I am a big fan of the St. Croix series of rods, especially the St. Croix Legend. It is a pricey line, but is an excellent rod on the ice. Cabelas has a series of rods that are priced for the more budget minded ice angler and there are few things more consistent than their return policy.
If you don’t like to go with a mass produced name brand, another great option is to go the custom made rod route. This will be expensive to be sure, but a rod that meets your strict requirements can be achieved easily with this method. Plus the rod will likely last you a lifetime. Thorne Brothers is a known maker of high quality custom ice fishing rods.
The Case For Multiple Ice Fishing Rods
In my experience it helps to have several rods for two key reasons: 1. You can have several different rigs ready to go and at your disposal in a moment’s notice and 2. You are much better served with a different action, length and setup for different types of fish that most ice anglers target. It is very rare that being on the ice and trying only a singular presentation is going to catch you fish. Often I am going through a few different jigs, colors or even baits to find exactly what the fish are looking for that day. You can certainly accomplish this with only one rod combo, but it is much easier, faster and more effective with an array of rods. Also, if you are targeting walleye and northern pike you are likely going to need a rod with a fair amount of backbone. You can use this same rod to catch panfish, but you will be missing several hits and catch less fish targeting panfish with the rod. The same can be said in the other direction. If you have a light action rod perfect for panfish you will run into problems if you hook into a fish with some shoulders on it. That light action will be hard to use to get that fish to the hole like you want and will invariably lead to many lost fish. I learned the multiple rod technique from a bass fishing fanatic that is one of my best friends and he employs it to great avail in the open water. He is always ready to cast to different locations, follow up missed hits and change his tactics in the heat of the moment and he is very successful at boating fish.
Use the above guide to help you meander your way through the ice fishing rod forest and find that perfect set of rods for you. I guarantee if you follow the above you will have a much better and more successful life on the hard water. In addition you can impress your fishing buddies with your vast assortment of knowledge on ice fishing rods.