Times Are a Changing

In today's ice fishing world today many anglers have Power augers, flashers and portable shelters. One thing they are overlooking though are the most important pieces that fill out their equipment arsenal; Jigs, baits, rods and reels. These three things are the areas that most people over-look the most. They go into their favorite tackle shop and just grab any combo off the shelf not knowing each rod as a specific action designed to go with a specific presentation. The general rule I use when determining what rod I should be using is the weight of my jig. My Ultra-light rods are paired with jigs less than 1/16th of an ounce. My Light action rods are 1/16 to 1/8oz. My Medium Light rods are 1/8-1/4oz lures. Some of the rods I use have spring bobbers on them, others are noodle rods, and yet others are so sensitive you can feel when a fish sucks in the water around your bait. The noodle rods are my most used rod for panfish. They allow me to see the lightest of bites many of these really light bites are actually up bites where the fish takes your jig and swims up with it putting slack in line. These light tip rods allow me to see these bites. Many people like spring bobbers for this application but I have found springs will soften the jigging motion. It will make the lure do more of a swim than a hard pound. With the noodle rod I can pound the jig and make the tail of my plastic dance. Before this year most people would have to get a custom rod to have a noodle that wasn't too floppy to pound a jig. Now No.8 Tackle Company has come out with a rod called "the Snitch. It has a soft bite detecting tip that when you set the hook loads up into a solid back bone. This blank is paired with a comfortable reel seat so you can use your favorite reel. Many times with this rod I am able to feel when a fish bites my bait the same time I see the Florescent orange tip move. I can feel the bite because of how the rod blank goes all the way through the handle. This through handle design makes the rod very sensitive; the other thing that this design does it makes the rod feel very sturdy when you are fighting fish. This is a $35 rod that fishes like many of the custom rods that many people will pay $75 or even more for. The other new rod in my rod quiver this winter is the "Tickle Stick from 13 Fishing. This rod is very unique in the fact it has a flat tip. This flat tip makes it just as sensitive as a spring bobber is. Each rod is designed for a specific weight jig. The Super Ultra Light is rated for jigs that weigh 0-1/64oz. The Ultra Light is rated for 1/64oz to 1/16oz. Finally the Light action rod is rated for 1/16oz to 1/8oz. These ratings are so the jig size is paired to the correct rod so you can see the "up bite as well as a normal bite where the rod tip bounces down. Having a balanced set up is important because if you have too heavy of a jig the tip of the rod will be bottomed out and you will not be able to see the bites. The same goes for if you have too light of a jig you will not load the rod enough to be able to see the "up bites. Each of these blanks has very light weight guides and a custom tooled reel seat so fishing with this set up all day is a breeze. I have paired my panfish rods with inline reels. Both 13 Fishing and No.8 Tackle have inline reels. I use inline reels because the straight on and off the spool eliminates line twist that can happen. Starting off with 13 they have the Black Betty and the Black Betty 6061. The difference is that the Black Betty is a 1:1 gear ratio and the 6061 is a multiplier reel. The Black Betty is a super durable reel that excels in shallow water. The 6061 is an inline reel that will pick up about 18 of line each time you turn the handle. This reel allows a person to have the benefits of the inline reel but have the line pick up of a spinning reel. I use this reel in a little bit deeper water for panfish as well as for walleyes and perch. Both reels have a smooth cork drag so I can always trust that my drag is going to work when I'm fighting fish. No.8 Tackle has come out with a new reel this year that is very similar to the Black Betty 6061. It is called the CGI. This is a multiplier reel that is made to be more affordable. Instead of being made of Aluminum like its close cousin it is a composite material. Pairing any of these reels on a Snitch or Tickle Stick and you will be ready to ice many of the light biting panfish that you were unable to catch before.