Love these rods. I'll have a video posted at the end of this post.
Used a 23UL as my main last year with a quantum reel and 3 lbs mono and slammed everything up to several 17 inch channel cats. ( not saying that the rod couldnt handle anything bigger) Caught on of my biggest crappies under ice with it also last year.
I was semi-rough on this rod. should have never carried it the way I did ( in a bucket, threw it in the back seat of my truck with junk piled on top) but I never broke it. Will definitely be buying a better carrying system for this upcoming season.
Yeah,the eyes would freeze up when fishing outside in -20 wind chills but that never bothered me to stick the tip of the rod in my mouth for a whopping .05 of a second to thaw it out.
The cold wont hurt it. Could there be a possibility that the new 27"UL and the new 38"L that I just bought could have manufacturing defects...sure.
Only time will tell on those rods.
Now I have an arsenal of tickles
.
Paired the one up also with a 6061 betty. Looks awesome.
TIPS for TICKLE STICK:
#1 Get a good REEL!
#2 Make sure to set your drag correctly.
I have ripped this little rod with 3lb test and never broke off once all season. Drag is key.
#3 Light, small diameter, tough line.
Dont put 7 lb test on a 23UL. Youll have freeze ups more often and if you dont have your drag set, yes, you could snap your rod.
#4 Store and Carry correctly.
Anything is better than carrying them in a bucket like I did last season and that was a stupid thing I did, yet, I got away with it.
I hate seeing bad reviews of something when 1 if not all of these things were not applied to the rod.
Watch this video then click the video at the end for more footage of me using my tickle stick last season.