Ice Rod recommendations, Lake Trout

Hey all, I was hoping to get a little advice. With this early cold snap I’m really thinking of trying to get up to Duluth later this winter for some lake trout action on Superior(weather/ice pending of course). What rod should I be looking for? Is MH enough to handle that? I generally run MH rods for pike fishing through the ice. If I were to go the custom route, is there a TB or TUCR rod out there that would fit the bill or would I be looking to go completely custom?

Phil- We have a LTP rod that works very well for this application.

I have a couple at the shop to show. We are still working on getting those on the site.

Feel free to contact me for details.

I was able to land several lakers, including this 16 lb beast, as well as multiple double-digit pike using the TUC LTP rod last winter Phil… IMO it is exactly the rod that you would want. I would also recommend going 36″ or longer for this heavier rod.

Will

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When I fished lotw for lake trout, I made some custom 40″ and 42″ rods. They worked really well. They were heavy action medium fast tips as we would use jigs up to 2oz. The fish we caught were between 5 and 25 pounds. Many of them were 10 to 15 pounds. So it all depends on the size of the fish you are fishing for. Lakes up by the bwca, with smaller fish, you could get by with walleye gear.

I have a Thorne bros pro glass 42″ that is excellent as well.

I think you should be looking at 36″ as a bare minimum. I personally would not want anything under 40″ myself. MH is also on the light side for LS. Smaller lakes with smaller fish you would definetly want that lighter rod.

The sudden runs and massive head shakes really require a lot of bend to keep the line taught.

Another thing to consider is the weight of your lure. On LS, you may be fishing as deep as 150′ or more. That requires 1-2 oz of weight and the action of the rod is very important to get a good hook set with that amount of line out and weight of the lure.

Personally, I’m really interested in what TUCR offers. Is there any way for me to see a rod without having to travel to the ice show?

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Yes just give us a shout and stop by I have a couple of Laker sticks on hand.

We make them up to 52″ I am sure we can make them longer but they get a little tough to fit in the sled.

Thank you

biggill wrote:

Personally, I’m really interested in what TUCR offers. Is there any way for me to see a rod without having to travel to the ice show?

They’re not far at all from you Matt. The shop is on Coon Rapids Blvd right down the street from the Coon Rapids Dam. It’s definitely worth a visit just to check out all the cool custom rods they’ve usually got on hand that you’ve never even heard of… I always leave with a few ideas for new gear I hadn’t even thought of before I walked through the door.

Will

Thanks for the info guys, I’ll definitely have to check out the TUCR LTP. Any chance you’ll have any of those at the ice show John?

I might target a 36″ rod then, I honestly really prefer a shorter rod when ice fishing, even though I know there are benefits of a longer rod. It definitely makes sense to have a heavier rod for Superior though, gonna need some backbone to set the hook in deep water.

What reels and line are you guys using? Since this is a limited opportunity perhaps one of my summer reels could be used in a pinch?

I use my summer reels. 2500 Shimanos. I also have a couple of the 42″ TB Pro Glass rods. They are real nice rods. That is for inland trout tho.

A lot of guys use “hoops” in the big lake.

suzuki wrote:

What reels and line are you guys using? Since this is a limited opportunity perhaps one of my summer reels could be used in a pinch?

I also just use one of my summer reels that is spooled up with Suffix 832 superline with a 6′ 14# 100% Fluorocarbon leader.

Mike Stark wrote:

I use my summer reels. 2500 Shimanos. I also have a couple of the 42″ TB Pro Glass rods. They are real nice rods. That is for inland trout tho.

A lot of guys use “hoops” in the big lake.

I use the same for reels. I don’t think 1000’s would be a good idea.

MIke, what are hoops?

That’s a hoop in my hand. I caught the fish in my avatar “bobbing” in Lake Superior.

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Thanks for the explanation Mike. After I posted, I was thinking that might be it.

Looks like you were facing a little current that day huh?

I had place my transducer up to 10′ away one day. Sometimes I’d actually lean it against the side of the hole to tip it toward my bait.

Yea. Lots of current in that spot. We were way out in the Islands.

suzuki wrote:

What reels and line are you guys using? Since this is a limited opportunity perhaps one of my summer reels could be used in a pinch?

Im a huge fan of using baitcasters for laker fishing. Can pick up line much quicker and easier to freespool back down to the bottom. I use my bass reels, 30lb braid if its warm out or Im fishing in a shack. Otherwise 12lb flouro works pretty well for most situations.

I’ve got a TUCR LTP (Lake Trout Precision) I am just dying to use this winter, hopefully I’ll get to break it in on some Pike and Musky this weekend! Mine is 38″ and fit’s perfectly in my Double Barrel rod bag. It will also double as a good measuring stick after landing a big gator! I was using the TUCR Precision last year for Lakers and it worked just fine for the 25-30″ fish. When I hit Duluth I really wished I had a meatier stick with a larger reel. I had a fish so big on Superior I couldn’t lift her off the bottom with the and eventually she dug the jig out of her mouth on the “ocean” floor; that won’t happen next time! It’s a 2-for-1 rod if you fish for pike as well. I’m going to be pairing mine to a Sedona 1000, 20lb suffix 832, and 10lb Fluoro for lakers, with 17lb Fluoro for Pike and Musky.

Ben Putnam wrote:

I was using the TUCR Precision last year for Lakers and it worked just fine for the 25-30″ fish.

Picture is of TUCR Precision/Daiwa 1000 with a 10.8# Laker on the other end. I’ve caught about a dozen fish on that set up and it handles fish up to 8 lbs really well, bigger than that is still doable.

I have a true laker stick as well but still use the Precision for finesse baits that have size 4 or smaller trebles. The reason is it takes less pressure on the fish to keep a good bend in the rod. Too much pressure from a traditional laker rod is just asking for that little treble to either bend or just pop out since it’s only big enough to hook them in the fleshy part of the mouth.

Majority of the time I’m fishing a tube jig with a 4/0 single hook and then a true laker rod is no doubt the way to go.

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I agree whole heartedly Tswoboda, I love the way the my Precision handles the baits I use most often, for the size of Lakers I usually catch. And as you said, bigger baits along with bigger fish need a bigger rod! What jigs do you use inside your tubes? I’m always looking for new tube jigs and there aren’t very many that I’ve found for 4-5″ tubes that do what I want them to.

I actually get mine from a guy in Ontario who custom molds them with 4/0 Gamakatsu hooks and shaped to fish horizontal.

Check out Jann’s Netcraft… They make a 1/2 oz horizontal with a 5/0 Gamakatsu, they’re the only tube jigs I’ve found online that are suitable for lakers.

The only horizontal tube jigs I can seem to find in the states are made by Northland with a small wire hook. I’ve personally seen those get bent open and lose big fish so I stay away.

Ordered my TUCR LTP today. I really like the action of these over the TB Pro Glass. Might end up putting the pro glass up for sale if I end up liking the TUCR. I’ll probably wait for ice on the gitch first.

Nathan What rod do you use? Do TUCR or Thorne Bros make a rod with a bait casting handle? I am partial to DH Custom does anyone know if they have a heavy weight rod? I have a Browning bait caster I would like to use for big pike.

Yes we do.

onepine wrote:

Nathan What rod do you use? Do TUCR or Thorne Bros make a rod with a bait casting handle? I am partial to DH Custom does anyone know if they have a heavy weight rod? I have a Browning bait caster I would like to use for big pike.

I have two rods that I switch between for 90% of my laker fishing through the ice. They are both Clam Dave Genz split handle rods.

http://clamoutdoors.com/store/clam/rods-reels/rods/dave-genz-split-handle-rods.html

I use a 40″ Heavy action paired with 12-15lb flourocarbon when fishing outside or extremely cold. My go-to rod though, is a 32″ Medium Heavy paired with 30lb braid, that I use for fishing inside the shack (preferred for comfort and stealth) or when its warm enough outside.

These are definitely NOT the best sticks out there. I’m sure TUCR or TB could build you something much nicer. In fact, I really don’t even like the split grip deal, but these were the only rods I could find on the shelves around me that worked for what I wanted to do. Im also just not a guy who tries not to think about ice fishing in the off season, so ordering a custom rod in advance enough to get it for the season never happens for me.

Also, IMO sensitivity is not at a premium when fishing lakers. They smoke the bait hard most of the time. Whats more important to me is a rod thats got some good bend to absorb those big headshakes and runs back down to the bottom. Good luck with whatever you choose!