Joel Nelson offers up some tips on choosing the right ice fishing rod for the job at hand, and explains the importance of pairing the right rod with your presentation.
Selecting The Right Ice Fishing Rod
One of the most important factors when choosing the right ice fishing rod is to determine what presentation you’re going to use with it.
Typically, most anglers tend to think about the kind of fish species they’re trying to target with their ice fishing rod and that is important, however the most crucial thing is to think of what types of presentations they want to employ.
As a general rule – the lure you’re using should dictate the rod/reel/line combination you wield.
This should be applied to all fishing rods, on and off the ice.
When it comes to actually choosing a rod for ice fishing think about what applications and presentations you’ll plan on using the most.
As an example let’s say I plan on using a lot of small spoons for panfish.
I am going to want to find a rod that has some solid backbone and handles the weight of the spoon, but still gives me good sensitivity.
Because of that I’d choose the St. Croix CCI model: The Micro Spoon.
The custom rod is design for a single presentation and is perfect for targeting big panfish with small style spoons.
It pairs up great with light line and a smaller sized reel, and is the perfect rod for delivering small tungsten spoons to hungry bluegills and crappies.
When it comes to choosing a new ice fishing rod, focus on the presentation first and then the species you plan to target. If you do this you’ll ensure you sleet the right rod for the job.
