Fishing with long rods on the ice...

[icerookie5212]

Who uses long rods on the ice? What do you use and what are your thoughts on the concept?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Who uses long rods on the ice? What do you use and what are your thoughts on the concept?

Some guys use long rods to panfish on the ice. The thought is that when your close to the hole you scare the panfish and throw a shadow. Never really thought it made much difference.

[icerookie5212]

Talking to some of the tournament guys, they can fish a certain depth and move pretty quickly, not having to reel the line up. I can definitely see the advantages when you are fishing shallow water and have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time.Or if you have a big school under you, you can get right back down to the same depth in a matter of seconds.

[UFCreel]

I fish with long rods 95% of the time now a days. Fishing shallow water down to about 8 feet. Set amount of line out. With the line going through the rod. Wind does not affect your presentation. Yes you are back off the hole which has its advantages. Not having to bend over all day jigging saves on the back. Plus playing a larger pan fish on a 48 to 52inch rod is a lot of fun. I use a pulsateor type rod and a jiggler rod. Cary four of them with me with different jigs on them. For hole hopping there is nothing better.

[Stinkybaits]

It's great because I don't need my reading glasses to watch tip or spring lol. Plays the fish nice on lighter line too. I use them more for vertical fishing over the side of the boat.

[lefty2053]

I would guess it is much easier for people going for Panfish then anyone going for large trout or even a big bass. If you get a large fish on,you wont be able to watch it through the hole(head First).

[lefty2053]

Might help if you posted your location. Panfish yes,Large fish no!

[UFCreel]

Have caught blue gill, perch, crappie, walleye, bass both kinds, and pike on a long rod. Have landed a few and have lost a few. The ones that are fun are the ones that just pull pole down through the hole and bam they are gone. Always leaves ya wondering.

[Tmuskie]

How long is to long? I've got one 30" one for ice fishing. Got an 11'er I use surf fishing. Would the 11 be a lil to long?

[Watertooner]

I don't have a shack so I dress as warmly as I can. After I bought a 52" Pulsator and 48" Jiggler, I now stay a bit warmer because I'm standing up and moving more muscles while facing away from the wind. I like using 1-2 lb. line with tungsten jigs. You can practically feel the fish breath on the jig and setting the hook just takes a twitch of the rod tip.

[Papa John]

I use them all the time for lakers  and big trout outside the hut for two reasons; in deep water I like the long rod sweep for a solid hook set, and the playing the bigger fish on a long rod results in better control and fewer lost fish. No problem seeing down the hole and landing fish if you develop a raised rod technique. Still easy to gaff or slide out of the hole. If the fish runs from the hole, just lower the rod and let her go. I've caught lots of lake trout and whitefish on 4'-6' rods over 40 years of doing this. Small fish such as pan fish and kokanee I prefer short rods.