I've read Dr. Bill's articles on rating rods by calculating ERN's, action angles and the sort, but I was curious if anyone has applied it to ice rods. For example, if I like to use an SJ721 for jigging walleyes in the summer, would I search for a 28" ice rod that has the same ERN and action angle? Will the 2 rods correlate? My instincts tell me yes, but I wanted to see if others have "been there, done that" already.

Eric

Yes and no - the length difference is so great that it's not likely you'll find one with a similar action. Powerwise, a rod 28 inches long against one 6 feet long is not going to match up without a very extreme taper.

If the rods were the same length and you found two with similar ERN and Action Angle, then yes, they would have the same action and power. But with such a great length difference, I'm not sure you can even something in an ice rod that will compare in any way to the 6 footer you mention.

........

Eric,

I'm not sure exactly what action you're looking for, as I havent' read the articles on ERN, but I have used the St Croix solid carbon ice blanks. Even on a short rod, they have a very fast action- a lot of spine in the first half of the blank, with a sensitive, very flexible tip. You may consider placing the handle kit on a heavier piece of blank, then shimming the butt of the St Croix blank and putting it inside the larger blank. This will keep your reelseat and cork from flexing so much under a load
Tight lines!

Steve -

I fish with St. Croix's Avid Ice blanks exclusively, so I agree with your recommendation. I was reading an article where the author was describing how to choose ice rods for pan fish, walleye, etc. and he kept referring to a medium-light action rod. As everyone on this board knows, medium and light are terms used to describe the power of the rod and not the action. I began to wonder if action was appropriate for describing ice rods. Are ice rods too short to really get any meaning out of an action measurement? I was also curious if methods used to describe fly, spinning, casting, etc. rods was applicable to ice rods too. And if so, is there some sort of correlation between the two. My post really isn't on how I should build an ice rod, but rather, how can an engineer over complicate it! Thanks for the suggestions though.