Anglers who began their ice fishing in the 1960s and ‘70s had a very limited array of tools to work with. The augers were basic—if you had an auger—and it often took a lot of work to make a single ice hole. Most of those anglers also used a limited array of techniques to catch the fish, the most common way was with a hook and sinker with a minnow or worm. That rig was then draped over something called a gad. The gad was generally a cut willow stick that you poked into the snow. That gad was, for all intents and purposes, your “rod.” In truth, ice fishing rods were very rare then, and if an angler jigged, it was often with just a hand or maybe a stick.
The first commercial ice fishing rod I ever saw was called a Thrumming Rod, made by Rapala. There wasn’t much rod really, just a couple of inches with an eye on the end. It also had a large diameter reel and a plastic handle. We started using these Thrumming Rods on Lake Superior for lake trout in the 1980s and they were fine unless it got cold, then the rod tip would snap on the hookset. Sometime in the late ‘80s, relatively crude ice jigging rods started to appear. They were short, made of fiberglass, and quite heavy, but overall, it was better for jigging heavy Swedish Pimples and it didn’t break. This was the lake trout rod of choice for at least a decade.
Sometime in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, a lot of anglers seemed to be having the same idea: What if you used a shorter version of a normal fishing rod on the ice? There were some commercial “ice rods” starting to appear at this time, most of which were still quite basic. But a few of my angling friends and many people across the North American angling community started to make their own ice rods.
What I did was take a couple of the tips from rods I’d broken and affix them to the handle of the same rod, or another rod that was broken. The old rod handles would still have the reel seat. The biggest trick was getting the broken tip end secured in the handle. On rod blanks that were hollow, it was a breeze. I’d saw the broken blank at the handle and then stick the end of the rod tip into the hole, after adding a bunch of epoxy glue. I’d make sure the reels seat and rod eyes were lined up, and then let it cure. This homemade solution worked remarkably well, and some of those DIY ice rods are still around and get used occasionally.
A longer and more sensitive rod allowed the ice angler a better feel, especially when jigging with lighter lures. It also increased the fun and sport when fighting a fish. Having a longer, softer rod was also a real improvement when fishing with live bait. When a fish bit, you could see the rod tip go down slowly. Yes, the cut stick gad did a similar thing, but by having an actual spinning reel on the rod, you could ease off on the drag and let the fish swim with the bait. The addition of a balance made of wooden dowel, that the ice rod could sit on, allowed even more finesse.
By the early 2000s, the ice fishing industry was booming. Companies like Clam, Northland, Frabill, and Otter were targeting ice anglers and creating all sorts of cool accessories and shelters that made life more comfortable. Yet the biggest boom was undoubtedly in ice fishing rods and reels. Suddenly, there were ultra-light panfish ice rods, medium weight walleye and trout rods, and heavy action rods for large fish such as pike and lake trout. Many ice rods were developed to hold baitcasting reels, which was perfect for battling larger fish like lake trout. The drag on a quality bait cast is exceptional and they generally perform well in the cold. On top of that, you could buy rods that were graphite, or fiberglass, or a mix of both. Many ice rod eyes were made larger, due to the possibility of freeze up, and the handles were foam or cork, to be warmer. It was a brave new world of ice fishing rods.
One of the interesting things that happened during the ice fishing booms of the 2000s was the appearance of custom rod builders, who specialized in ice rods. This was not something I had on my bingo card, but I was lucky enough to receive rods from several custom ice rod builders, including a couple in Northwestern Ontario. The thought and care that went into these rods were next level, and I often felt nervous using them as winter cold, mixed with snowmobile sled rides, can be a bad mix. I learned this the hard way one time when the power auger that had been secured in the sleigh got loose on some bumpy snow and diced up a couple gorgeous ice rods. This was about the time all ice fishing rods got a protective case for transport.
In 2025, the array of ice fishing rods is vast, with every possible price point from $10 to $200 or more for a single rod. Many ice rods are now bundled with a reel, which can be great if the reel is of good quality, but unfortunately, that’s’ not always the case. Some reels just don’t like winter. One thing is for sure, the days of all ice anglers cutting a willow stick when they go fishing is long over.
Ice fishing rods are here to stay.