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New Rod


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Ok fellas... got a 2 part question.
FIRST...... never have had the time or the inclination to be a big enough ice fisherman to invest in some ice fishing equipment (spend to much on the non-hard water fishing and hunting gear). But I decided that since I got a couple of ultra light reels layin around and decide it was high time to set them up fopr something. So where is the best palce to get a decent ice fishing rod, and what kind/brand is the best? I got jigs and the assorted, just need an auger otherwise.
Second question is, lookin through the Cabelas catalog and assorted other catalogs and decided I need to put a rod on my X-MAS list.... I've been castin w/ a couple of 6'6" Fenwicks (a pair of Eagle GT's and an HMX) love em.... love the length... any other poles you fellas suggest?

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Go to a good tackle store and talk with a knowledgeable sales person. There are a ton of variables -- for example, if you use one of the super lines (no stretch) you'll want a softer action, no matter what type of presentation you use.

You need to focus on type of species sought, type of presentation (casting, jigging, rigging, etc.), whether you troll, drift, fish from shore -- spinning reel, bait caster, all these need to be considered. A good sales person can help a great deal.

As for cost, "you get what you pay for" does NOT always apply. You do not have to go top end to get a very good rod. Bass Pro, Cabela's, Gander Mountain -- all have their own names on rods built by "name" builders.
Shop around and narrow the choice to your specific needs and types of fishing.

Good luck.

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Can't offer much on ice rods - most of my ice fishing is hand lines for lake trout and northerns, but do have a suggestion on a new boat rod.
From the sounds of it, you have a couple of "standard" war clubs, good for most of the walleye and smallmouth action you will run into in this neck of the woods. Along those lines, it can never hurt to have another, and the Cabela's XML 6 1/2 foot medium weight is pretty nice, for the price. I have built a couple of them in the last 2 years, and really like how they perform. Most of the use is trolling live bait rigs, or stationary (live bait).
Another thought is to get yourself a lightweight rig for casting smaller jigs such as 1/8 oz. (deadly at times for walleye) and I just finished a 5 1/2 foot Cabelas XML rod, which has a Shimano Spirex 500 spooled with 4 lb. Berkeley Tournament Strength waiting for it. Now I've gotta wait 'til spring to try it out. frown.gif

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I stopped by the Red Barn booth over the Grandstand at the State Fair and spent a few minutes looking them over. Very nice workmanship - the wooden handles are a nifty idea. They build on a variety of blanks, so you can get a true "custom" rod.

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Big/ you have the best rod shop in your own backyard. Go to Thorne Bros on university. Your going to want to feel a few before making a purchase. I have also heard the Red Barn rods are really something. But i havent used one yet.. If you have any spare time on your hands Thorne Bros will teach you how to build your own that can be very rewarding. They have all the supplies and tools. The cost to build is about the same as a new rod except you built it to your own specs..

------------------
MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/

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I have used the red barn also. I got it from last year ice show. It has great sensitivity to it and has the back bone to be used for walleyes. I have used it to catch crappies and pike. good all around rod. My favorite. When I let other people use my rods this is one I keep to myself.

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Hey guys, I picked up the new Black Diamond Signature Series Red Barn Ice Fishing stick at the Ice fishing show this past weekend. Frank's only making 100 of them. My wife say's Merry Christmas to me every year with a new Red Barn Stick. I've also treated myself to a couple of these sticks. There my favorites but I also have lots of other sticks.
Scupper...

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Thorne Bros. does have some great rods and Rad Barn are awesome too, but they are pricey. You can save a few bucks with the Berkley Lightning rods or the Frabill rods. The new Frabill combos are nice and give you a great rod and decent reel for $40.

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Ok, I want to start a discussion again. I need one more Walleye rod. I have a red barn already, so I need another brand. If you had to pick one top rod, other than red barn (which I love). What would that be and why?

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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