I don’t know anything about JT’s stuff, but the Thorne bros panfish sweetheart is pretty close, a little bit quicker action and a hair lighter at the tip.

Thorne bros deadstick

Otter hard case is working ok for me, still have to fold spinning reel handles but free falls fit. Just have to turn the handle so that the knobs fit down in the dips in the foam.

One idea I saw recently, is getting an AR-15 hard case that has the pluck it style foam. Appeared to be deep enough to not have to even fold spinning reel handles.

Both TUCR and DH customs make great noodle rods. Thorne bros, while they make great rods, I have multiple, their power noodle is not as nice as the noodle offerings from the other two. In my personal opinion, the lightness of tips starting from lightest goes…TUCR precision noodle, DH al dente, TUCR bullwhip. With the DH being closer to the precision noodle than the bullwhip. There is another option that is a bit of an outlier and I don’t know many that even know about it or have tried it…that’s the DH pannie drop’r, it is the al dente blank with the top couple inches cut off and in place of it it a very light titanium spring. I have one and absolutely love it, have mostly had a 1/32oz vmc tungsten fly tied on it since I bought it. If you tend to mostly fish 1/32oz and lighter stuff then I would recommend the precision noodle or pannie drop’r. If you sometimes fish 1/16oz stuff but mostly around 1/32 then I’d go with the al dente.

Unless the video I saw recently had some trickery going on…you can bolt the k-drill to a strikemaster powerhead without an adapter. Supposedly push the foam float down and it reveals a bolt holding the factory drill adapter in, remove that, and the bit supposedly will mount right to the stock powerhead shaft. Anyone able to confirm or deny that?

Also, noticed James on this weekends IDO episode, using what appeared to be the new strikemaster lite flight auger bit on the 40v head.

Update: for anyone that may have been following this…

I found the time to stop into TUCR, was able to talk to John and Ken and brought my Thorne bros rods to compare in person at the store. Obviously just comparing in store can only tell you so much. But for what it’s worth…here’s what we were able to figure out.

Tucr Precision noodle- lighter feeling tip than the Thorne bros power noodle and also has a quicker and nicer overall action in my opinion.

Tucr Bullwhip- no real fair comparison, feels great in the hand.

Tucr Fusion- lighter tip then I expected, it falls right in between the Thorne bros quiverstick and panfish sweetheart with a bit slower action. It definitely feels good in the hand.

Tucr Quicktip- hard to compare with how fast it’s action is, but the tip feels just a touch lighter than the Thorne bros panfish sweetheart with a much much faster action and stronger feeling backbone…but that could feel that way mainly due to the extra fast action. Feels awesome in the hand and with what I currently have, John recommended it as it fits into the area I was looking to add to and it’s the most different rod they offer compared to what I have.

Update: got the transmission disassembled, and sure enough, the clutch spring was broken. I’ll run over to D-rock tomorrow and pick up a new spring from them.

Gilgetter wrote:

Looking for opinions, I am looking for a rod an all around light action rod for jigging panfish/perch/small walleye spoons and jigging raps. I am on the fence between the TUCR fusion and the DH perch pounder. Anybody have any info to help with the decision?

If you go through my recent thread titled “dh and tuned up custom vs Thorne bros rods” you may find some helpful information.

I can say that in terms of custom order wait times…tucr probably has DH beat unless DH happens to not be too busy.

Handles-they both offer cork handles…a few different sizes from DH. Tucr offers the Eva foam handles, both make split grip handles. The one outlier in handles is DH with his abs plastic 3D printed handles in multiple sizes and a few designs you won’t see elsewhere.

I haven’t looked at the perch pounder from DH, but I have recently looked at the fusion and quicktip from tucr. The fusion has a pretty light tip, sits right between the Thorne bros quiverstick and panfish sweetheart. Difference being a bit different action and backbone. I’ve seen some compare the perch pounder to the perch sweetheart from Thorne bros…so knowing that I would guess that it’s got a stiffer tip then the fusion.

I would also suggest looking at the quicktip from tucr unless you are set on a slower action rod.

Jake wrote:

If the bit is spinning at idle and its idling normally. Most likely a broken clutch spring. I just replaced mine yesterday for that reason. Same exact auger. $20 spring at the local small engine place and 1.5 beer job.

Yea I did a bit of research and it sounds like a relatively common problem. Only outlier in my experience compared to others is they say that their auger stays “in gear” so to speak. As in the clutch stays engaged, if the clutch is engaged then you shouldn’t be able to turn the shaft by hand when the auger isn’t running. Unless the gear ratio in the transmission is allowing me to turn the shaft and the engines rotating assembly without much resistance.

I’ll take a look at it again tomorrow if I can, maybe take the transmission apart and have a look at the clutch assembly. Already checked with local shop, they’d have to order the right spring. So if that’s the issue…I’ll have to wait till Friday when I’ll have time to go to D-rock or H2 Outfitters and get the spring from them.

Bass Thumb wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brett Ford wrote:</div>
For grease look for NLGI grade #00, #0 or #1…anything higher like superlube at NLGI #2 can become too thick at cold temperatures. A good gun grease may work as well. Oil wise most decent oils will do fine including gun oils.

I’m with you on using gun products. Before going with TSI 321 about 4 years ago, I was using Remington Gun Oil for years. It worked fine, but my ceramic baitcaster bearings were drying out too quickly and squealing. Low viscosity is good oftentimes, but RemOil is too low if you’re not going to obsessively oil your reels like many do with guns.

That’s kinda interesting about the SuperLube. I’ve never noticed any slow-down from the grease thickening. My winter reels get cold, too. I also do double-duty and take some of my summer reels on the ice, and the summer reels all have SuperLube.

I often times clean the grease from the gears of brand new reels and reapply a super thin coats, so thin that if I didn’t brush it on myself, I might not even know it was there. I use a craft brush about 1/3″ wide. It goes on clear and comes off clear, something that not all greases will do, notably HotSauce, which would turn black with residue and breakdown.

My reels seem to last forever. Some of my bassin reels are from 2008, when I first upgraded to high-end stuff. They still run as good or better than new.

Bottomline is that none of these oils and greases are magic. Just pick a good one and stick with it. I’ve heard of chemical reactions when some oils mix that make them gummy.

Do you happen to know what grade grease is put into stock reels?

Remington gun oil or “RemOil” as it’s called…isn’t a good choice for reels. RemOil is a type of drying oil, so when applied it will dry over time. That’s why your bearings where causing issues…it dried and the bearings no longer had sufficient lubrication.

You may not have too much of an issue with superlube since part of it’s base/additive package is PTFE (Teflon). That may change it enough to lessen the issues you could see at cold temps. My main point in mentioning superlube was just that it is NLGI grade #2 so it’s already a little thick, so cold temperatures just make it thicker. But not every NLGI #2 grease is created equal…some will handle cold temperatures better, therefore not get as thick as quickly as others may. For example a basic pure lithium grease at grade #2 shouldn’t handle cold temperatures as well as say amsoil synthetic multipurpose grease should.

No I do not, I would guess grade #1 or #2 but I can’t say for sure…I just know that it’s obvious that most of them aren’t using a grease that is formulated to try and hold is grade of consistency at cold temperatures.

For grease look for NLGI grade #00, #0 or #1…anything higher like superlube at NLGI #2 can become too thick at cold temperatures. A good gun grease may work as well. Oil wise most decent oils will do fine including gun oils.

______________ wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brett Ford wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Gilgetter wrote:</div>
I think all three stores are right in the metro area.

Yes they are…Dh Custom Rods-Wayzata, Thorne Bros-Blaine and Tuned Up Custom Rods-Coon Rapids

DH is located in Navarre.

Address is for Wayzata…3445 shoreline dr Wayzata, MN 55391

It’s not like the two cities are multiple towns away from each other.

Gilgetter wrote:

I think all three stores are right in the metro area.

Yes they are…Dh Custom Rods-Wayzata, Thorne Bros-Blaine and Tuned Up Custom Rods-Coon Rapids

404 ERROR wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brett Ford wrote:</div>
Can you make any comparisons of the gill seeker to any TB or TUCR rods?

Soft tip, incredible backbone. The painted tip of the DH is really nice. To be completely honest with you, I have a 26″ Thorne rod that I THINK is a Quiverstick, but I’m not sure. I bought the rod so long ago that I forgot what it is and they don’t label them…It’s pretty comparable with just a touch more back to it.

I do not own any <em class=”ido-tag-em”>panfish TUCR rods, can’t compare.

I labeled all my TB rods for that reason haha. The quiverstick has a pretty thin tip section (thinnest I’ve seen on any carbon blank) and is a fast action, same backbone as the panfish sweetheart…just with a sanded down/lighter tip and quicker action.

404 ERROR wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brett Ford wrote:</div>
Anyone used the DH gill seeker?

Yep, great rods. You can get 26″ variant for $50 on Amazon as a baitrunner. Not “custom”, but a very affordable high quality rod.

Can you make any comparisons of the gill seeker to any TB or TUCR rods?

Dusty Gesinger wrote:

Love my gill seekers! Just got a panfish Sweetheart, seems similar.

Do the blanks for the panfish sweetheart and gill seeker seem to be the same blank thickness and action?

Anyone used the DH gill seeker?

Blake Jablonski wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dan Baker wrote:</div>
I haven’t used Thorne Bros or DH, but from reading the descriptions on the the Thorne page this is my best estimate.
Powernoodle ~ Bullwhip
Quiverstick ~ Fusion
<strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>Panfish Sweetheart ~ Quick Tip, though the Quick Tip seems to have a faster tip
<em class=”ido-tag-em”>Perch Sweetheart ~ Precision
<em class=”ido-tag-em”>Walleye Sweetheart ~ Power Precision
<em class=”ido-tag-em”>Walleye Sweetheart Medium-Heavy ~ Commander
I haven’t gone through the DH site for descriptions. From all I have heard, Thorne makes a great stick. I am a Tuned Up Guy so of course I believe our rods are the best. I would recommend getting your hands on all of the products and see what feels best to you.
Dan

I own almost all of these. The precision fishes a bit lighter than the perch sweetheart. The walleye Sweetheart Med-Heavy fishes quite a bit heavier than the Commander… much better suited for larger lipless cranks, jiggin raps, and more backbone.

What do you think of the quicktip compared to any Thorne bros rods?

onepine wrote:

I’ve had DH Custom ALdentes which at the time I purchased them they were one of the only customs available in the price range I could afford. Also still have a DH Custom Perch Pounder which is a nice light action carbon rod. I sold the Aldentes and will probably sell the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>Perch Pounder. I didn’t like their handles which to me are really small. I like to put rods in a holder when I am not attending them and the DH handles were just to short for that. I stated building my own rods then I can get them to where I like them length, handles, guides, no hook keepers and placement of everything. I have a JT Outdoors pan fish snare which I really like and may keep for a while until I can find a blank with a similar action and then I will build one of those. I like reel seats on my rods and really have gotten to dislike the bands and tape. You have a nice collection for rods from Thorne Brothers and they will be close to all the other Custom rod makers with small differences in action and such. It will come down to customer service and location if you want to touch one before purchasing it.

The differences in action and overall fish ability is the reason for this post. I’m not concerned with customer service as I’ve heard nothing but good things about tucr and have had no issues with Dusty at DH or with any of my shopping at Thorne bros including a number of summer and ice rods from them. Lonnie and the guys do a great job, I’m just simply looking for other rods that may fish a little differently than anything in the Thorne bros lineup. Then I can decide wether any of them may or may not fish better for me with certain techniques or in general.

Westley wrote:

Thanks everyone. I tried cracking the cap like James recommended and it worked flawlessly. I removed the cap and looked none of the houses were kinked the canister looks fine but I’ll look at it more closely this week. I only needed to drill 6 holes this weekend so it wasn’t a big deal.

Can someone take a picture, or post a link of the o-ring part that can be replaced. I’m not sure mine has 1.

Attached a pic of the grommet that holds both the fuel pickup line and the vent line. The vent line can be clogged or as I mentioned, if you fill the tank too high, the fuel will block the road fill the portion of the vent hose inside of the tank.

Attachments:

1. 

   97C63607-6AEB-424C-A4C9-7DA1294F30AD.jpeg
   

Bearcat89 wrote:

Do yourself a favor and go to Thorne Brothers in Blaine talk to the guys there they are awesome to deal with super nice people very knowledgeable, warranty is never once been an issue for me and they’ll point you in the right direction no matter what you’re looking for

Been there countless times, live in the area, those that have worked there awhile recognize me.

PikeFishman wrote:

I have owned or used a good number of rods from all 3. They all have great rods and it comes down to personal preference. The TB rods seem (to me at least) to have a bit faster action when looking at the Sweetheart line (perch/walleye) versuses the others. Strangely I think the DH al Dente is the oat sensitive “feel” rod I have ever used which seems contrary to the idea of carbon vs. fiberglass, have to hold it to believe it. Tripwire is hands down (once again my opinion) the best rod for the ultra finicky <em class=”ido-tag-em”>panfish bite. One thing that I wish TUCR did was add one more guide to their rods. Where DH and TB will typically have 5 guides on a 28-30” or so rod, TUCR only has 4. The weight difference is negligible and it’s my personal preference as I feel the line tracks a bit better with more guides.

To fill the gap in your arsenal I would say go for a deadstick (TB is my favorite) and a tripwire style rod either from TB or DH. The TUCR Commander would also be an awesome rod as well and is the best action of all the walleye rods in my view.

Thank you, I did not know that tucr only uses 4 guides.

I don’t have much use for a deadstick, not my style of fishing. I already have a dh pannie drop’r also so I don’t feel the need for a tripwire/pantom type rod.

404 ERROR wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brett Ford wrote:</div>

How would you compare with perch sweetheart to the precision? What difference do you see between them?

Not much difference at all, to be completely honest…the precision handles bigger baits a tiny bit better.

Alright thanks, that helps me get a bit better idea of where those two companies lines of rods sit against each other.

404 ERROR wrote:

I’ve got multiples from all three and I prefer the DH Al Dente, Light Tripwire and Precision. All three different applications but I feel those 3 rods are all I need. The perch sweetheart is a really nice rod, but I like the precision more. Now I just wish TUCR would offer their rods without recoils…

How would you compare with perch sweetheart to the precision? What difference do you see between them?

Sounds similar to the issue I have had with my 3hp solo. Make sure to not fill the gas tank up to or above where the vent hose comes into the tank. On mine the portion of hose inside the tank is probably too short so filling the tank up to it can block the vent hose.

catmando wrote:

I have rods from all 3 that you mentioned when the bite is really tough, I pick up my T.B, Tripwire.

Which rods do you have?

Thanks for the replies so far everyone. I’ll note that I am not looking for who is better, I know all 3 make great rods. I’m just looking to add to what I already have without getting something exactly like a rod I already have. So I’m hoping for a few people that have used or own multiple of each companies rods and can provide insight on how one fishes vs the other. I already know the bullwhip from tucr and the pannie drop’r from DH are currently in their own little niche as well. Own a pannie drop’r already just didn’t mention it.