Has anyone tried the St. Croix Legend Elite Ice Rods? I am thinking of buying the 24" UL Panfish model.
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Has anyone tried the St. Croix Legend Elite Ice Rods? I am thinking of buying the 24" UL Panfish model.
make sure you get there spring indicator, they rock
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Originally Posted by ready2fish
Just get the med-light and you don't need a spring bobber just watch the rod tip. I have 2 of them
Over the past couple years you really need to pay attention to the guide placement on these rods. They are made over-seas and on some rods you can find the guides all over the blank, but not on the spine of the rod where they are needed.
Here in Minnesota people are starting to see the valuce in using rods designed to be super sensitive without using springs. Frabil offers a number of very affordable rods/combos with what they call the "quick tip" option and have a small fluorescent ball/bead at the rod's tip as a strike indicator.
Other rod options can be found in the Thorne Bros line of custom rods. These are Minnesota made rods and are specific to panfish for the most part and are specific to the rigors of winter fishing.
Gander Mountain and Cabelas rods have some nice rigs that are soft tipped and do well without springs. There are a lot of options, but those St Croixs are pricier than heck and simply are not worth the money when compared to other products on the market.
What i did was buy the St. Croix super finesse spring, (kinda pricey, $7) added that and a single foot eyelet to hold it on my Frabill rod. You can see the slightest movement with those spring bobbers.
I had used the frabill spring bobbers before but always had them freeze up. The St. Croix will not freeze. I love them.
Retro fitting the springs is a more attractive way to put some new bounce in a totally different rod. I do this a lot.
Closedcoil springs are good when the weather stays above freezing and you're fishing open ice. Freezing is a problem unless you are in a shack and the temps are below 32. The open-end, or loop end, springs are great regardless of temps.
Just another note on springs. If you are going to add them to a rod as an after market thing, use a rod that is stiffer than ul. Real whippy rods move so much in the tip that the value of the spring gets lost in the whipping motion of the rod.
i picked up two online for $30 each. 24ul. very sensitive with that spring but enough backbone to get good hookups even in deep water perchin. i really like them. hope this helps.
Thorne bros are way more than st croix rods. They are only 20.00 dollars have not had any problems and i buy the premier ice rods try it you will like it.