I wouldn’t recommend a TUCR noodle for crappies, if you set hard a rod with more of a parabolic/softer bend would be better. Something that flexes down the majority of the rod, not just the tip.

Honestly those HT Ice blue rods are fantastic crappie rods. I am pretty partial to my thorne bros rods though, they’re the G Loomis of ice rods in my opinion. I think you’d be very pleased with a tripwire!

Good luck in your search, the way the weather is looking though we wont have much of an ice season haha!

My personal choice for panfish applications is the Thorne Bros tripwire rod. I’ve got a 32″ model, hands down the best panfish rod I’ve ever used. The tripwire is basically a built in spring bobber tied to the end of the rod, the more I panfish the more I realize how important that spring bobber is. The nice thing for me is the spring bobber isn’t removable or anything so a guy doesn’t have to worry about losing it.

Their panfish sweetheart rods are great too.

A lot of people like the tuned up rods and part of me thinks its just because the IDO guys use them… In my opinion if you stand back and look at the actions of those noodle rods (precision noodle, etc.) they don’t make a lot of sense to me. You’ve got a very stout shaft that immediately turns into a spring bobber… convert that into an open water rod and no one would use it. Everything we’ve been taught or have discovered about rod actions and the use of parabolic actions in rods has helped hook up/landing ratios skyrocket in recent years. There is almost no give to those rods once you hook up, you’re fighting it with the blank of the rod with no help from the tip. I understand that they are not supposed to be open water rods, but the basic principle is the same.

The only tuned up rod I’ve ever had was a noodle rod, and the few times I used it I lost 90% of the fish I hooked on it. I’d pick up the Thorne bros rods and land every crappie that bit after that. After two trips of that I put it back in my rod bag and never used it again.

A little long winded, but that’s my 2 cents on the panfish/perch side of things. I think the bottom line is before you buy a custom stick from anyone I’d recommend trying them out first. If you’ve got a buddy that’s got a tuned up/thorne bros stick Im sure he’d let you try it out and see how it feels.

Also, to answer that question I prefer the Thorne bros panfish sweetheart. The tripwire spring bobbers are amazing too if you like spring bobber fishing!

Rod is sold!

I honestly just don’t understand the actions of those rods, its basically a super stiff shaft that transitions into a spring bobber-like tip with almost no middle ground. A lot of people love them, and that’s great for them, I just believe Thorne bros rods are much better built and more well thought out rods than Tuned up in my opinion. Parabolic action, enough backbone to stick a deep fish but its got the taper to cushion hooksets when you need it.

We’d never fish with an open water rod with that type of action, so whats the sense in using it through the ice?

That being said, like I mentioned above a lot of people love them so they obviously work for some folks. Just not me!

Tony

Pending sale to prestonc!

$75! Send me a DM if you’d like, we can exchange info.

Weird, people keeping lots of walleyes? Jeez I thought the bass were eating them all.

Just because keeping limits of fish – any kind of fish – (and large ones, such as the video above) is legal doesn’t make it ethical or a good idea. Humans are the problem in our fisheries, big or small. Plain and simple.

I’ve been thinking of hitting that, would you care to share what lake of the chain you were on? A friend of mine has been catching nice gills on prairie. I love that body of water in the summer, never fished it through the ice.

Rice Lake is FULL of panfish.. but getting bigger (7-8″ gills & 10+” crappies) fish can be difficult if you dont stay on the move. The entire south end – right off of Veterans boat landing all the way to the Narrows bridge – can be phenomenal for numbers/mixed size. Also the north end by the Bungalow resteraunt/bar always holds panfish, im sure there are shacks out there by now.

As said, the Chain can be great too. Bear lake can be great too, but that can be a tough lake if you dont know it well.

Also any bait shop will point you in the right direction!