Hello and Ice Walleyes

Hey guys, super excited to finally have an account here on IDO. Recently moved up to Northfield, Mn from Iowa and excited to fish some “new” water. I say “new” because I’ve been taking trips up to MN for as long as I’ve been alive.

Anyway, I’m gearing up for the ice season and I’m looking for an exclusive walleye rod and some new lures. I’m toying with getting a TUC or maybe getting the equipment to build my own. I’ve been mostly a panfish icefisherman and bass in the summer. Also, favorite lures. I’m thinking lightnin spoons by cjs, slender spoons and some buckshot rattle spoons or something by vmc. I’m thinking 4-6 lb fluoro. Any advice welcome !

Also, would love to tag along and fish with some guys on here if anyone’s interested.

Thanks!!!

Welcome. I love my Thorne Bros. Walleye Sweetheart. All those lures sound good. Don’t forget about a plain old jig-and-minnow or a plain hook when you are on ’em and can’t get ’em to go.

Welcome! the biggest thing I would recommend would be some kind of flasher either a vexilar or marcum which you might already have. Those spoons will work very well that you named. I would add in a vmc tingler spoon or two. Also an ultra light rippin rap would go nicely.

Yes, thank you guys, both great suggestions! And yes I already have a flasher. If I forgot my flasher I’d probably turn around and go home. I currently have a humminbird ice 35 which I really like but thinking about picking up a marcum lx5i.

I love my Thorne Brother custom ice rods. Everyone who touches them can’t believe how nice they are. Well worth the money. Figure out what you want and call Thorne Brothers! You will want to do it soon since they get backed up with orders at this time.

First and foremost, welcome from the far south metro.

I have 4 Thorne bro’s rods and I love each one. Most folks around here will say TUCR or bust. TUCR makes great rods and I also have a couple of them, but I tend to migrate back to my Thorne rods more often.

One piece of tackle you didn’t specifically mention would be VMC Tumbler spoons! Absolutely deadly for me last year, I ended the season with buying 20+ of them to re-stock.

Lastly, I upgrade from an ICE-35 and 55 to a Helix 5 and FLX-28. That was the best ice-fishing related decision i’ve ever made. The ICE-35, 45 and 55 are great units for fishing but the target separation and clarity leaves a TON to be desired. They have a bigger screen, which helps, but it also hurts by distorting the picture…

Welcome to MN Bobby. Living so close to the Cabela’s in Owatana, you’ll need lots of excuses to run out and grab a few things!
I have a Thorne Bros Perch Sweetheart and last year I picked up a TUCR Bullwhip. Both are excellent walleye/perch/crappie rods. IMO, straight “walleye” rods are too stiff for 75% of the time/presentations.
If you’re a multi-species fisherman and fish eyes predominantly south of LOTW, do yourself a favor and go a little lighter. Whatever you lose in “backbone” is more than made up in finesse/feel ability (again IMO).
Oh and I can say even the TUCR Bullwhip can stand up to a 15+ minute fight with an enormous sturgeon that I hooked while fishing crappies on the Croix (no it’s not ideal, but it didn’t break and more than held it’s own).
Now, if you put a gun to my head and forced me to choose, I’d go against the grain of the folks who have weighed in thus far and take the Bullwhip over the Perch Sweetheart. Main reasons are the tip has a little better sensitivity, rod feels slightly more balanced in my hand (completely unscientific, just a feel thing) and I got to customize it myself which meant choosing the colors, handle material and having length markers painted on from 10″ to 20″.
PM me if you like, I have a few friends that live down your way and we fish around Northfield + Faribault sometimes when we can’t get to the bigger water

Hello!!

You will learn a ton from this site. Still one of the better sites if not the best for clean information.

Welcome aboard.

tucrs wrote:

Hello!!

You will learn a ton from this site. Still one of the better sites if not the best for clean information.

Welcome aboard.

It is a good site, it’s cool to see a business owner on here who is NOT just pushing product 100% of the time. John took this opportunity to welcome you instead of recommend his products, which is a pretty legit move if you ask me(unless he is playing psychological mind games to recommend his product without actually recommending his product….whoa).

My recommendations for a walleye rod would be a Thorne Bros Perch Sweetheart(great for small to medium sized spoons) or a TUCR Precision(same thing). I have one of each and I normally can’t decide between the two. My suggestion would be to try out the different grip options in person though, I’ve found that the split grip just isn’t quite as comfortable as a normal grip, but I think it’s because of my little baby hands.

I agree that the ‘walleye’ ice rods are usually a bit stiffer than necessary as someone mentioned, especially if you are mainly fishing metro lakes. I have a walleye sweetheart from thorne and it’s a great rod, but it’s not the first rod I reach for most of the time.

michaelcfi79 wrote:

IMO, straight “walleye” rods are too stiff for 75% of the time/presentations.

philtickelson wrote:

My recommendations for a walleye rod would be a Thorne Bros Perch Sweetheart(great for small to medium sized spoons) or a TUCR Precision(same thing).

X2 with the feedback above. 100% agree.

Welcome to IDO

I would totally agree with this post. I purchased a TUCR bullwhip before my ND trip to Devils last year in January and it handled the walleye as easy as the perch. Especially if you fish outside you will find that this rod has the sensitivity even on windy days while giving you back bone to handle even good size walleyes. I have gone away from my TUCR precision noodle for panfish to this rod still can see the bites and once again I fish outside more than in so the noodle is a little more sensitive on windy days.

Welcome to the site and good luck with the move.

This debate is similar to the marcum vs vex you will see on this site LOL. I don’t think you can go wrong with any high end custom rod and at the end of the day which ever you use you will like I am sure. Helps to have both Thorne Bros and TUCR located close to you in MN.

Tuned up custom rods and Thorne Bros are both great companies that put extraordinary work into their rods. I guess the only point I’d bring to this table is comparing rods between the two when it comes to just straight up walleye rods. TUCR has the precision and precision power rods that are classified as walleye and light pike rods. Just like the new kid on the block “13 fishing” I just think the rods action is a little light for an all around walleye stick. If you don’t have the opportunity to play with one, both models will work great, it just depends on how much give or how stiff you prefer your play in your rods.

*Dead stick! If you’ve never fished with a dead stick (float or sensitive tip rod) give it a try. Seems to do well for our group in the middle of the season. Welcome to Minnesota and good luck on your season!