Thorne Bros

Any Thorne Bros guys on here? Wanted some Thorne Bros advice. I picked up a Winn grip TB dead stick at the ice show for $70. Looked at a Perch Sweetheart and a Walleye Sweetheart. Like the feel of the Perch Sweetheart a lot as the Walleye version seems very stiff to me. Will the Perch Sweetheart hold up to 24″-28″ walleyes or smaller size Pike??

I have caught several mid 20’s walleyes on my perch sweetheart. Not an issue at all.

I know we want the rod to match the fish, but I will say that the rod is more for the lure weight and presentation. And so it also happens that lighter lures usually calls for smaller fish and holds the same general guideline as heavier lures will target larger fish.

That being the case my TB panfish sweatheart has handled catfish up to 28″ comfortably. It would be my preference to use my TB walleye sweatheart instead.

slipperybob wrote:

I know we want the rod to match the fish, but I will say that the rod is more for the lure weight and presentation. And so it also happens that lighter lures usually calls for smaller fish and holds the same general guideline as heavier lures will target larger fish.

That being the case my TB panfish sweatheart has handled catfish up to 28″ comfortably. It would be my preference to use my TB <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye sweatheart instead.

I agree, I feel like rod action is more about lure weight and less about fish size. In my opinion, landing bigger fish relies more on having a good drag and not horsing the fish. My favorite walleye rod is my TUCR bullwhip, just because I like to fish really small spoons and I enjoy seeing the bite on the soft tip. I’ve never had a problem landing walleye and landed a 29 inch northern last year.

I have both walleye and perch sweethearts. Both are great rods and to answer your question, yes the perch sh can handle large walleyes no problem. Anything 1/4oz and bigger is fished on the walleye sh and 1/8oz and under I fish with the perch sh. I you could only have one, I would say go with the perch. But that also depends on the size of lures you’re using the most. I probably use my perch a little bit more than the walleye but wouldn’t want to give up either one. I would agree with what you said about the walleye feeling a little stiff, but I will tell you that it fights any size walleye very well.

I tend to lean more to a 1/8 spoon over the 1/4 in a lot of situations

I really like my perch sweet hearts, but if you want to see a walleye rod that really covers the spectrum, look at the tucr commander, surprisingly fishes down to some pretty small spoons, but can also handle the big baits.