Quality ice rod

[fordtruckin]

So I’m starting to get into ice fishing. I’ve been using my father in laws gear and am ready to step up into my own gear. I’ve been looking at relatively inexpensive rod combos and have it down to 2. Does anyone have any experience with the Fennwick Nighthawk Ice in medium light or the Abu Garcia Veritas Ice in medium? They are both the same price. I like the rod better on the fennwick but the reel on the Abu. I like the higher return ratio on the Abu. My local lake is mainly rainbows and browns but the possibility for some perch and pike if I go to a couple others near by(just hammerhandles no real hogs). Thanks for the help!

[Jawjacker]

I have both , and like both very much. It'll come down to personal preference. I take both with me and fish with both combos. Either one you pick you wont be disappointed . Here is a pic of my Abu in action .
https://i.imgur.com/tPlFXl4.jpg

[Bhflyfisher]

im really liking my st croix mojo. I have a ML, M, MH (Baitcaster). I've been very happy with all of them.

sorry, didnt see you were price conscious..... disregard unless you want to treat yourself.

[Jawjacker]

im really liking my st croix mojo. I have a ML, M, MH (Baitcaster). I've been very happy with all of them.

sorry, didnt see you were price conscious..... disregard unless you want to treat yourself.

Bhflyfisher I have been looking at the St Croix 24 inch medium in the spinning ice . They look like an awesome rod. My high end ice rod is an old G-Loomis .
You would be surprised how well the Fenwick and Abu perform. Both are real sensitive and have good back bone.

[PlayDoh]

IMO the reel is more important than the rod. Either Rod will do fine for sure. I grabbed a Cabela’s Tourney combo a couple weeks ago, and very impressed with the reel. 3 bearings which you won’t find on most $40-$50 combos.
I got an ultra light rod (noodle), but put the reel on my goto rod. Most of my ice rods are Quantum’s and they work fine for Walleye and pike. Depending on the size of trout, you might want something lighter than ML, yet that also depends on depth and such, as well as preference.
Fish don’t smash lures as much in winter, so waiting to set the hook and using a lighter rod can sometimes be a better tactic, IMO.

[HuyFishin]

all pflueger and abu reels are on sale at cabelas right now. Good time to buy a quality reel!

https://www.cabelas.ca/search?q=pflueger

https://www.cabelas.ca/search?q=abu%20garcia&category2=Rods%20%26%20Reels&category3=Reels

[SamSteele]

I have a Veritas UL that I use for perch fishing. It’s a decent rig. Not a lot of backbone in the UL so it bends deep into the blank, pretty much right down to the handle. I have used it for small rainbows and it does okay but isn’t really the right weight for anything much bigger than 14”.

[fordtruckin]

im really liking my st croix mojo. I have a ML, M, MH (Baitcaster). I've been very happy with all of them.

sorry, didnt see you were price conscious..... disregard unless you want to treat yourself.

Haha I felt one of the two rods I mentioned was treating myself compared to what I have been using. In reality I don’t ice fish enough to justify a st croix. I just don’t want to get the Walmart special that falls apart after the first few uses.

[HuyFishin]

i have the veritas, fenwick elitetech and st croix mojo's and st croix premiers.
if i was to rate it the fenwick rods are better then the veritas.

all good rods, like mentioned above ^^ the reels are much more important

what bothers me with all these rod manufacturers is i feel its all geared for fishing in a shack or tent. The guides are small on all of them and ice build up sucks on all of them

[Okotok]

I like my Garcia baitcasting reels for icefishing for pike, lake trout and walleye.

[old dog]

Love the st croix rods. I have them in 36 inch in LM M MH. Great backbone and sensitive

[Kim473]

Love my Fenwick light. Gotta get me Pflueger reel for it.

[Walleyedude]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Shimano jumped back into the ice fishing market for the first time in a long time. There was a bunch of their stuff at Cabelas. They've got their Convergence and Sienna rod lines in all the common lengths/powers and just as important, or maybe more important, they brought back Sahara 500 as a premium ice fishing reel and the Sienna 500 as well. The Sienna rod/reel lines were available as combos.

Might be worth checking out if you're a Shimano guy like me.

[Bbkkcc]

I also appreciate the info thank you. New hobby

[HuyFishin]

I have both , and like both very much. It'll come down to personal preference. I take both with me and fish with both combos. Either one you pick you wont be disappointed . Here is a pic of my Abu in action .


Forget the rods... what i want to know is where that fatty was cought haha:sHa_shakeshout:

[pinelakeperch]

Forget the rods... what i want to know is where that fatty was cought haha:sHa_shakeshout:

No kidding! It looks like one of those big frozen tilapia from Superstore, lol. Great perch.

[PlayDoh]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Shimano jumped back into the ice fishing market for the first time in a long time. There was a bunch of their stuff at Cabelas. They've got their Convergence and Sienna rod lines in all the common lengths/powers and just as important, or maybe more important, they brought back Sahara 500 as a premium ice fishing reel and the Sienna 500 as well. The Sienna rod/reel lines were available as combos.

Might be worth checking out if you're a Shimano guy like me.



I was a Shimano guy, until my Lifetime warrantied Clarus claim ordeal. I was told I could send it in at the tune of $40 and they might honor it, or blame me and then I’d need to pay $60 for a replacement. Or use their ‘worm out’ plan and just pay $60 and get a replacement right away with a return postage label to toss my broken rod in and mail it.
$20 wasn’t worth the risk or the extra month wait, so I just paid the $60 for the ‘Express’ plan. Took them almost 3 months to get me the rod, that I had to go to the city and pick it up at a budget freight company’s location. I’m certain it would have taken forever if I didn’t follow up and learn that they had essentially forgotten about me.
After all that waiting, when a couple weeks after I paid, Cabela’s put the same rods on sale for $60, SMH. I wrote Shimano explaining the whole ordeal, and got nothing in response.
I went with a Fenwick which is a better rod in the same price range. And TFH deals with warranty in store, just like my Clarus was supposed to be.
While they didn’t really screw me, I can’t whiz on their name, and I do like their rods. Yet when a company sells you a product with a lifetime warranty, then backs out of it essentially, they’ll lose my business. Not like I’m a big spender really, but there’s lots of sour stories about their warranty claims. In a lifetime of rods, only twice have I had them break without being stepped on or something. A Sage fly rod, replaced no questions in 2 weeks. And a Shimano for 3/4’s full price and 3 months.
Win some, lose some I suppose.

[pinelakeperch]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Shimano jumped back into the ice fishing market for the first time in a long time. There was a bunch of their stuff at Cabelas. They've got their Convergence and Sienna rod lines in all the common lengths/powers and just as important, or maybe more important, they brought back Sahara 500 as a premium ice fishing reel and the Sienna 500 as well. The Sienna rod/reel lines were available as combos.

Might be worth checking out if you're a Shimano guy like me.

I bought a used Sienna 500 about 5 years ago and it has been flawless.

[Dwwc]

The fenwick nighthawks are nice, loved using mine until earlier today i mustve got it snagged pulling it out of the truck and the tip snapped off. :sign0161:

I would definitely buy another.

[RavYak]

I don't like ice fishing rod combos. The rods are mediocre and almost all the reels are junk.

I use my summer reels and put them on a nice ice rod, you will have a much better setup this way. 1000 size Shimano works best for trout and balancing an ice rod but 2500 will work if that is the smallest you have. Or buy a decent 1000 size and you can use it for trout etc in the summer too.

For rods I like the Fenwick Elite Techs. The St. Croix Mojo ones are good too. Haven't looked at the new Shimano Convergence but its in that good price range too. There are the odd decent cheaper ice rod, you just have to go play with them to see how they feel in comparison to the better rods.

[dutchpirate]

I'm loving my Ugly Stik GX2s. For the price they've been very reliable and versatile.

[Jawjacker]

Forget the rods... what i want to know is where that fatty was cought haha:sHa_shakeshout:

LOL . That Slab was caught at Slave lake :)

[Jawjacker]

No kidding! It looks like one of those big frozen tilapia from Superstore, lol. Great perch.
Thanks pinelakeperch .Slave Lake :)