Split Grip Ice Rods

I’ve been chatting by PM with Rhymer about ice rods as he’s putting together a rod with TUC and he asked me if I had ever used an ice rod with a split grip. My response was “no, but I own one!” I just haven’t had a chance to fish with it but that will change very soon.

Since Corey wanted to see pics I figured I just throw them out here for all to see.

Here’s the handle section on a 32″ TUC Precision Noodle. What do I think so far? If fits the hand well. Can’t say it will make a difference in the way I fish one way or another but I’m always willing to try something new.

As for the rest of the rod… The guys at TUC nailed their noodle blank. The noodle tip section transitions beautifully into the meaty part of the blank. I like the bright green tip color. I opted for REC guides on this one and the craftsmanship is top notch. I liked it so much I ordered a 36″ Precision Noodle with a standard Tennessee handle. I’m a big fan of longer rods and this will be my first time fishing with a noodle this long. Again, time will tell how well the three footer fishes but if my hunch is correct I’m going to dig the extra length.

Only question I have is what reel is that?

Thanks Jeff

Shimano Sedona 500. Love those little buggers on my pannie rods.

What is the advantage supposed to be with the split grip? Less weight, more sensitivity, more? less?

I dont like the looks of the split grip long rods or the feel, just not for me, but if their was an advantage to it on the ice rods I would certainly entertain checking them out.

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What is the advantage supposed to be with the split grip? Less weight, more sensitivity, more? less?

I dont like the looks of the split grip long rods or the feel, just not for me, but if their was an advantage to it on the ice rods I would certainly entertain checking them out.

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I like the splits on my long rods.

What’s the advantage of a split on an ice rod? I don’t know… haven’t fished with it yet.

Guys have suggested it is lighter and more areas for contact with the hand which could better transmit vibrations. I can’t say either way until I fish it. I didn’t see a downside with how comfortable it is in the hand so if it doesn’t end up being “better” I don’t feel I’m out anything. It didn’t cost any extra so I figured I’d give it a go. Now all I need is some ice.

Yeah I suppose the extra sensitivity from having your hand in direct contact with the blank would make sense. Hopefully James you will do a full write up on your impression of that style rod. Of coarse with an LX-7 in the hole the need for sensitive rods goes out the window.

James, perfect! The Split Grip looks and sounds better than what I had in mind. Thank you for your suggestions and pictures, and helping me pick out the precise rod for the specific fishing I intend to do. I am excited to go with TUC and see the hype behind these rods…I know, I can’t go wrong.

Also…

I, earlier, talked with John, from TUC, on the phone. He really helped me narrow down the exact length and the specific rod, I am actually choosing to go with. He also explained the benefits of the REC guides. He said…The Nickel Titanium REC guides, because of the cold, the metal guides are always shifting and moving. Resulting in minimal ice freezing and building up on the guides… In addition, REC guides are that much more lighter vs standard ceramic guides.

I do want to say that all guides will freeze at a point. Compared to ceramics… it will so much less. I have found that fishing with REC guides the freeze ups are so much less frequent.

They will ice up, I know fishing at 25 below. So will everything else. The light wire will allow the guide to flex, shift and repel more water then a standard ceramic guide.

REC is the best ice rod guide, for outside conditions that I have found. It also keeps the rod superlight weight and gives the true feel of the rod.

Kind of an interesting concept on the handle. By minimizing the total surface are of the cork your hand encloses the most important area, that being where the reel is held with little cork ahead of that point. I have always preferred the smallest cork handle that would allow some adjustment room to balance things but would also focus vibrations to an area completely within my hand’s grasp.

I haven’t used a split handle on an ice rod but I can see where the concept works.

There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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I don’t do “elegant.”

Some things just work too well for me to mess with. As for the way it looks… it will be covered with blood, fish scales and dirt in no time. The tape actually keeps a spot on the cork clean.

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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I’ve been taping reels on rods both winter & summer for over
30 years and I look at it as someone who really understands
why you fish with a high end graphite rod when I see them
taped on. Personally I despise most reel seats, they are by
no means comfortable, I just spent about 6 hours cutting off
a reel seat and replacing it with a tape on from a St Croix
rod I bought this summer. Some of the best fishermen I’ve
known use Tennessee handles.

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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I don’t do “elegant.”

Some things just work too well for me to mess with. As for the way it looks… it will be covered with blood, fish scales and dirt in no time. The tape actually keeps a spot on the cork clean.

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LOL.

Seriously though, attempting to meld elegant with function ain’t all bad.

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Some of the best fishermen I’ve
known use Tennessee handles.

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Some of by best friends are….

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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I use silicon tape and like it way more than electrical tape. A year or 2 ago Michaels had some on sale for way too cheap to pass up so I bought all they had. I too dilike reel seats.

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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You want elegant? here you go

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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You want elegant? here you go

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Nailed it!

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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You want elegant? here you go

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Ha! Just as water is considered the universal solvent, duct tape is the universal fastener.

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Ha! Just as water is considered the universal solvent, duct tape is the universal fastener.

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10-4. I always carry a roll in the truck/boat. Just not in that color.

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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Here’s what I’m gonna be using this winter. The band is much stronger than what you’ll find anywhere. Easy on and Easy off if you want to switch reels quickly.
Cold Snap Reel Wrap
We’ll see if it lives up to its good looks.

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Cold Snap Reel Wrap.

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I went from silicone tape to castrating bands on all my ice rods this year.

The split grip is cute, but I think I’d prefer more blank in front of the reel to help fight the fish. The little 4″ reel section of cork is all I have on many of my rods.

I guess it’s just what you prefer. I use masking tape on the cork then electrical to hold the reel to the rod. This way the electrical tape won’t damage your cork.

As for the bands shown above. They look great but the reels end up shifting on the rod and IMO are uncomfortable.

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As for the bands shown above. They look great but the reels end up shifting on the rod and IMO are uncomfortable.

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Not so sure about that. Their on pretty tight and dont shift anymore then one taping their reel on tightly. One ay not like the feel of the wraps but feels just fine to me.

Another one to try is CoBan by 3M It’s stretchy type tape that only sticks to itself used to tape up animals legs and such. Just pull it tight so there is no strech works great on Bows for extra Camo too. Lady at work shoots target bow hunting and wraps her bow in tan for camo.

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As for the bands shown above. They look great but the reels end up shifting on the rod and IMO are uncomfortable.

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Not so sure about that. Their on pretty tight and dont shift anymore then one taping their reel on tightly. One ay not like the feel of the wraps but feels just fine to me.

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Yup. Exactly what Andy said.

-Munchy

Yup, exactly what Andy said. I have been using these bands since they were first introduced and have them on all my rods.Have not had a problem with any of them and have never had a reel foot slip.

Same boat as James, never fished one yet. However, on all the ones I’ve seen and gripped, it seems to fit my hands better. I know I’ll be upgrading eventually, and predict that this will be more than just a style or a fad. I think you’re going to see quite a few more custom and high-end ice rods go in this direction for years to come.

Until then, bring on some more ice so we can get fishing with them!

Joel

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

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Here’s what I’m gonna be using this winter. The band is much stronger than what you’ll find anywhere. Easy on and Easy off if you want to switch reels quickly.

Cold Snap Reel Wrap

We’ll see if it lives up to its good looks.

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I meant to comment on this early but forgot. I have to say this is a pretty slick product. Not being stuck in my ways, I picked up a couple of new sticks recently without real seats and have used these little goat bands to attach the reels. They feel very, very solid; offering little to no movement of the reel. I hope to try them out under a load this weekend. Thanks for the recommendation. A much more “elegant” (had to get that word in again just for James. ;-))solution than tape…unless of course you start thinking about the purpose for which the bands were made.

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There we go again with the damn tape…I’m all for function over form for the most part but certainly there has to be a more, dare I say it, elegant way to meld winch to stick, yes?

---

Here’s what I’m gonna be using this winter. The band is much stronger than what you’ll find anywhere. Easy on and Easy off if you want to switch reels quickly.
Cold Snap Reel Wrap
We’ll see if it lives up to its good looks.

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I meant to comment on this early but forgot. I have to say this is a pretty slick product. Not being stuck in my ways, I picked up a couple of new sticks recently without real seats and have used these little goat bands to attach the reels. They feel very, very solid; offering little to no movement of the reel. I hope to try them out under a load this weekend. Thanks for the recommendation. A much more “elegant” (had to get that word in again just for James. ;-))solution than tape…unless of course you start thinking about the purpose for which the bands were made.

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AHHHH! the elegance of scrotum bands,,, just can’t get any
better’n that!