blade bait ice rod action…

Hey guys, New to the forums and have a quick question…

What action rod are you using for working 1/4oz blades?

Perch or walleye sweetheart?

Welcome

Some great info here ….

Blade baits

Welcome to IDO!

This will be the subject of further discussion on future videos I’m guessing, but the short/long of it comes down to personal preference. I have two blade rods that I fish depending on the conditions, and I know if you’d ask James he’d give a different opinion as well.

I’m a big fan of the stiffer blanks for blades when precise control and movement of the blade is critical for getting finicky fish to strike. For that reason, I use a 32″ Med Hvy. Walleye Sweetheart for better control at times. My bread/butter blade rod is a 32″ Med. Walleye Sweetheart however. This rod covers most of the bladebait situations you’d encounter, and is so versatile for other baits, there’s no good reason not to own it.

I feel similarly about the Med. Hvy. Walleye Sweetheart, as it doubles as a phenomenal pike and laker rod. It’s stiffer than you might expect (probably too much so for alot of folks), but especially for precise rocking or placement of the blade, the control you have with this rod is pretty nice. Keep in mind, these recommendations are for the 32″ length.

Joel

Thanks guys!

Glad to hear you say that Joel.
I picked up a 32″ Med. WS a few weeks ago and just recently found this great site and started watching all your guys’ videos and it seemed like you all really like the perch sweetheart.

Ive been running blades for walleye for 4 years now on a 28″ Med. St Croix premier. It has been an absolute blast, and cannot wait to rig up the Thorne bros and put it into action.

On your videos I noticed that it looks as though you are using a Mono or flouro line. Is that application reserved only for shallow water presentations(less than 20 ft)?
The reason i ask this is that most of my walleye come from depths of 23-40FOW. When i used to use mono in the deeper waters i found it hard to drive in a good hook set, and dumped a lot of fish at the hole. I made the switch at the beginning of last season to a no stretch super line mainline to a 18″-24″ flourocarbon leader, and it really improved my hookup to landed fish ratio.

Most of us will run floro, as it seems to stretch less than comparable mono. That said, line stretch is still an issue, especially deeper as you mentioned. Yet another reason I’ll lean towards that TB Med. Heavy rod.

I should probably re-visit the super-line on ice, but my most recent go at it had me frustrated with all the water it picked up and freezing issues. In a shack, much less of a problem, but out hole-hopping it’s not good. Not to mention, it was so limp, that it had a habit of wrapping or catching on bail rollers because of the lack of body.

Which braid specifically are you running? I do know of a few guys that run more limber rods (like a Perch Sweetheart) with the super-lines to account for its no-stretch qualities. At the same time, much of the reason I use the Med or Med-Heavy is because of the control it offers me when working these blades.

Joel

Welcome to IDO

I understand what you mean about switching back and forth between the M and the MH

I run 5lb power pro ice to a 5lb Pline flouro leader on my rods

I tried the 6lb sufix 832 to a 5lb Pline flouro leader last year and it ended up making those rigs my inside rods.

The sufix ices up pretty easily when fished outside but i have had really good luck with the power pro ice outside.

I still would use the sufix on an indoor rod or during the summer season but in my experience the Power Pro Ice is much better suited for ice fishing.