I have never ice fished but am a bit curious about the rods. Fiberglass? I see other types but it seems the almost unbreakable fiberglass noodle would be best. Especially under the demanding conditions. I see 20-40" sizes too. Why would the length be an issue?
Teach me what you know.
Here's my personal take on it.
It's cold and it's done on ice in the winter! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
When you're fishing through a 12" diameter hole in the ice a long rod is a disadvantage - no one is casting anything - so the shorter the better depending upon how far away from the hole you want to be sitting. My experience with ice rods is the two I made for my brother-in-law and great-nephew. They were fiberglass, solid (the low temps make hollow blanks brittle, and they're so short even though they are solid they are still very light weight. The diameter was about 1/8" near the seat and there wasn't much of a taper (over 24" there can't be much). For hand protection in the cold I "flocked" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flocking_(texture)) the cork grips and reel seet. Also more info here (http://www.flockit.com/). I think that's all I know.
Sid
Depending on what your fishing for the bite can be very light. We fish primarily for trout and kokanee salmon and will use the smallest possible bobber that will float the bait. When you're looking for very small movement of the bobber you need to be pretty close to the hole to keep an eye on things.
Also, we generally try to use rods with oversize eyes as well - it helps prevent them from icing up to the point you can't bring line in.
But whatever you have will likely do. If I'm using my normal spinning rod I'll just berm up some snow and plant the rod near vertical next to the hole so I can react if something happens. It's easier to fish with the shorter rods - its easier to catch with a normal rod.
I've never fished walleye so I don't know much about what goes on there.
Perch aren't terribly technical.
Pike we'll use a bit heavier rod (or some sort of tip up contraption) - open bail so they can take line with no resistance. We used to joke that if you were pike fishing and you saw your bobber go under the ice you had to react quickly - immediately on noticing the bobber going under the ice get a sandwich out of the cooler, take a seat, and watch the line, wait for it to stop moving, then start moving again, then set the hook. As I recall pike will take the bait, move off a distance then turn the bait so they can swallow it.
Ling are just odd (we call them Ling Cod, but they are not the same as the ocean going critters of the same name. The mid-west guys call them eelpout I think) It's not technical either. Set a bunch of lines out right off the bottom and check them occasionally, generally night fishing. Good idea with them to have something on the rod from keeping it going down the hole through the ice.
ETA: re short rods - sometimes somebody will have a tent or ice hut to fish in - long rods don't work well indoors.
Check Jann's Netcraft for different blanks/kits.
Sid's philosophy is spot on. You're basically vertical jigging over a hole. Don't need a 6ft. rod. You're basically pulling the fish straight up and a mostly lethargic fish depending on the species. Different lengths are for more backbone. Shorter rods for perch and gills, longer rods for Pike and larger fish provide more backbone because the taper is greater. Other long rods are for hopping around to different holes you drill around an area.
As a Floridian, I was always interested in this form of fishing as it is so abstract for me. My idea of ice fishing is when you run out of beer and you switch to whiskey on the rocks. Perhaps someday I will have the opportunity to try it.
I've done a fair amount of ice fishing for trout on the alpine lakes of northeastern Nevada (yes, we get ice, too) so I'll tell you what works for me. We use fiberglass and graphite rods varying in length from 20-30 inches. My favorite is a 23" with oversize eyes. I also use the smallest spinning reels I can find. They are ideal for this purpose. Keep in mind that I rarely catch anything over 14 inches. As the others described, longer rods are awkward to use over a 6" hole.
About ice augers. Sid was talking about a 12 inch hole. That isn't needed where I fish. I've never caught a trout that was too big to pull through a 4-1/2" hole. I have a Nils 4-1/2" manual auger. It is made in Finland and worth the extra cost. The Finns know how to make augers. I can drill through 16" of ice in less than 30 seconds. Try that with a manual or power auger made in some other part of the world. I've used some 6" Chinese augers that took well over ten minutes to drill through the same ice. Yeah I know, drilling a 4-1/2" hole isn't the same as a 8"-12" hole. However, my friend's 8" Nils can also do it in the same 30 seconds.
BTW, This is my wife's favorite kind of fishing, as long as the temperature is above zero. Some of these photos were taken on Valentine's Day in 2012. It was my Valentine's gift to her.
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q523/rumbum01/P1010311.jpg)
Some tools of the trade.
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q523/rumbum01/P1010453_zps87280894.jpg)
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q523/rumbum01/P1010312-1.jpg)
According to my notes, only one of these trout was less than 12".
(http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q523/rumbum01/P1010315.jpg)
Looks like great fishing George. What lake is that?
Steve
Quote from: swill88 on July 03, 2017, 07:29:58 PM
Looks like great fishing George. What lake is that?
Steve
Eagle Valley Reservoir near Pioche, Nevada.