Looking for a 4’ ice rod

[Slip Sinker]

Problem: I drill a couple dozen holes thru the ice mainly on contour lines or basin edges. Then i test the holes visually with sonar and ice jigs. the easiest method is to stand and send the jigs to the bottom or in front of suspended fish watching the sonar. Kneeling in front of every hole … getting up and down gets exhausting and hard on my back and legs. Standing with the short rods loses sensitivity to the wind with bows in the thin lines.

Temp solution: is to fish a longer jig rod… 4’ seems to be about right. I tried my open water vertical jigging setup with a four footer Diawa Spinmatic with 2# Nano Braid. I’m comfortable standing and fishing and sensitivity is thru the roof… I am able to walk from hole to hole and tag solitary fish or groups depending what’s on the sonar.

However: The rod seems stiff and fun factor is lost somewhat in battling the fish.

Has anyone ever done this ice fishing? Longer rods and standing? Jumping from hole to hole?

Definitely not looking for a noodle rod… they are generally less sensitive… more of a panfish/trout action with a fast tip…

Any rod recommendations out there?

[Allen Morgan]

I can't really offer much advice, as I don't have much experience ice fishing.  How you thought about asking any older locals how they did it, back in the day?  Maybe some of them used shorter spinning rigs?  Unless they were using Schooly rods or peg rods.

[Slip Sinker]

The problem is when you're standing with a short rod of 2 ft or less in most cases very thin line and tiny thin weightless jigs any wind at all puts a bow in it and you lose most of your sensitivity... The longer rod of four foot fixes the problem but I lose the fun Factor... I fish for the fun Factor LOL

So the existing 4 footer I'm using is pretty stiff marked for an ultra-light rod so I will continue using through the season or until I find a replacement … it is very sensitive and picks up the fish I just wish it had a little bit more bend

[Mike Merriner]

Hi-Slip 

I can relate to your jigging issues, I fish a lot in the winter and do hole hop and stand your back really can take a toll! there are two rods I use that fit the bill you're looking for . Go to fishusa .com the Jason Mitchell meat stick is a good one, not 4 feet but 36 inches which is a longer ice fishing rod, I use it out to North Dakota for perch mainly and love it! The new one I have the Fenwick Elite Tech ice rod which is 42 inches a little longer than the meat stick. I  just got in December and have used it on lakers in deep water! Its sort of the there's a million combinations we just go with what works! In ice fishing constant trial and error! Once you're over 40 hope we can remember the set up that worked the year before! 

Good Fishin   Mike   

  

[Slip Sinker]

Thanks Mike for your reply… the rod I currently have is a Diawa SpinMatic 4-0’ in length marked ultra light yet it has a medium light feel to it… the 4-0’ ft in length feels perfect… I can stand and bring the tip easily to the water … perfect for standing and shielding the line from the wind. I had no problem picking up the bites at all… it just seems the rod is too stiff for the application with the smaller bites.

I love putting together balanced systems to fit the need and im just not feeling it with this combo… i love the fun factor... however it does solve that problem hole hopping… I guess once settled in with an area of catchable fish I can then relax and sit and fish the other setups.

Yep for me it is important to not upset the spine or I’ll be out for the rest of the season like last year