I broke my 27ul Widow Maker yesterday. The flat tip pretty much crumbled on me. I upgraded to this rod after buying a tickle stick. I opened the box on the tickle stick and the quality was horrible, whomever put the blank into the handle put it in crooked so when you screwed your rod into the handle all the guides were tilted to the left. The finish on it was garbage also, the white paint on the handle was all splotchy and messed up. I really liked the tip on this Widow Maker. I almost placed an order for another one on fish-usa last night because I can't wait for a warranty claim to go through. I need it now! I'm debating on whether or not to get another. I have a tuned up bullwhip and that is great, but by the time I'd get a rod from them the season would almost be over! Does anyone else have/had issues with 13? I have a freefall and a ghost reel and I love them. I also have two omen black open water rods and they are pretty good for $100. Should I just end up going custom and not waste my time with these flat tips? I'm pretty bummed to say the least. For $80, it definitely should've lasted more than a month.
Ice Fishing
13 fishing
They will take some getting used to, don't write them off after one outing if you don't like them. They took me half a season to get used to, but that's all I use now. Never actually used the descent reel for fishing, but quality wise it seemed pretty solid when I messed around with it in the stores. I don't think it has the freefall feature so you don't need to worry about backlash which is one of the main issues with inline reels.
I agree with not buying anymore of their rods. The main reason I bought this one was because the ice season came a little earlier than planned and my order from t.u.c.r. hadn't shipped yet. I was very disappointed in the quality of the tickle stick. This one looked way better out of the box. I guess I've been watching too much Fish Addictions t.v. they sure know how to sell you on the products they use. Haha
I have a tickle stick that I picked up before this season. The paint has all flaked off the tip. Not a bad rod, but based on other reviews, I am thinking it will not make it more than a couple seasons. Cabela’s had the precision noddle on sale a couple weeks ago, so I grabbed one of those. I will not be buying anymore 13 fishing rods after using the PN.
I loosen the drag on all my reels inline and spinning prior to putting them in the bag. When I first bought the bag last year I noticed that any time you picked up or moved the bag it would inadvertently spin the handle of your reel. That's the one downside to that bag but it's a great bag otherwise.
I fish the same 27" UL Widow Maker with the Tickle Tip and have not had a problem over the last two seasons. It's also paired with the Black Betty Free Fall like yours.
I also fish the 23" SUL Tickle Stick you mention, paired with a Free Fall Ghost as well.
No issues for me, even when I tangle with a larger species I wasn't targeting. I certainly wouldn't put it in a rod bag though either, the tips are soft and you probably wouldn't even realize if you folded it over putting it in the bag. I use the hard side "Take Down" gun case from Plano to transport the rods.
If you’re spending that kind of money get a custom rod. I like my TUCR precision noodle and see that Scheel’s has them in stock with free shipping. If you’re looking for a good noodle rod I highly recommend it.
Lots of good things said about Elk River Customs and DH Customs Al Dente as well. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of them.
Lastly, if you’re spending the money on good ice rods, invest in a hard case to transport them with. Something like this works well https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C3MFDKK/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1516028236&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=tactical+gun+case&dpPl=1&dpID=41r1SNfP35L&ref=plSrch
Get in touch with Marc at Elk River Custom Rods. His stuff is amazing, he's out of Phillips and his prices are in line with 13 and TUC. He'll get you a stick within a week.
