Fishing Forum

Eagle Claw is introducing an ice rod for the serious lake trout fisherman, at the urging of Granby lake trout guide, Bernie Keefe. It may even bear his name. It's going to be available shortly and is to be very reasonably priced, from what I've heard.

I was lucky enough to field test a prototype of the rod last winter and loved it! It's 36" long, MH power, extremely light, and has enough backbone to move and turn big fish, but is sensitive enough to detect the hits of smaller fish, too! And it's still short enough to use in any shelter. They will be available in both a spinning and baitcast model. Cool!

It's about time that a major manufacturer produced something suitable for real lake trout fishing! Thank you Bernie and Eagle Claw!!

Stay tuned for more info!
[signature]

Are there any pictures of them?
[signature]

Someone asked me what makes these rods so good and what the differences are between these rods ans, for instance, the Berkley Lightning rods.

Several things are different, especially in the baitcasters. I think spin fishermen have always had more options for decent M or MH rods. So since I use baitcasters almost exclusively, here are the differences that are important to me..

First, these rods have a lot more power than those Lightning Rod types. And I've seen a few fish the last couple of winters where that extra power would be really helpful. (I wasn't the one to hook them, but I saw 'em!)

Second, for some reason the baitcast ice rods of the past all seemed to have those tiny little guides that ice up constantly. Annoying to say the least. Even the tip top on these has an inside diameter of almost 3/8, considerably bigger than the baitcasters I've been able to find in the past.

The MH baitcasters I have found in the past, with 1 or maybe 2 exceptions, have either been heavy, broomstick like with no sensitivity, or were too light and underpowered for my taste. These rods are really light, but have plenty of power, and I think are pretty close to a perfect balance of weight, sensitivity and power.

Finally, I fish mostly without gloves and like to feel in my hands what is happening with the bait as much as possible. So I like the graphite reel seat and cork better than the plastic and foam handle combos I've used in the past (and those were on custom rods more expensive than these).

Hope this helps!
[signature]

Thanks, they look like good rods, I think I will get 2 or 3 of them.
[signature]