20lb braid for me and I have been using a Daiwa Fuego 2500 for a few years.
I feel anything over that would be overkill for braid.

I do a flouro leader about 3-4 feet 10/12lbs. I really like that setup.

Cyclone41 wrote:

Ordered 2 new custom rods. Excited for them to show up and use them this winter!

Awesome!

MX1825 wrote:

Whew! John I’m glad I live too far away, it could expensive!

It’s a nice drive!

When sanding the blanks make sure to wet sand them and keep it cool.

I have sanded a lot of blanks over the years, best way to have the rod turn our perfect is to wet sand it on a lathe.

I really like REC guides but, prep the guides to make the thread easy to wrap.

John

Fargo I have heard that rumor as well. Nothing is posted on their site for 2023.

Fargo Scheels show is on, which is just before that.

I really like mine to be extended completely and I personally use a 40″ rod.
Seems to be the best balance for what I do.

Vulcan with an 8″ handle is my go to.

John

I put them in a box now up on the shop shelves. Storing them upright with no line or tension on the rod.

I have stored them in otter boxes the old style for a few years as well.
As long as the rod does not have a load it is okay.

John

Deadsticks work great up there too. I have had better luck with deadstick rods during this time of year.

Also one bait that works well for me is Rippin Raps. Especially tough days.

I think I have one at the shop in a 36 cork full grip.
John

Yes there are!
We have them at the shop. Some you end up losing a washer though. They are much thinner felt washers.

I think the biggest thing is to have the drag washers upgraded.

I personally use an older Stradic for ice fishing for lakers. It is already broken in and the last time I cleaned it I swapped all the grease for low temp grease.

Diawa Fuego would be my number 1 recommendation for this for a new reel. They hold up really well in cold.

John

Rodwork wrote:

^ just an FYI, TUCR has went to a heaver dead stick designed then what is shown in the video that Dan shared.

No we actually lightened up the rod blank a little. Revised it making it slower and more like the original deadstick we used to offer. We also increased the backbone at the same time. It helps get a solid hookset, also preventing tear out of hooks.

I think it works very well and paired with a baitfeeder it really shines.

John

Hmm might have to release some info early.

John

fishthumper wrote:

I have been a Big Fan of TUCR for many years. I think i own 3 or 4 of their rods. I have not looked into Elliot rods but sounds like I may have to. If you are looking to add another rod down the road I’d look at the JT panhandler rod with the spring bobber built in. Of all the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish rods I own I find that one in my hand about 80% of the time. I know others here who will disagree but I truly believe there are bites you will only see with the spring bobber that you will miss on a noodle rod. There are days that the <em class=”ido-tag-em”>panfish bite is just that light. There was a day I would not have believed it either but after being out fish probably 5-1 when my partner was using a spring bobber and I was using my TUC noodle rod I had to try one myself. Have not looked back. I still love to fish my TUC noodle rod when the bite is real good and they are biting well but on days when the bite turns real light and tough you will find the JT panhandler rod in my hands most of the time. I really wish that TUC would decide to build a panfish rod with a built in spring bobber. I think they are really missing out on lots of sales without one in their lineup.

I used a MX7 last year and loved it. I went without a shuttle model to make it a little bit more compact.

It fished like my LX7 but had GPS. Now I only use GPS to mark spots while fishing I did not do any mapping with it.

I bet have one at the shop for sure. If you are ever in the area.

Alps Y Guides. They are sweet. I really like them.

Message sent maybe I can help out!

Yeah I honestly think it going to get ugly soon. Those landings turn quickly for sure. I was up in Brainerd last night checking a late ice lake and it already had standing water at the launch.

Is that because of salt you think? That drop shakes all the loose snow boogers off and then just sits there?

We are working around the same lead time 4-5 weeks. It does go down at the end of the season and we try to work work people as much as we can to make due dates.

As for working on the weekends. I answer a lot of emails on the weekends especially this the time of year!

Thank you for your support of us!

John

Dean Marshall wrote:

Different terminology and how you perceive that information……

Accepting orders has not changed but time frame has….. Typically ordering a boat now would get you in to the opener time frame….
For many many reasons it would be extremely rare for that to happen this year unless in was a previous ordered dealer stock boat already in que…

This is not specific to any one brand or industry andmore common than most folks realize….

Can anyone answer , “what is normal” today ???????

Nothing is normal……

C20 works really well too!

Otherwise a QZ750 Daiwa is legit too.

Netguy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
not to mention upgrading the drag washer,

mahtofire14 what is the washer you upgrade to?

Put a carbontex washer in it. The felt washers are more prone to getting water in them and they have grease that freezes in them.

I really like long rods just because I use floats crappie fishing quite a bit and also I do use hair jigs. Tossing a hair jig with a longer rod I feel is much easier than a short rod.

I use a 7’2″ Apex Elite with a Diawa 750 reel and 4lb hi viz line.

I think normally in previous years it was pretty good. This year I have to think it is partially due to Covid. I know they are trying in customer service there.

These shutdowns and regulations have been really tough on businesses.

I run a Pursuit and have been very happy with it. I really like it for portability.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Seems to me it would make good business sense to take all of the Cabelas brand and go 100% back mail order with what they sell. (Like they were before opening any store fronts here in Mn) Return the focus to quality outfitter goods. No store front needed. Let BPS brand the stores.

Can’t think of a better time to make that kind of move.

Always did like getting the Master Catalog each spring. Good stuff!

-J.

I loved those days. There was nothing better than the Cabela’s master catalog as a kid. I would study those pages and colors. Fill out the little order sheet in the middle. Then you had to wait for what seemed like 3 months for your lures to show up. (more like 10 days but hey I was 10).

I always dreamed of having my products in Cabela’s as it was like being in a Burger Bros store. I still can smell that store in Roseville.

Michigan Rummy! Love that game!

That is a bummer mine rides in a Lithium shuttle all year long.

Did it break being strapped to that handle? Or did it slip out? More of curious than anything else.

John

So far I have really liked mine. I liked the LX7 user interface and this is pretty much the same. GPS so far seems to have worked very well and find spots easy.

You will need a map card though. The base maps are poor at best.

I like the non shuttle one it is in a nice case and is more compact than anything else.

Chad,

I can honestly say I wash mine frequently. I run them in cold water with a double rinse.

I do not dry them though.

But I have no issues with washing them.

This is awesome!

I laughed out loud.