I was 13 years old the first time I saw someone using a spinning rod. Right away I became very excited since it was something entirely new. The problem was that I was living in the country where buying any fishing equipment was extremely difficult. I was fortunate however, to have an older friend, a swordsman in a fencing club, who gave me his old, very flexible sword. I took off the handle, replaced it with a wooden one I had made myself, soldered on three guides, taped on the reel and I had my first steel spinning rod. That was the start of my long rod building career.

The reel was plastic and very primitive but I still remember that happy day when I caught my first northern pike using my “sword turned spin rod”! The following year I met an amazing guy named Jerry Kaleta. Our introduction has turned out to be one of the most important moments in all in all of my fishing life. He was, and still is - a great fisherman. It was an unusual friendship. Even though I was only 14 and he was 40 years old, he was immediately able to recognize my great passion for fishing. He taught me a lot about slip bobber fishing on the rivers (my father fished only the lakes) and how to be successful in catching all different species using the spinning rod.

He was also a great ice fisherman. One winter day he asked me to join him on the ice but at that time I couldn’t picture myself sitting there like a penguin and had missed out on a couple of ice fishing seasons. A few years later he asked again and so, not having any particular plans that weekend, I agreed to keep him company.

It was in 1974. We rode on a train to get to the large artificial lake located close to Warsaw, Poland. He gave me his extra rod along with instructions on how to use it. That was the first time I had an ice fishing rod in my hands, but more importantly, it was the first time I ever saw a spring bobber.

I was very fortunate that my friend Jerry was such a modern angler for those times. Most people ice fished using the slip bobbers, very few used the spring bobbers. During that memorable day I fished using only one type of a spring bobber - boar bristle. This was what my friend and teacher had introduced me to. That Sunday we had caught many beautiful perch and gold shiners (most popular fish in Europe, usually between 6-15” long). I had difficulty falling asleep that night. The following day I should have gone to school but Monday morning I ended up back on the lake. I was totally in love with ICE FISHING!

After I finished college and entered the Navy Academy I found another great passion, fly fishing. There were so many beautiful rivers and streams around teeming with trout, grayling and sea run Brown trout that I learned fast. I found out that in order to become a really good fly fisherman it is absolutely necessary to learn about the world of insects. Back then I didn’t think how much my insect observations will eventually help in perfecting my ice fishing technique and lead to the ultimate development of the Legend Ice Rod. Like many dedicated anglers I started tying my own flies.

I have three loves in my life. My beautiful, wonderful wife, fly fishing and ice fishing. Of course I also enjoy all other types of fishing as well. I cannot understand how some people fish using only one method or target only one specific type of fish. I think these anglers loose a lot of opportunity and miss out on a great deal of fun.

Fly fishing and ice fishing have a lot of common ground. Most fish feed on insects. Learning how these bugs move and behave, and having the proper equipment to exactly duplicate their actions, allows an angler to imitate them and escalate their fishing success dramatically. My emotion and reaction at the moment when the fish rises to a dry fly or when my spring bobber mounted on the ice rod moves up or down signaling a bite- are exactly the same. The reason for that is simple- I can actually see the bite.

Let‘s turn now to one of the most important subjects in fishing success - bite detection! Generally speaking there are two different kinds of detection, visual or by feel. Detection by feel is great when casting in an open water or wet fly fishing because the lure is always in motion. The fish usually hit the lure with such strength that it is felt immediately.

The situation is far different when it comes to ice fishing. When jigging on the ice, the lure movements are smaller and the stops or pauses are more frequent. Usually most strikes occur when the lure momentarily stays still. There are times though- usually early morning and late evening, when the fish are very aggressive and just hammer the lure. Most of the time however, fish bites are very gentle with only a small bump being felt, making it difficult to hook them.

Let me explain the reason for that difficulty. The impulse from the fish’s initial strike to your brain, going through the rod, the arm and the rest of your body has a long way to travel. That’s why the hook-set reaction is very often too late. Many times during the day any fish that follows a lure will barely touch the side of the bait.

It sort of looks as if the fish is just kissing or breathing on the lure. The angler doesn’t feel anything because the line is never pulled. There isn’t even a clue of an existing bite. Additionally the rod tip’s resistance quite frequently scares off the fish.

Most ice anglers in North America try to detect bites using the sense of feel only and most of them don’t even realize how many bites they have missed. Visual bite detection is much more accurate and dependable. Why? The impulse from the eyes to the brain travels a short distance-therefore, before even thinking about it- the angler reacts instinctively.

There are a few different types of visual detection methods such as line watching, slip bobber fishing, sight fishing or using a spring bobber. I have used all if these techniques in order to pick the one that would make my ice fishing most productive. Slip bobbers and line watching are two outdated methods that have more than a few faults.

When fishing outside, the wind makes “line watching” difficult and the slip bobbers freeze. It is possible to overweight the slip bobber, thus making it float just under the water’s surface (which keeps it from freezing) but then it is hard to see the bites. Also, using the slip bobber the lure movements are not preformed correctly. The sight fishing method is only really useful in shallow water but it is helpful for selecting specific fish in a school. The best work is done by using the spring bobber.

Unfortunately, many anglers resist using them, having had bad experiences and/or trouble with installation, construction quality and rod transportation. During my life I have seen all kinds of spring bobbers. This method of fishing is the most popular in Europe and I’m not one bit surprised. Lots of people make spring bobbers themselves simply because there are no proper ones on the market.

Typically, manufacturing companies make them to fit very short rods (6-8”) that are without guides or reels. Getting the fish out of the water is done by pulling in the line hand over hand. Fishing this way in deeper water is a terrible experience with the line tangled all over the ice and without a reel, most of the bigger fish just break off. These kinds of rods are outdated. European companies started making them 30 years ago and are still making them the same way today.

Why ? I think there is only one reason- economics. They are easy and inexpensive to produce. The majority of spring bobbers are built using plastic, metal or natural (boar bristle) materials. All of them have the same faults, they are sensitive when using very small lures, but with bigger ones, bend easily and lose their sensitivity. There are also a few other problems. They don’t fold down to accommodate easy transportation causing a lot of frustration to the anglers while changing spots or when going back home. They move around at the tip of the rod blank, catch the line and are easily damaged.

For many years I tried myself to build the best spring bobber while experimenting with many different materials and ideas. I manufactured the first prototype of the current product in 1979. It wasn’t perfect- no prototypes are, so I knew a few modifications were in order. All of these improvements have led to the availability of the new Legend Ice Rod.

During the “developmental” years, leading up to the Legend Ice Rod, I observed, tested and experimented with shanty-full of ideas and techniques in order to refine the ideal spring bobber. I finally settled on the precise characteristics that I expected from a perfect spring bobber.

These are:

1. The spring bobber technology has to be extremely sensitive in detecting even the lightest of bites whether the fish pulls it, pushes it or touches it

2. It cannot give any resistance to the fish so it won’t have a clue that there is someone on the other side

3. It has to aide the lure in achieving a very soft, seductive swimming action imitating insect’s movement

4. It has to be adjustable in order to work the same with a variety of lures in different shapes and weights

5. It needs to fold down for the ease of transportation without causing any damage, changing shape and always return to fishing position after the lure is unhooked from the hook keeper

6. It must be visible on all different backgrounds

7. It must not change its sensitivity even in extreme weather

8. It must prevent line twisting by the lure

9. It has to be made of the best quality material that’s very durable and completely water and rust resistant

10. It cannot be clamped, taped or worse yet- melted onto the rod

11. It must be easily used by professionals and casual anglers alike

Finally, I had built a spring bobber that satisfied all of those requirements. I selected a few composite blanks and installed my spring bobbers. The next few years were spend on testing those rods, improving, modifying and refining to make them even better. I received a lot of help from my friends and other people who used these rods and shared their opinions and observations with me. It was very gratifying for me when my friends and students Mike McNett and Tony Boshold placed 4th in the North American Ice Fishing Championship using my philosophy, techniques and rods. It was their first season of ice fishing tournaments and for Tony, only his the second year of ice fishing .

World Championships medallist, US Champion an US National team member Debbie Compton stated that my rod and strike indicator combination is “..the BEST she’s ever used“. My great friend Todd Berg, a professional guide, multi-species fisherman and a fantastic ice fishing angler has said that “this rod has changed his life“. I’ve heard him say many a time that the strike indicator is so sensitive that “you’ll see it move if a fish so much as breaths on your jig”! THANK YOU GUYS! Your opinions have helped me immensely and have greatly advanced my work towards the final product.

Although the results from these prototypes were satisfactory, I had still worked for nearly a year to achieve the final product. I had set out to build the best ice fishing rod and I finally had one that worked like no other.

The rod is build using the highest quality, newest generation solid carbon blank. It features a fully adjustable, permanently mounted strike indicator, build from a high-tension stainless steel. It is available in five different models ranging from ultra-light to medium-heavy. Three different springs, exchangeable in seconds, available in light, medium and medium-heavy are designed to cover a variety of lures.

We have access to great ice fishing equipment such as shanties, snowmobiles, power augers and a new generation of fish finders. All of this helps us to make ice fishing more comfortable but does not catch the fish. Although having a good flasher certainly aides in finding them and enables you to see their activity and interest in the lure. However, it does not provoke or show the actual moment of when the fish bites. This is the rod’s task. It is definitely the most important part of our equipment. I’ve observed a number of anglers having expensive augers along with fish finders but using poor quality rods. The effect is exactly the same such as buying a $10,000 digital surround system and using it with a 20” analog television set.

Throughout the 30 years of my ice fishing experience I’ve traveled extensively and fished in many various countries along side of many fine anglers. I’ve encountered numerous fishing techniques and equipment especially when competing in tournaments. I have always made it a point to learn something new from all of the presented opportunities.

I’ve won a great deal of tournaments; I’ve lost even more but placed always close to the podium. Anyway, the rules in most of them allow the luck factor to play too big a role but this is a completely different subject. However it is important to always remember one thing. Fishing is fun, so there is no need for stressing too much.

Enjoy the opportunity of meeting interesting, one more crazy then the other, people like us. Make it a point to always watch, think and learn. I have hard time understating people who never attempt to learn something new thinking they’re so good, they don’t need to add anything else to their technique. They are missing a chance of catching a lot more fish. Fishing is always a big quest and constant learning will make any angler more successful.

I have tried to present my philosophy of ice fishing. I realize it differs from the view of others and that’s the reason for writing this article. I didn’t mention anything about lures, jigging techniques or tactics and I will do so in depth in future articles. I would like to share though, a couple of tips.

It is necessary to imitate the living creatures in the water, which are a natural fish food. Not doing so makes the lure exists just as another piece of medal or plastic. Learning this is extremely crucial. I’ve witnessed anglers jigging very mechanically without a clue of what it is they’re imitating. I always imitate a movement of nymphs, larvae and a scud (fresh water shrimp).

That’s what fish eat. Starting with the smallest lure in a given situation is always the best. It never spooks the fish and even the biggest ones will bite as well. Using the smallest mormyshkas, attached to a 1 or 2 pound test line, I consistently catch 40-60 large bass annually. Of course the pike usually cut me right off.

One more thing! For anyone interested in the rod I’ve written about, you can expect to see it in the newest St. Croix ice fishing products line. The name of this particular rod is LEGEND ICE ROD. You know what that means! I hope to see you at my seminars and “Never miss another bite”.

Deadly Crappie - Panfish Jigs & Jigging Spoons Be sure to check out top of the line TackleCity panfish jigs at TackleCity.com, click here to see a few of the hottest spring fishing jigs to ever hit the scene. Don't miss out.,,,click here

Fishing Minnesota®
© World Wide WebResults 1997-2000
All Rights Reserved-You may link to this page.
Increase your profit with our
Internet Development & Marketing for Your Business