What Legend rod does everyone prefer? I was looking at them today and the 24UL seems to have plenty of backbone for an ultra light ice rod. I will use it mostly for panfish but maybe some walleye. I looked at the 24L rod and it seemed almost too stiff. I know the spring tips are really what you watch.
I have the light action 24″. I sometimes think UL are just too flimsy(especially if you are gonna use it for walleyes), but i havent used one of the UL legends on the ice yet. If you want to use it for walleye too, the light action should be ok and probably an extra spring in a heavier gauge if you are going to be using some heavier baits.
Somebody else chime in on this that knows for sure, but I think the rod stays the same. Only the spring bobber is different.
I used the ML last year and really liked it. Have thought about picking up the UL just to see how it works but haven’t done so yet.
John
If I were to have one in would be the medium light. A great perch, walleye and smallmouth rod. I have caught a lot of fish on this rod, well worth the investment.
Rods are different as well as spring bobber. ML covers just about everything. Trout will put more pressure on a rod than any eye and I’ve landed 26″ trout on an ML. Just buy a couple of weights in the spring bobber and you’ll be setup.
So are the rods different actions or is it just the spring tips?
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So are the rods different actions or is it just the spring tips?
The rods are different actions.
If you have a couple different weight rods and a couple different weights of springs,you have a very flexible system that will give you confidence to go ice fishing and switch up to what the bite has for you that day. If you go crappie fishing the the walleyes are biting, changing up takes only a few seconds. I am on year 3 or 4 with my legends and I wouldn’t trade them.
Last year was my first year using one of these rods. I love it, but I just can’t figure out the spring bobber thing. Seems to me that I couldn’t get the action that I like when jig’n w/ it. Off the top of my head I can’t recall what action it was…but I know it was on the light side.
Today I ordered a Med. Heavy and a Heavy action spring from St. Croix. I use swedish pimples and forage minnows a lot so I’m hoping a heavier bobber will help. We’ll see.
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Last year was my first year using one of these rods. I love it, but I just can’t figure out the spring bobber thing. Seems to me that I couldn’t get the action that I like when jig’n w/ it. Off the top of my head I can’t recall what action it was…but I know it was on the light side.
Today I ordered a Med. Heavy and a Heavy action spring from St. Croix. I use swedish pimples and forage minnows a lot so I’m hoping a heavier bobber will help. We’ll see.
Yeah, if you overload a spring with the weight of your lure you end up with a spring bobber that points straight down the hole… and no sensitivity. I’ve found with the heaviest spring I can fish a 1/8 oz. jig or spoon. Any heavier than that and you totally defeat the purpose of the spring and are best served by switching to a different rod.
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Last year was my first year using one of these rods. I love it, but I just can’t figure out the spring bobber thing. Seems to me that I couldn’t get the action that I like when jig’n w/ it. Off the top of my head I can’t recall what action it was…but I know it was on the light side.
Today I ordered a Med. Heavy and a Heavy action spring from St. Croix. I use swedish pimples and forage minnows a lot so I’m hoping a heavier bobber will help. We’ll see.
Yeah, if you overload a spring with the weight of your lure you end up with a spring bobber that points straight down the hole… and no sensitivity. I’ve found with the heaviest spring I can fish a 1/8 oz. jig or spoon. Any heavier than that and you totally defeat the purpose of the spring and are best served by switching to a different rod.
Sounds good! I usually go w/ the 1/16 and sometimes the 1/8th. But even with really light stuff, it just seemed “different” I need to commit to it a little harder this winter and get used to it. Thanks for the follow-up! 
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Last year was my first year using one of these rods. I love it, but I just can’t figure out the spring bobber thing. Seems to me that I couldn’t get the action that I like when jig’n w/ it. Off the top of my head I can’t recall what action it was…but I know it was on the light side.
Today I ordered a Med. Heavy and a Heavy action spring from St. Croix. I use swedish pimples and forage minnows a lot so I’m hoping a heavier bobber will help. We’ll see.
Yeah, if you overload a spring with the weight of your lure you end up with a spring bobber that points straight down the hole… and no sensitivity. I’ve found with the heaviest spring I can fish a 1/8 oz. jig or spoon. Any heavier than that and you totally defeat the purpose of the spring and are best served by switching to a different rod.
Sounds good! I usually go w/ the 1/16 and sometimes the 1/8th. But even with really light stuff, it just seemed “different” I need to commit to it a little harder this winter and get used to it. Thanks for the follow-up!
As you step up in weight your jigging motion can become an issue as well. By that I mean if you’re jigging hard with a 1/16th ounce spoon you can overload the carry capacity of the spring while if you’re jigging slowly with a 1/8 oz. you can squeek by. Overall the legends do best in the panfish / perch applications and there’s other rods that provide more versatile service when targeting walleyes or other larger species with larger baits.
I agree with James.These rods are great for panfish.Even heavier ice jigs can overload spring.I have a couple ul and lt.For light hits I’ve not seen anything like them,if they breath on it the spring moves.For Jigging spoons I would assume you would want to go to a heavier.There was a post a few weeks back about some new rods at Thorne Bros,
that looked interesting.
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I agree with James.These rods are great for panfish.Even heavier ice jigs can overload spring.I have a couple ul and lt.For light hits I’ve not seen anything like them,if they breath on it the spring moves.For Jigging spoons I would assume you would want to go to a heavier.There was a post a few weeks back about some new rods at Thorne Bros,
that looked interesting.
I couldn’t agree more. The spring system on the St. Croix rods is awesome on a tough bite when the pannies just don’t want to do anything but breath on the baits. But if you’re going to be fishing spoons for perch, walleyes or even larger predators a Thorne Bros outside rod for the appropriate species is the ticket.
i’ve got a couple 24″ ul…great rods…but when they say ULTRA LIGHT THEY MEAN ULTRA LIGHT…i’ve gotten some very large bass in on them (including a 9lb 13 oz beast last winter on 2 lb. flouro) but a 7″ gill will double the ul over…i’m thinking about adding the 17″ light for sight fishing this year, it should fill the bill nicely.
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…i’ve gotten some very large bass in on them (including a 9lb 13 oz beast last winter on 2 lb. flouro)
WOW! Congrats on getting that monster bass on the ice with such light tackle! At the risk of taking this thread completely off track if you have a photo of that monster bass… would you post it? That’s one huge bucket mouth.
got it on film…i’m still behind the times on the whole digital thing….the pond it came out of is only a couple acres and ONLY has bass and perch in it…the bass are either 3″ or 5+ pounds, and the perch all run about 12″ or better ( i guess they get that way from eating bass )…now that this thread is officially off track…i digress.
In my book, Ice Legend is one of the best rods on the market still today. Here are a couple testimonial pictures of what the UL24 can handle while using 2lb Trilene spooled onto a Pflueger President micro spinning reel.
When you purchase your ST Croix Legend get your self a medium and a heavy spring. You can change the springs out in seconds. I like to use a heavier spring than what comes with the UL when jigging Demon jigging spoons and other heavier baits.
Enjoy your purchase
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