08-28-2013, 12:36 PM
[quote flyfish_88]anyways so far the least expensive combos i hvae found have been around $20. anybody have a preference in brand in these less expensive combos?[/quote]
My absolute hands down favorite ice rod that I currently own is a Shakespeare Cajun Ice rod (I have 2 of them). Sorry, but I don't remember the exact action and length and I won't likely have time to dig them out and check for about a month. The reels were pretty crappy, but the rod is very sensitive on the tip and has enough backbone to pull in a 5-6 lber if you have a good reel on it. Consequently, those 2 rods have some of my better reels on them. I'm pretty sure that you can't get them any more, but I know I paid less than $20 for them.
The last one I bought that I like really well are these: [url "http://www.fishusa.com/Product/HT-Enterprises-Ice-Blue-Pro-Ice-Fishing-Rods"]http://www.fishusa.com/Product/HT-Enterprises-Ice-Blue-Pro-Ice-Fishing-Rods[/url]. I believe I have either the light, or the ultra light model, but mine are a bit lighter than I'd like, so I'm fairly confident that the medium will work great. The red tip gives great sensitivity but the medium action will give enough backbone to pull up the bigun's. These are pretty in-expensive too. Then get some ~$20 UL reels and you'd be in pretty good shape. Even better if you could swing a $30 reel for each. If I was going for $30, I'd get the Shimano Sienna I mentioned earlier. If I was going $20, I think I'd try these: [url "http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Shimano-AXULSA-Ultra-Light-Spinning-Reels"]http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Shimano-AXULSA-Ultra-Light-Spinning-Reels[/url], but I admit that I don't have any. The ones I have that I paid about $20 for are Shakespear Prius (not sure they still make it). They are okay, but the extra $10 gets a lot nicer reel in the Sienna.
[signature]
My absolute hands down favorite ice rod that I currently own is a Shakespeare Cajun Ice rod (I have 2 of them). Sorry, but I don't remember the exact action and length and I won't likely have time to dig them out and check for about a month. The reels were pretty crappy, but the rod is very sensitive on the tip and has enough backbone to pull in a 5-6 lber if you have a good reel on it. Consequently, those 2 rods have some of my better reels on them. I'm pretty sure that you can't get them any more, but I know I paid less than $20 for them.
The last one I bought that I like really well are these: [url "http://www.fishusa.com/Product/HT-Enterprises-Ice-Blue-Pro-Ice-Fishing-Rods"]http://www.fishusa.com/Product/HT-Enterprises-Ice-Blue-Pro-Ice-Fishing-Rods[/url]. I believe I have either the light, or the ultra light model, but mine are a bit lighter than I'd like, so I'm fairly confident that the medium will work great. The red tip gives great sensitivity but the medium action will give enough backbone to pull up the bigun's. These are pretty in-expensive too. Then get some ~$20 UL reels and you'd be in pretty good shape. Even better if you could swing a $30 reel for each. If I was going for $30, I'd get the Shimano Sienna I mentioned earlier. If I was going $20, I think I'd try these: [url "http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Shimano-AXULSA-Ultra-Light-Spinning-Reels"]http://www.fishusa.com/Product/Shimano-AXULSA-Ultra-Light-Spinning-Reels[/url], but I admit that I don't have any. The ones I have that I paid about $20 for are Shakespear Prius (not sure they still make it). They are okay, but the extra $10 gets a lot nicer reel in the Sienna.
[signature]