the guys here in ohio use these all the time..anyone else use them? like or dislike???
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the guys here in ohio use these all the time..anyone else use them? like or dislike???
I have used a JM 24" Meat Stick for the last two season, and I LOVE it. no need for a spring bobber, it has a great back bone, and holds up really well. I think they are great rods. I am going to order the 28" this year. I have also had the spring bobber model.
ranger.. How do you like the spring bobber rod rod?? Was thinking of getting one.. Or is the meat stick good enough?? I target panfish.. Thanks.. John
I liked the action of the spring bobber model, but there are so many good spring bobber systems made, i prefer to use one that has a replaceable spring bobber if it bend, breaks, etc. The St. Croix legend is my spring bobber rod of choice. Kind of spendy for an ice rod, but they are as invaluable a tool for me as my flasher. I like the ML model with the M spring for crappie, seems to be perfect for the fiskas tungstens that I use regularly, the spring is ULTRA sensitive and best of all can be swapped out for a heavier or lighter model to match the bite.
The meat stick is certainly a great option, but the bite needs to be agressive and the lures heavy to work optimally. I use my 24" model with a jig-n-rap for searching out schools of crappie when the bite is heavy. Also a great rod for me on the big bull gills that we target. good luck and good fishin'! Let me know what you end up settling on.
I spent some time in the Jason Mitchell booth at the St. Paul Ice Show [Minnesota] on the third of this month and wasn't real impressed with many of the rods they were selling. Guides were mis-laid on the blank and some almost seemed to have the guides on the wrong side of the spine. Some guides were completely closed with finish. As I understand it Jason Mitchell is just a name anymore as the company was bought out by a portable shleter company and all of the rods are now made in China.
The JM rod I had for a couple of seasons I gave to a friend to use to get started with ice fishing and retro-fitted the rod with an extra guide and rubber grommet above the tip to use a St. Croix spring. The rod works well using the spring but isn't much more than a Walmart special without it.
There are way better rods on the market if you shop around. Try Thornebros.com.
I have had mine for a few years, so I am sorry to hear that the quality has gone downhill with the sale of the company, but good information. Thanks CTom. So what is your favorite?
Your older rod is a treat Ranger and yes its a shame to see good hand made rods go the way of the Chinese and loss of character. As far as rods off a store hook, I have a number of the Bro series Frabil rods in the Quick Tip line. I have lengths from 24" to 28" in both the panfish and walleye weight rods. The Bro rods provide an action that is great for somewhat heavier presentations in both panfish and walleye tackle while still offering the hit detection while using lighter tackle. The Bro rods suit me better for slightly heavier tackle is all.
If I am using very light tackle I have two options at hand. I make some carbon rods for use in the portable that are 26". These are fitted with two opposing, standard #5 guides at the tip...one faces down to serve as the tip top the other faces up and will carry a rubber grommet into which the spring body of a St. Croix spring bobber will fit snugly. A couple other rods built on the same blanks will be guided out in the normal way. In these I can slip a Thorne Bros panfish line-thru spring. Both of these spring options only see inside use since the carbon can get brittle if used in temps much below 20 degrees and the springs can be a pain with freezing outside too.
My favorites of all though are Thron Bros custom rods in the Power Noodle line. These are a glass blank built into a 24 or 28 inch rod. They feature either standard guides or the recoils of slightly larger eye size for fishing open ice. The handles are cork and can be done with the conventional handle for spinning reels or a modified fly rod handle for use with a fly reel. The action of these rods is incredible due to aerospace technology that goes into the design of them. The first six inches of the Power Noodle rod is hyper flexible and sensitive. If you can see any sort of indication of a fish using a sprin, these rods will have already shown it to you, they are that sensitive. Within two inches of that six inch front is solid backbone. I have landed a carp of 18 pounds on two pound line on a 24 inch Noodle.
I currently have six of the standard 24 inch Power Noodles a ll carrying either Tica 500 or Symetre 750 reels. I have a special order Power Noodle of 32 inches with recoil guides for open ice holding a Symetre 750. This rod is nothing but unreal.
The Thorne line of rods has been around for about twenty years. They are made right in the Blaine, Minnesota store, to order and they do have rods available already built at times. The Thorne rods are the Rolls Royces of the fishing rod fleet. That older Jason Mitchell and the Bro series are somewhere along the Camray quality. The new JM rod line is of a used Ford Focus of five years of age in quality by comparison.