With the season about halfway over and some quality time spent on the ice, it's the perfect time
to examine some of the new products I have been using this winter. The price tag is no longer
hanging on the item, the "newness" has worn off, and it's broken in. Let's see how everything
stacked up.
Tackle
Maki Plastics: Most of this season I have been using more live bait, as that is what the bite has dictated; however, earlier in the year, there was a strong plastics bite for panfish and largemouth bass. Out of the Maki line of plastics I have been using this winter (Maki, Draggi, and Jamei), I have found the Maki to be the most productive and garnered the most bites. I have been very pleased with this plastic, especially in the glow white color. These baits have been an excellent addition to my plastics arsenal.
Clam Bomb Spoon: I cannot say enough good things about this lure. It gets down extremely quick and is dynamite on fast moving schools of fish. The 1/8th oz gold tiger and glow rainbow tiger spoons tipped with waxies or spikes have been stalwarts of mine this season for big bluegill, crappie, and bass.
I have also tinkered with removing the stock treble hook and replacing it with a single hook and have noticed a few more hook ups from that addition. This lure is an excellent option for roaming schools of perch, crappie, yellow bass, and bluegills.
Sportsmen's Direct 5mm Pro Series tungsten jigs: The larger version of this popular line of jigs offers the ability to get down quickly and the longer hook shank and hook size works great for rigging plastics. New colors with glow and UV finishes are also available this year!
Accessories
Ice Armor Medium Jig Box: It does a nice job of organizing jigs and satisfies folks who require their tackle to be neatly organized. I have found that over time this box, and various other manufacturer's boxes which use foam inserts, will have the heavier tungsten jigs fall out of place. This may not hold true to lighter lead jigs and especially not for flies though.
Lakco Jig Box: I found these at our local Mills Fleet Farm and thought I would try them out this winter. They are small, compact, and fit into a coat pocket or Napoleon pocket of your bibs quite well. While they don't offer the same organization as jig boxes with individual inserts, it has done a nice job of storing my tungsten jigs and they are with me at all times which comes in handy while hole hopping.
Sportsmen's Direct Mini 2x3 Bookworm: This is an excellent way to organize and keep your plastics and it's small enough to fit into a coat pocket and have with you at all times on the ice. Larger versions are available and would be great if portability was not a concern.
Clean Republic 12 volt 10ah LiFePo Battery and Bioenno 12 volt 9ah LiFePo Battery: With the introduction of lithium batteries hitting ice fishing consumers in the last couple of years, I thought I would try out the latest trend in powering options. There are various manufacturers of lithium batteries out there and I chose two of the more economical lithium iron phosphate batteries since my investment would not be that large if the product was not as advertised.
So far, I will say that the majority of the claims (weight reduction, longer cycle length, and quicker recharge time) are all true. Obviously half a season will not give you enough information to determine the longevity of these batteries; but thus far, they are meeting and exceeding my expectations. They have also worked flawlessly in air temps down to zero degrees for me this winter.
If you do decide to go this route, make certain that you also purchase a compatible charger for these lithium batteries. The 12 volt chargers for SLA batteries will not fully charge lithium batteries.
Rods
Thorne Bros Rods: What's not to good say about these rods (minus the price tag)? They were one of the first companies to offer customizable rods for the consumer and have built a prosperous business from it.
New to me for this season is the Quiverstick and the Power Noodle. I personally prefer to see my bites versus feel them, so naturally I prefer using the Power Noodle for panfish size jigs. I have found the Quiverstick to be an excellent rod for small spoons as it still balances nicely and offers some visual bite detection.
While the cost is greater, I highly suggest any individual building a custom rod to add Recoil guides to their custom rod. Pros include weight reduction, larger size, better feel, and they do not freeze up as quickly; all reasons to consider adding these guides to your custom rod. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!
Reels
Ice Hopper Tight Line Extreme: Here is a nice, cost effective geared in-line reel which most consumers will like. It's lightweight, geared so it has quicker line retrieval than a standard fly reel, and has a nice drag to it as well. My only complaint, John Bacarella (the owner of Ice Hopper) and I have discussed this ad nauseum, is the addition of a free spool function to this reel. With that addition, I feel that this reel could become one of the best cost effective in-line reels on the market.
Electronics
Vexilar FLX-28: I had been itching to get some time on the ice with Vexilar's latest offering and it certainly has not let me down this season. The biggest improvement, for me, was the new display. The colors are so much more vivid and the dial is so much easier to view in direct sunlight. I prefer to use the five color pallet as it provides more information on the screen and gives a quicker warning when fish are approaching.
I haven't had the chance to utilize the weed mode yet, but from all accounts it has also lived up to it's billing. The flasher is also a lot quieter than previous models. Digital depth is also another nice feature and allows you to call out depths quickly to buddies you are fishing alongside.
The "auto" mode is also nice as it allows you to use more of your dial to show the water column. The only downside is that if you are hole hopping or checking depths, there is about a three second lag between the time the transducer hits the water and your screen displays the depth. This is easily remedied by selecting the proper manual depth mode when searching for fish and once they are found switching the flasher to "auto" mode.
Misc
Rod Caddy for Quad: I tried this set up out a couple of times on the ice and I can tell already that I do not care for it. If you were solely using fly reels, it might work, but you better have rod slicks on each of your rods.
Back to the drawing board on this concept.
Closing Thoughts
While a half a season is not enough time to put each of these products through the paces completely, it does offer an insight as to what will fit into your style of fishing and what will not. As with most things, personal preference differs from individual to individual, so what might work for my style of fishing may not suit your style of fishing.
What have you tried new this season and what has been your experience?
