Best selection of ice rods in Saskatoon?

[DBK81]

opened up my bag this fall only to find I somehow broke the shortest stiffest Rod in my bag, so now I am looking for a new lake trout rod, I know Coop in PA has a great selection but wondering who has the best trout Rod selection in saskatoon? Thanks.

[Whytie]

cabelas has the most but the fishin hole is a close second and prices maybe a buck or two cheaper. I usually go to the fishin hole first.

[DBK81]

Where is the fishes hole in the city?

[anglerbrian]

fishnhole is at 805 Circle drive east. If you were to ask my wife she would say I had the best selection of ice fishing rods but She exaggerates i only have 12 or so. .
 You might want to try something like this for your fav rods.
this is a take down shotgun case it can handle a lot of abuse. the next one is an arrow case with foam that I glued in place.

I also have a soft sided Cabelas rod bag.  You can never take too many rods with you..  unless you are pulling your gear around on a sled.
Have fun looking for a new rod or two. 

[ShawnR]

opened up my bag this fall only to find I somehow broke the shortest stiffest Rod in my bag, so now I am looking for a new lake trout rod, I know Coop in PA has a great selection but wondering who has the best trout Rod selection in saskatoon? Thanks.

I was at Cabelas yesterday and yes they do have a decent selection, but I don't recall seeing what you were looking for.  Fishin hole usually has a variety of those stiff lake trout rods and is probably your best bet.

[ggpr]

I am also in the market for a lake trout ice rod.  My main jiggin sticks for summer and winter are fenwick elite tech.  I have a medium in the "old" (only got it last year tho) series ice rod and i like it a lot but it is not that stiff.  They sell a MH 28" rod also in the "old" series i believe.  Does anyone have any experience with these?

I am also considering a HT 34" heavy ice blue trout rod based on some of the reviews i have read on ice shanty, they make a longer 44" one too.  I also see that berkely has a lightening rod combo medium heavy 32" rod.

Can anyone comment on what a good length would be?  I like fenwick products but i am wondering if 28" might be too short.  I don't have too much experience with HT products but always kind of felt them to be a bit cheaper in quality.  I don't think i would really want a reel made by them but a rod might not be too bad, and the reviews were promising.  I may have a completely misguided bias too, i have no reason for it other than the price and look of some of the gear.

Sorry to kind of hi-jack your thread but it is pretty relevant to the situation i am in currently.  I am going to stray slightly more off the original topic and ask a question about reels and line for lakers.

I have also read that some people like to use there summer reels on ice rods even though they are not balanced for ice rods.  At the moment this appeals to me as funds are a bit tighter and i have spent enough money on fishing stuff this year!  I also generally prefer to get quality gear for something i will put alot of use in to and something that isn't expected to break.  And if anyone has any recommendations for ice reels too i would be interested in that too.

My current reels i would consider using on a lake trout ice rod is my pflueger president size 30 and shimano syncopate 4000.  I also have a pflueger micro spin on my fenwick ice rod.  The micro spin has a capacity of 50 yrds of 6 lb mono.  I could probably actually get a decent amount of 10-15 lb power pro line on that reel...   I think 15 lb power pro compares to 4 lb mono for line diameter.  Assuming that reel should be adequately strong to handle a larger laker if i am lucky enough

Does anyone have any reccomendations on what strength line i would be best with for lakers.  I was thinking 15 lb power pro and using 25 lb flourocarbon leaders with a barrell swivel between the power pro and the flouro and then a snap swivel at the flouro for quick changing of hooks.

Thanks for any help!

And to answer your original question, both cabelas and the fishing hole have great selections.  I too generally prefer going to the fishing hole as they seem to be cheaper usually on most things, however cabelas is sometimes cheaper on a few things.  Also cabelas brand stuff can be pretty good quality for a decent price too.  I was told that pflueger makes there cabelas brand reels and i really really love my pflueger reels!!! Although i sadly do not think that they make the pflueger president (my favorite reel and sells at a decent price!) as a rebranded cabelas reel.

[ran7ger]

 i've got 4-5 pfleuger presidents most of them on elite techs.  i have the 28"mh and like it for larger walleye spoons but don't think it would hold up to a good laker.  if you are fishing outside go with the longer rod however they can be a p.i.a. in shacks.  for line i always run braid, 20lb spiderwire invisibraid.  to me this is more important than the right rod as far as getting a good hook up into those hard laker mouths.

[ggpr]

Ran7ger,

Do you mind me asking what you use for a laker ice rod?

And to clarify you use your president reels on your ice rods too?  I think i will put my president on whatever i get for an ice rod too for the winter then.

thx

[ran7ger]

yep all my presidents get used in the winter .  i can't remember the make of the rod i use for lakers but it's nothing fancy 32" heavy with a solid backbone for hard hook sets.

[Dubya]

Was just in the Fishin Hole today and they still have some stiffer sticks in stock, but everything else is going pretty quick.  Kind of spoiled my plans to get a new walleye rod.

[ggpr]

I didn't think there was that much ice stuff in there current sale?  Maybe they are just getting low on stock.  I was considering whether or not to wait for the boxing day sale to pick up my new rod.  I made out like a bandit last year at that and also at the wall to wall sale.  If i only need a few moderate cost items though i don't know if i need to get out on boxing day just for saving a few bucks.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get in there now and take a look just so i am not scrambling before my laker trip.

[DBK81]

I was in the fishing hole last Friday, I had my trout ice blue rod in hand and a staff member came up asked me a few questions and made a recommendation on a Fenwick medium heavy has a much better tip than the ice blue and a killer stiff backbone, I was sold, a bit pricey at $55 but you pay for quality. Paired with my Abu Garcia 5 series Cardinal I'll be testing it out Wednesday.

[ggpr]

The fenwick you picked up was a Aetos then(~$47)??  Did you compare it with the elite tech (new) medium heavy rod($40)?

I will reiterate my love of fenwick rods (both ice and full size).

So the fenwick seems significantly better than the HT ice blue?  You may have just gave me the little bit of push i needed to spend more for quality again.  I can't say i wouldn't be happy to have another miniature copy of my summer jigging rod if i put my pflueger president on it (summer rod = fenwick elite tech walleye with president)

I will have to go check them out in person.

thanks for the update!

[Whytie]

I have a 28" fenwick MH that I'm going to sell soon to get a St.Croix MH. the Fenwick MH feels more like a M to me I had to really power a hook set in 30ft of water since the rod was flexing a little too much for my liking. everyone has their favorites and I like the action on St.Croix rods.

[DBK81]

The fenwick you picked up was a Aetos then(~$47)??  Did you compare it with the elite tech (new) medium heavy rod($40)?

I will reiterate my love of fenwick rods (both ice and full size).

So the fenwick seems significantly better than the HT ice blue?  You may have just gave me the little bit of push i needed to spend more for quality again.  I can't say i wouldn't be happy to have another miniature copy of my summer jigging rod if i put my pflueger president on it (summer rod = fenwick elite tech walleye with president)

I will have to go check them out in person.

thanks for the update!

Yes the Aetos, is what I got, 30" MH, I'd say there are some compromises from the HT to the Fenwick on both sides, I'll say that the Fenwick while having a good backbone isn't like the Ice Blue, but what comes with that is more feedback at the handle, I gave it a quick test yesterday and caught perch with it!! So my hope is I will catch more Lakers on a light bite while not giving up my hook set. I will give a full review after my outing tomorrow. The Aetos is however a high quality rod, that is no doubt, I am sure it will take over as my big walleye rod when out on Tobin.

[ran7ger]

I like the action on St.Croix rods.

 have you broke any st croixs?  i really liked the 2 i had can't remember the model...avid or premier, but i quit croix after snapping two tips in two days...one on a hook set on a good wally, lost the fish, and another broke in my rod bag.  too bad cause they were sweet and sensitive.

 i was fortunate enough to grab a couple elite techs @ canadian tire for $16.99 to add to the 3 i already had.. like the looks of the aetos but am going to wait until some reviews or a sale.  one thing i like about the elite techs is the cork handle for sticking a hook in for storage at the end of the day.

[Whytie]

have you broke any st croixs? 

The only one I've broke was the tip of an older premier with a black rod blank. it was a 24" M and I broke the tip in a rod bag as well. still use the rod though just heated up the tip and pulled the broken rod piece out and re-installed it to the rod. I have about 4 of the newer premiers rods in blue and when I transport them I have them in a hard side rifle case.

[DBK81]

The Aetos was fantastic, handled every Trout I caught with ease, very happy I bought it.

[Misk99]

I asked the same questions last year before I went on my laker trip. I went with 20lb power pro and a 20lb floro litre. I bought a MH 28" HT rod to put my summer reel on. It was great the first day because it was warm and calm. The next 2 days were cold and the braid iced up to the point it wouldn't fit on the spool. My fishing buddy had a spool full of 20lb flourocarbon. His didn't ice up at all. This year I will be using all flourocarbon, just my thoughts

[ggpr]

I was thinking of using 15 lb power pro with a 18-24 inch 25 lb flourocarbon leader attached with a barrel swivel on my pflueger president reell on whatever new trout rod i get.  Do you guys think the 15 lb should be good enough?  I was thinking it probably would be strong enough for the trout and then i could get away with using it in the spring on my jigging rod setup for walleye fishing.  I mostly use 10 lb power pro and sometimes do not use any leader (metal i typically use) when fishing for walleye and i dont seem to lose any fish and i dont seem to catch any less fish  than my fishing partners.  In the fall i caught a 53 lb sturgeon on a 10 lb test line just by using the drag properly so i think the 15 lb should be good enough to pull the trout in.  My only worries would be due to the line hitting the ice and the trout fighting hard and the peak stress on the line during an effort by the fish to escape.

In regards to using braid, if i am fishing in a shack or my pop up tent with the heater going i generally stay completely ice free.  I have had it ice up on me when fishing outside but i typically just pull the line between my fingers occasionally to remove ice.  I really do like braids jigging in the summer and winter.  The no stretch is great for feeling those light nibbles and setting the hook well, especially in deeper water.

[Dubya]

I found power pro absorbs too much water for my liking.  I've switched to suffix 832 for one of my laker set ups and prefer it to power pro. 

[ggpr]

I went in today and checked out the fenwick aetos 30 inch medium heavy rod and really liked it, was also able to try attaching a pflueger president 6930 (what i own and want to put on it) in the store and it fit, balance wasnt even too bad on it.   I think I am going to try and pick one up on a sale.

I also checked out the HT ice blues trout rods and i ended up picking up the 34 inch heavy rod.  It is nice and stiff but still has some bend in the tip.  I felt it was a little long and that it might be an issue fishing it in a permanent ice shack (which is what i will be using at la plonge) but i felt that the 24 inch was too short and was incredibly stiff because of that.  The 34 inch should be no problem in my popup shack though and i hope it works decently in the rental shack.  I got it because i have a buddy coming with us who doesnt have his own gear and i am going to let him use the rod.  The price was good ($19) so i figured why not get it so he can use (his funds are low and the cost of the trip is just low enough to allow him to be able to come) and i can have it for a backup and to use when targeting big fish primarily.  I just wish they made these rods in a 30 inch as i feel that would have been the perfect length to allow more bend at the tip and also make it easier to fish in a shack where your holes are closer to you.