I had a good question the other day, and to better explain it to the author of the question, I think it will be simpler to just create a new blog topic.
Question is, “What length of rod is preferred for icing walleyes?”
Its a great question, and there really are two schools of thought to be considered while answering the question. My question back to anyone who wants to start ice fishing for walleyes is this, are you going to be fishing inside a shanty or out in the open.
The old school of thought was that longer was better, and it still holds true for those who are on a mission to stay on top of wide ranging walleyes. I have several rods that range from 36 inches to about 42 inches. Each has a different action that will accommodate different styles of lures.
Inside rods range from 24 to 30 inches. St. Croix makes some excellent choices in their Premier line-up with a 24″ medium action, to 28″ medium lights and mediums. These are supplemented with some older 26″ Genz Lightning Rods that were made by Berkley years ago, and a couple of 30″ Ugly Ice, Ugly Stiks in medium action. These I use as bobber rods because the glass really is a bit slow (action) for my personal preferences.
32 inch models are what I call “tweeners”. Short enough for most fish houses, and long enough to get the leverage out in the open. I have some older St Croix Avids in medium and heavy action for this category, but St Croix has continued the lengths and actions in the Premier series.
Several other companies will makes models that will fit into these two main categories, although you need to feel the rods first before making a decision. One problem anglers who fish the big lakes and their bays like Little Bay de Noc, Saginaw Bay, and down here out on Erie is that some companies don’t see the “big” picture. Their line-up of ice rods are designed around their own local areas, and the experts they have for input into design, really do not fit big water fishing, but rather smaller inland lakes where they fish.
Look for fast actions, that will ensure a hookset in deep water. By deep I mean 17 foot and deeper. Whenever you purchase rods, have a plan and try to say this is going to be my light spoon rod, or heavy jigging rod for big swimmers.
As always, I will preach to anyone who will listen, buy the rod first, and then get a GOOD reel to fit the weight of the rod. My favorite reel is the now discontinued Daiwa Caprice 1000. But, I have found the Abu Garcia Cardinal 300 to be an excellent mid-priced small framed reel, and this year I picked up three more Cardinals in the 301 size. They make an excellent fit for the 32″ rods. Several folks who I trust in their knowledge say that the Tica Cetus in the 50 buck range also is an excellent reel. Also, over the years, its been hard to find a better reel than the Daiwa Whisker SS 700 for anglers fishing outside and hole hopping.