straight line reel

[fosto]

I put almost entire spool of bionic on you will have a little left over but not too much. Dont waste time with backing line is cheap no reason to have a point of possible failure. Especially when tieing thick line on to super thin. Oh and i too wished they would sell spools so i can change out lines on the move and not have to carry 12 rods everywhere i go.

[3300]

So I can just put a whole 150 yd. spool of line on my reel. What keeps it from spinning around the spool?

read what the spool holds. its printed on it. read how much line you bought has packed on it. if its not enough line to fill it out to make faster retrieves then you add backer/fill line. if it's too much, then leave about an 1/8" exposed at the lip of the spool. just like you do all spools, all of the time

tie a loop knot. a surgeons knot with a loop on the end. double he loop back over the main line and pull the main line thru the loop.
cinch that new adjustable loop over the spool in the direction that makes it tight when pulled on
same thing you do on all spools, all of the time

[jbird68]

Anyone have an issue with the line falling over the side of the spool? I used my eagle claw for the first time and this happened a few times after dropping my jig down the hole and waiting for the slack to tighten up.

[esox_magnum]

I run the 6061's and no mine dont do this, most times I need to finger the spool to slow it down....

[eyewinder]

jbird:

Yep. . .used my EC the first time last Saturday and had line over side of reel and snarl that meant cutting some line--disappointing.  And I need to get better at adjusting the spool tension so that line doesn't come off of it faster than I want--that surprised me!

I'm thinking the wind and below freezing temps that made my fingers clumsy contributed.  I'm not giving up on the reel, but some of the problems that appeared to be possibilities did become reality.

[jbird68]

I see the clam spooler has a line guide to keep the line from going over the side. I just doesn't move side to side to evenly fill the spool. I am going to try the reel again tomorrow morning. The drag seems real touchy. It's either too right our too loose with very little adjustment.

[esox_magnum]

Couple friends bought the EC last season, same issues with theirs, one went to the 6061's other went with Beams....

[fosto]

If you do not like the reel i will give you 10i bucks for it. 

[eyewinder]

fosto:

If you have suggestions how to make the reel more user friendly they would be welcome.

eyewinder

[TChix]

Check out the pair of straight line reels from sportsmensdirect.com. Can't beat the price and they both work great.

[jbird68]

Finally caught some fish with my EC. I didn't really get to test the drag because all I caught were little bluegills. I like how easy the line comes off the spool. But I don't just let the spool run as fast as it can. I keep my finger on the side of the spool while I am pulling out line. That also helps to keep the line from falling over the side of the spool. I love how the line does not twist. I was using 4 lb. Bionic Ice line. So, for now, the only issue I have with the reel is with the line going over the side of the spool.

[eyewinder]

TChix:

Sportsmen's Direct is a great website--I'm adding it to my "favorites."  Which brand reels are you referring to--Ice Hopper?
______________________ ___________________

jbird68:

My experiences were similar to yours--caught 7 to 9-inch perch before numb fingers led to tangle-mania.

[TChix]

Yeah, either the tight line or tight line extreme. The tight line is just a one to one but I use it in mostly shallow waters where I find myself just lifting the fish out maybe reeling a couple times. The extreme has a larger ratio, can't think of it off hand, but works great in deeper waters. Awesome drag system on the extreme. John and Beth do a great job over there. Shipping is fast and they send you a link to track. Just ordered Christmas Eve and received my order on Thursday. Tell them I sent you.

[fosto]

I have had no issues with mine. I spool then within about a half inch from top of spool witch is almost a full spool of 3lbbionic bionic mono best line on the market right now in my opinion for mono. And watch the vexilar or lowrance when its about to bottom i slow spool down with my palm. I never pull line out found spool will run too fast and birds nest no reason to do this because it will feed line as fast as the jig will drop anyways.

[ridgerunner]

I just bought the eagle claw. In putting line on the reel , I normally retrieve a spinning reel with my left hand. The EG comes with the spool as such if I retrieve with my left hand as I do a spinning reel the line feeds of the top of the reel. I believe 90 % of people retrieve with their left hand. Were reels made this way on purpose the the line is more  in line with the guides so as to reduce the resistance in the free spool drop. Any comments. I have not put line on the reel yet.

[eyewinder]

I used my EC again yesterday (2nd time), and the jury is still out. 

This time it operated fine until temps dropped below freezing late in the day.  At that point, when a fish would hit and I tried to retrieve line, I could gain no line and enjoyed a ratcheting sound that was not connected to the drag or clicker device (it was not "on").  I probably missed hooking 4 or 5 fish before cold fingers and a setting sun told me it was time to head for the truck.

I've kind of adjusted to the way the line comes back on the spool (over the top) when it's working correctly.  But, even assuming there may be a dummy operating my new reel, it is not terribly user friendly.  I'm going to give it a couple more trips before making a decision on whether to keep it or not.  I also use fly reels on the ice that are not necessarily built to use for icefishing, but they're simpler and more troublefree, so far.

[fosto]

I run my line over the top. Sat out in -28 F wind chill with no lights on in shelter and no head because the smallest glow spooked the fish and i had a good night with mine. 24" 5lb 1oz walleye. 2 lb bionic ice mono. It can be done buddy keep trying...

[bee]

I just bought the eagle claw. In putting line on the reel , I normally retrieve a spinning reel with my left hand. The EG comes with the spool as such if I retrieve with my left hand as I do a spinning reel the line feeds of the top of the reel. I believe 90 % of people retrieve with their left hand. Were reels made this way on purpose the the line is more  in line with the guides so as to reduce the resistance in the free spool drop. Any comments. I have not put line on the reel yet.

They are reversible on the retrieve.

[3300]

just an update of three days of use with two different eagle claws. they do not drop jigs at the same speed as open face reels, not even close
the first two days i was out in the wind and couldn't judge the drop speed, but i had my flip over me yesterday and could clearly see the difference in speed and hassle of them. i suspected as much but was told differently. there has to be a speed difference because of the nature of the beast. line falling over a small lip or an entire spool having to spin. the writing was on the wall, i read it, but was talked into believing other wise. shame on me. won't happen again, no matter what brand is out there. they all work exactly the same as far as free spooling. i even cleaned and used hot sauce in mine to make it better than ec wanted it to work. the spool spins as freely as can be, but it has to turn and thats the problem with all of them.

also, the line twist issue of using them in the first place. the spike on the rear of the jig causes line twist going up or down. so theres no gain using an in-line reel. say the spike puts line twist in the opposite of the open face reels, it can counter the twist essentially or come close to it. but thats if there is line twist issues int he first place. i have never had any.

so, i am not sold, but now i own 2 of them. am glad i didn't buy any more and really glad i didn't buy the more expensive versions of it. the drag gets stuck easy when first getting out and you have to play with it to get it working right day after day. many times you have to help it let line out until it gets rolling.

being slower at every thing, they would be good for slow bite days with nothing to loose or shallow waters like 10 foot or less, but not better than open face reels

if any one asks me what i think of them, i would tell them to keep looking or stay with what they have

[NYSporty]

I love my EC reel I put it in free spool mode and the bait falls smooth keeping the line tight during the fall.
Where it shines is with sonar as you see a fish rise off the bottom and it gets close to my jig I hold the rod high and put my finger on the spool then lower the rod to deliver the jig to the fish smoothly.90 percent of fish I catch are on the initial fall now. With the spinning reel I would have to quickly close the bail and take up slack or pull some drag to put the jig right with the fish often stopping to soon or screaming by the fish. Without a flasher I would have no use for it.