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I do not own a tickle stick but my guess is that you don’t have enough back bone in the rod to penetrate the hook. Or dull hooks.
I had a lot of issues with the TUCR rods because of how they were built. Really limp tip section, then going immediately into stiff backbone about 6" down the rod. When I would set the hook on crappies with small tungstens, the rod tip would bend and essentially not do anything and then the backbone would hit and instantly pop the hook right out of the crappies mouth.
Hello,I wanted to run something past the group. I recently purchased a 27” medium light 13 Fish Tickle stick and lines it with 4 lb Pline floroice line. I bought the setup primarily for pan fishing.On occasion something larger (trout, bass, pickerel) will come in and hit the jig. I set the hook but it’s almost immediately thrown by the fish. Ive noticed the issue with a variety of jigs.Anyone have a similar issues or suggestion? The problem could absolutely be between the ice and the rod.
Line is also a factor in this equation. A soft rod and stretchy line are not a good combo. I missed almost a full season of musky hookups due to a lightweight rod a copolymer, monofilament line. Loved the rod so I swapped my spool of nylon for Spectra. No more missed hooksets Your line is not 100% fluoro, but a copolymer coated with fluorocarbon. I know, I've got a few spools I use for the business end of superline main lines and it stretches just like regular fishing line.. If you like the feel of the rod, swap into 100% fluoro, more pricey and less stretch, or some superline (braid or fused) with a fluoro or your coated P-Line for leader for even more $$ and much less stretch. Might even out the combo.
Flouro stretches just as much as mono, maybe more than copoly, but it is more dense so it transmits energy better so you feel the bite quicker. Mono and copoly is also more elastic giving it a bouncier feel. Take a length of each and hang a 1lb weight from them, they will all stretch virtually the same amount.
This is exactly what I've found with the UL tickle stick I've been using. I had to learn the point at which it "locks up", and try not to go through that zone with the hook set. For an UL rod, the backbone is pretty stiff. Using mono line with it's stretch helped, and after a little trial and error, I do love the rod.I suggest a wristsetter rod for anyone who doesn't like dealing the super soft tip / stiff backbone combination.
Tell me more about this wristsetter rod. Who makes it?
Yep. Stretch was a poor choice of words. It's the "energy transmission" you noted that not only enhances "feel" but transmits better energy back into a hookset.You made me poke around a bit more Nate and I learned a few things. Thanks for "prodding". I can always learn something new. It's funny because I haven't bitten on much of the "conventional wisdom" surrounding fluoro yet it seems I've taken some of the marketing BS like a carp on a dough ball.It still makes me crazy that most folks think copolymer is different from "mono". Same/same. Monofilament describes the line structure - single (mono) filament vs. braided or fused multiple filaments and copolymer describes the molecular makeup of the filament(s). Even fluoro is certainly a copolymer, just a different blend of existing polymers. I don't know of any single filament line that is a single polymer but I can be enlightened.