I think you have to read what the fish is doing. What the bobber is doing tells me a lot about how aggressive the fish is. If is goes down and pulled under the ice immediately and keeps running, i feel pretty comfortable taking the fish early. If the fish takes his time, i take my time. My general rule of thumb is a ten count and then adjust accordingly.

I use a 32″ St. Croix Mojo in a Medium. seems to work well and i like the handle on it quite a bit.