looking for rod reccomendations

[osiris]

somehow I broke my ml 13fishing whiteout so is there another pole to try out I really liked it and will probably get another one but figured id check first!

[vanhln]

I also have that whiteout and a Ticklestick UL.  Like the Ticklestick also...

[FlamDragger]

Cabelas has their Jason Mitchell Meatsticks on sale. Just another option.

[3300]

13 fishing wicked.

https://www.fishusa.com/product/13-Fishing-Wicked-Ice-Rods

[Walleyewacker007]

Tuned Up Custom Rods are great, love my Bullwhips, Percisions, Percision Noodles,  Power Percision and Commander. Best rods out there, bar none.

[Lsranger406]

Tuned Up Custom Rods are great, love my Bullwhips, Percisions, Percision Noodles,  Power Percision and Commander. Best rods out there, bar none.

This bar none comment is kind of a jab at everyone else's custom rods. I've played with a couple different tucr's and yes they are very nice but seems to me you gotta go with whatever you feel works best with your style of fishing. And for being custom rods what is so custom. You get to pick colors and eyes for it and maybe a couple handle configurations. To me being a custom car builder, custom means something no one else has. Seems to me there is a lot of tucr out there so in my mind not really custom. Now a hand made 6 to 12 month wait custom bamboo rod, that's custom and not a lot of people are gonna have them. Sorry for the tangent. Might have got a little off topic.

[clmiller]

I have a Frabill Quick-Tip, have TUCR Bullwhip and have a Tickle Stick, the Tickle Stick and the Bullwhip don't catch any more fish than the Frabill Quick-Tip.

[fullThrottle]

Tuned up custom rods, it’s the best I’ve owned

[filetandrelease]

13 wicked rods are my go to for big eyes and lakers , no complaints

[clmiller]

People tell you Tuned Up Custom Rods are the best they have ever owned but they forget get to tell you that you can get into one for about $120.00, that don't make them the BEST.

[fullThrottle]

I have a tuned up custom rods precision 36inch and it’s a great rod. Good for large perch, eyes , trout ,  I landed a 30 inch laker no problem. Loads up really good. It was 110$ us shipped. Took 4 weeks to get. Plan on buying another one in the fall

[capt.crappie]

I have 2 ugly sticks. I catch everything on them from big fish to little tiny ones. They are not too expensive & Guarenteed not to break or they will replace it. Its senseless to buy a expensive rod to use what maybe 6 weeks a year .

[fullThrottle]

The new ugly sticks are great for panfish but that’s about it. I have 4 of them for jaw jackers when perch fishing. I like a 36 inch rod you normally have to go to a higher end company to get a good long rod. Perfect length for standing st a hole

[SHaRPS]

I have 2 ugly sticks. I catch everything on them from big fish to little tiny ones. They are not too expensive & Guarenteed not to break or they will replace it. Its senseless to buy a expensive rod to use what maybe 6 weeks a year .

Understood but on the contrary maybe you want to use something "better" because the season is so short.

[RyanW]

The problem with that is that "better" is actually different, for everyone!  Our likes and dislikes, are as different as our skin color!  Having said that, I've never seen a black or white person, just everything in between!!!

Well said. I own 3 Tuned Up Custom Rods (1 Bullwhip and 2 Precision Noodles) paired with shimano and abu Garcia reels. The guys I fish with just don’t understand why I own such expensive rod combos for ice fishing. Mainly, I like high-end application specific gear (and I absolutely loathe physical spring bombers). Hence, my TUCR’s. I know those setups can and will handle any fish I hook on the lakes I fish and between the 3 rods all of my panfish applications are ready at hand. I usually rig 1 PN with a 2.5mm/3mm tungsten and the other PN with a 4mm. The Bullwhip is for 5mm tungsten, #3 rippin raps, and 1/8oz and smaller spoons (usually 1/16oz). I’m ready for any panfishing excursion that comes my way.

Can I do that with less expensive rods? Absolutely. Do I prefer that gear? Not in the slightest. However, that doesn’t necessarily make either choice better or worse than the other. It comes down to first and foremost what species youll be fishing for and then budget. From there, it’s kind of up to the fisherman to select the best rod for the job given the previous limitations.

[SHaRPS]

That is why I put the word better in quotation marks. What is better for me can be garbage for you and vise versa regardless of cost or fancyness.

However - I do not think its senseless to spend more money on a rod for the same exact reason. The $120 rod may feel more comfortable in my hands and weigh less for a full day of hardcore jigging and that may be the only reason I choose it over a ugly stick.

I also own ugly sticks but the only time i use them is for my jawjacker because in my opinion they are heavy and not as sensitive, but i do agree they are pretty much indestructible. I use my "better/different" rods for jigging since I find them more sensitive for the specific species i decide to target.

[RyanW]

That is why I put the word better in quotation marks. What is better for me can be garbage for you and vise versa regardless of cost or fancyness.

However - I do not think its senseless to spend more money on a rod for the same exact reason. The $120 rod may feel more comfortable in my hands and weigh less for a full day of hardcore jigging and that may be the only reason I choose it over a ugly stick.

I also own ugly sticks but the only time i use them is for my jawjacker because in my opinion they are heavy and not as sensitive, but i do agree they are pretty much indestructible. I use my "better/different" rods for jigging since I find them more sensitive for the specific species i decide to target.

Another well said. To me, the difference in feel between the high-end rods and say ugly sticks (great rods as well for certain applications) is like fishing for bass all day long in the summer with a medium heavy rod then switching to an ultra light for panfish. The difference in feel is rather significant. Obviously, we aren’t casting anything on the ice but the feel is so much better, to me, with the high-end ice rods. Also, I don’t need to clip any pesky obtrusive spring bobbers on the end of my rod. I have a love hate relationship with most spring bobbers and would rather not deal with them all together. Now I don’t. Again, personal preference.

[slipperybob]

Everyone has their own preference.

Yet some tools are better suited for certain tasks over others.  Still the art of is unique to each individual.  Do what you like.  Now may be one thing, tomorrow may be another.

[fullThrottle]

It all depends on what your fishing for. Most people use different rods for different types of fish. I don’t use the same rod on panfish that I use on trout.

[Light liner]

Different rods for different depths and jig weights also.
For the money hard to beat the meat sticks.

[Rainman935]

I've not got to use any top shelf rods but a have used alot of cheap ones. The best budget rod I have found is the Uglystick. Life time warrenty and exceptional performance for a 20-30 dollar rod. I would use it for almost any species i encounter. Have caught 5" perch all the way up to 8lb rainbows. I'm sure it would handle just about any fish that it ties into. I only wish I could have found in 36" check one out.

[iceman260]

X2 on the meat sticks.

[PazzoCorso]

I bought a "perch assault" off a guy on eBay. Under $30, good length, nice big eyes that stay open. Was going to be my hole hopping pole and turned into my "go to" over my "tickle stick".