Thorne Bros vs TUCR for walleye

On the market for a new walleye rod. Looking into Thorne Bros walleye/perch sweetheart or TUCR precision/power precision rods. Mainly will be using it for walleye but definitely needs to be able to handle the occasional pike. Tried a friends walleye sweetheart and seemed a little stiff for me but when looking at the perch sweetheart in store they seemed a little soft for what I would be using it for. Mainly will be jigging with 1/8oz lures up to large jigging raps and rippin raps. I already have TUCR quick tip and love it just need something that can handle medium to larger sized lures. Any suggestions would be great thanks

I have a 32 inch perch sweetheart it fishes 1/8oz lures just fine. I have a few pike over thirty on it. Also hooked in to a muskie and only the line felt under powered. Thorne Bros website lets you build your rod right there. I have not spent that much time on TUCR site. This summer I will order a rod from them to compare.

ice fisherman wrote:

Mainly will be jigging with 1/8oz lures up to large jigging raps and rippin raps.

Any of the rods you list can handle a large pike. The heavier rods would be more ideal if you tend to actually target them.

I don’t think you’ll find a single rod that’ll excel at 1/8 up to w7 sized raps. I use Thorne perch sweethearts typically for 1/8-1/4oz lures. With anything much heavier, I will often use a walleye sweetheart or walleye heavy. I do on occasion even use longer panfish sweethearts for walleye that are setup with braid and a firm drag for smaller baits, or to occasionally wobble smaller raps and shads in micro movements using the flex of the tip.

The perch sweetheart is a sweet Walleye rod. No problem with an 1/8oz spoon or even a little larger. I also have a TUCR precision rod. Both are nice rods.

I run the 28″ Medium walleye sweetheart with hidden hood for reel seat for baits up to 1/8 ounce and the #4 rippin rap and then run a 32″ Medium Heavy walleye sweetheart with hidden hood for baits from 1/8 ounce and all my rippin raps and bigger baits. I also have a 28″ perch sweetheart stealth as my perch/backup walleye rod. All rods have there purpose and I can not be any happier with them. I’m not a big fan of taping/rubber banding reels on, so that is why I run Thorne Bros. rods as I can get the hidden hood reel seat. The only reason I got the stealth and taped the reel on is I wanted to try the synthetic handle and I like the way the rod looked. The medium is more of the finesse rod and my go to rod. I have fished many of 1/16 to 1/8 ounce lures and have caught many of fish on it. The perch sweetheart seems to me has a softer tip and then transfers into the backbone just fine. The medium heavy is a little stiffer rod, could handle 1/8 ounce and up lures no problem. I bought this rod mainly for rippin raps/big spoons, pike and big walleyes. With TUCR I think if you would look at the Power Precision or new Commander would be your good choices. I do not have any experience with them but somebody will chime in. I would say if you have time and are around the North metro stop into Thorne Bros. and TUCR and talk to them and feel the rods they have there.

My 2 favorite baits for my Precision are #5 & #7 Jigging Raps. I use it for 1/8-3/8 oz spoons and #4-#7 rippin raps as well. I’ve handled pike and lakers over 10 pounds on this rod and it doesn’t disappoint.

I use both the thorne bros sweethearts and also the TUCR precision. All work well and mostly dependent upon what lure you are using. However with that said I tend to reach for my two precisions the most. I tend to like their feel better as far as the tip action and also the handle. The perch sweetheart IMO is too weak to use anything but smaller buckshots, ect, where as the precision seems to have a wider range, but that could also be because my perch SH is 32″ versus 36″ for my precision, plus I went cheap and didn’t get rec recoil guides. I have a 33″ walleye sweetheart that has the 6″ grip and really like that one (Rec guides), but not a huge fan of my 36″ with the 8″ grip with non rec guides. So if you go TB, make sure to get the better guides. But to summarize, if I get another rod, it will be another TUCR. (already waiting for a new commander to show up)

I am pretty sure that the Walleye sweetheart comes is atlas two different actions. And going longer can also help if you thought it was too stiff.

FDR

Agree with others that you should start with the TUCR Precision or TB Walleye Sweetheart and look heavier if need be. For the TB Perch SH, 1/8 oz is the max I go with it and I feel it gets a bit mushy on certain 1/8oz lures depending on the action. I really like the Perch SH but it’s more of a 1/32oz-1/8oz rod for me and I assume it more favorably compares to the TUCR Quicktip. The recoil guides are worth it on any rod for sure. Hope this helps, good luck.

I’ve been on a nostalgia kick this year and pulled out my first set of Thorne rods and have been avidly using those. To be honest, with braid especially, I like the alconite guides a lot. The recoils are pretty noisy with braid. That said, I have a hard time ordering a new rod without recoils..

Reading comments I feel I’m becoming more convinced on the walleye sweetheart. Anyone know how the power precision compares to the action of the walleye sweetheart in a medium action because I’d rather buy TUCR since I already love my quick tip. Nothing against Thorne bros but am just very pleased with my 32″ quick tip. Looking to get this rod in 32″ as well.

The action on the tucr pp is extra fast. The first 3 inches are light before transition to backbone. I would also highly consider the bull whip in 32″ for a walleye rod. For me it is perfect. Noodle tip with medium backbone transition. It is sensitive enough to fish 1/8oz spoons up to ripping raps as I have used it for both. I have hooked a few very large walleyes with it as well and it held up fine. With a power precision or med sweetheart they are almost too heavy. I own both. To be honest I’m a tucr fan. I had all tb rods before tucr was on the market. I got a power precision 30″ as my 1st rod from them and have now swapped all my rods over.they are lighter,more sensitive, come standard with recoil guides, and in my opinion have a overall better feel.i now own a 30″power precision,32″bull whip,and 30″precision noodle. You can get the same quality from tb if you upgrade the guides and handles but it will be a lot more $.I have a tb sweetheart with the recoil guides and foam handle that I still use for a crappie rod.but that rod was around 130 The rest I now use for backups.also Jr just came out with some new custom rods that look very close to tucr. I have not used one yet,but they look pretty nice and are priced less that both. I believe they start around $65.

Look up Kichler custom rods on Facebook. He will build whatever you want for less the Thorne bros and tucr. Custom do the blank to the exact action you want. Custom design cork etc. he also teaches rod building classes and you walk away with your rod.

I believe Thorne Brothers custom rod blanks are design by Thorne Brothers but made by St. Croix using the same materials and process as the Legend Elite rod line up. Who makes the blanks for TUCR?

One thing I would like to note, your bobber stopper line will catch on the recoil guides and move.

If you are still in the market, I would look at the tucr commander. It will do it all very well!

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