Would You Use An Expensive Reel For Ice Fishing ???

[Sparkle]

Hey guys!!! Would you use your expensive reel for ice fishing ? I’m thinking of using my Shimano Sustain 3000 spinning reel for Lakers . I would be matching it with a St Croix Custom Apex Predator Ice Rod 42' . They think I’m nuts. They keep telling me ice fishing is very hard on equipment and that I’ll wreck the reel. What’s your opinion? Thanks in advance.

[Rebelss]

If that $300 Shimano can't handle ice fishing, you best get yer money back. Just my opinion.   

[missoulafish]

Have never heard that ice fishing wrecks reels. I think you big mistake is having that reel and not using it any time you can...

[slipperybob]

Don't skimp out on the cheap shelter now...LOL.  Wait that's me!  As it goes if filling up a tank of gas is around $50 and that will only get you to the destination but need to refill to get back home, that's $100 right there.  Well the whole trip better be worth it so I'm gonna bring my geettterr gooodddieee reels to the ice fishing.  The Ugly sticks get's the rough ride in the back of the truck bed, but the good rods and reels gets to ride in the Eagle Claw Ice rod case.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Nope no need for it.most expensive reels are for smooth casts and smooth retrieves when casting distances.also smooth drag.however i could rip in a laker with a 25$ Shimano sienna.

[slamber]

That'll be a sweet laker rig but as the previous guy said, you don't really need it for jigging lakers. But if you want to use it go for it, I don't know why it would get damaged. I've never heard of the cold breaking a reel.

[DowneastPescador]

Nope no need for it.most expensive reels are for smooth casts and smooth retrieves when casting distances.also smooth drag.however i could rip in a laker with a 25$ Shimano sienna.

I think I pay 30$ at Walmart for the sienna. Never had an issue. Use it on my ul setup all summer then switch it to one of my jaw jacker rods for ice fishing. Can’t go wrong with that reel. Have had similar luck with okuma ceymar and pfluger president but they are 50$. Use your 300$ reel, it should hold up. Your going to need a 15+ pound frisky laker to need that much stick/backing capacity.

[hawg]

Why not use your good reels? If you’re talking about reels you already own, by all means, use them. If you’re buying new reels, I would buy the $25 ones. Some ice reels are too small to even keep line on so use your head when buying. The same $25 reels are as good as you need for summer panfish too.

[matzilla]

There is nothing wrong with using a great open water reel on the ice so long as it is well lubed and doesn't stiffen up in cold temps

[PIKE FISHERMAN]

I use my Shimano Tranx 200 for ice lakers!! I’ve caught lakers on $30 Walmart reels. Alls you need is something to crank them up with

[lovetofishnow]

One of the members on this forum uses Stella for ice fishing so why not put your good reel to use.

[WALL E GATOR]

Why not use it. If a 30$ reel will work why wouldn't a 300$ reel. Sorry but if a 300$ reel cant handle the cold then maybe its just junk, which I doubt. I have a 150$ Diawa reel on my big laker setup, mostly due to it having a really good drag system. I have heard of big lakers smoking some the drag on some cheap reels. Seems that some people just have a heart attack when it comes to spending much money on their gear, while others want the best gear when we go so we buy the more spendy gear. Does expensive gear catch more fish? No.

[Buckmaster7600]

I have 4 Shimano stradics that I use for jogging Lakers. I didn’t buy them for that but they’re a great real and have an awesome drag.

[fishingeek]

It's Plueger President for me all day. Only because the season here in MA is really short to justify spending over $75 for a reel that you get to use for 2 months out of the year. I do know guys that buy expensive Shimano 1000 series reel to use for jigging lakers through the ice and open water bass fishing year round.

[albo]

I would use expensive reels all day long ice fishing

[markinohio]

I only target panfish, but if I targeted larger game, I would not hesitate to use a high-end reel on the ice.

Not sure how the ice would be hard on a reel?

The real concern is with high-end ice rods……they just seem to get damaged far more frequently than their soft water counterparts.

[matzilla]

I have 4 Shimano stradics that I use for jogging Lakers. I didn’t buy them for that but they’re a great real and have an awesome drag.

right - I use a 25 pflueger supreme xt for open water panfish and ice perch

[markinohio]

If I caught perch like that beast.....I would invest in a Stella!

[matzilla]

If I caught perch like that beast.....I would invest in a Stella!

some of the even bigger ones - can't wait to get on the ice and catch some more!

[aquarium234]

I use summer reels all the time ice fishing. only way to get enough line on them to make me happy. Change the grease to cold temp or oil depending on the reel. if you fish only in a heated shack it doesn't matter about the grease really. They work great. My buddy switches his reels ice to summer/back I just bought more reels so I didn't have to bother switching.... :-)

[stripernut]

All my ice reels are my summer reels, most are Shimano Stratics 1000s... Never have I needed to change the grease and they work great, just like they do in the summer.

[the force]

I guess it depends on the size of Lakers and weight of line your running... for me I need something with a fully functional drag as run 12-15lb flouro leader and it needs to work to land a fish over that range which are not j common... maybe not a $300 reel but I save my siennas for rainbows and panfish.

[TickleStick]

My most expensive is a Shimano Soare CI4+ 500

I would get a Stella 500 if they offered it LOL.

[JonPerry]

A reel is a reel. Cheap or expensive is irrelevant as long as it does what you want when you need it to. if I wanted to spend really big dollars on one I'd use it anywhere the fish were.

[panfishman13]

short answer: yes, i would use it.

long answer: i've spent the majority of my seasons until the last couple of years running "cheap" reels in the 10$-25$ range, and frankly i'm sick and tired of them. plastic parts, low quality drag washers, poor anti-reverse... it's not all that big a deal until stuff starts failing, and a reel never fails while i'm rigging it up at my house mid-week, it's almost always while i'm on the water. meaning now i'm short a reel and have no backup. so, i'm through with scrimping on reels. i spend more money replacing reels every other season than i would've spent just buying a high-quality reel in the first place, one that would last 5+ seasons with no issues.

basically, spending 100$ or more on a quality reel that will be 100% reliable for several seasons will not only improve performance, but it will be easier on your wallet and one less thing to worry about each time you get out on the ice.

[mushroom_capd_1]

Sure, why not? If you already have one or can afford one, by all means use whatever works for you personally.

[tswoboda]

I guess it depends on the size of Lakers and weight of line your running... for me I need something with a fully functional drag as run 12-15lb flouro leader and it needs to work to land a fish over that range which are not j common... maybe not a $300 reel but I save my siennas for rainbows and panfish.

Well you're in luck... Siennas and other $30 class reels come with fully functional drags!

I fish lakers a lot in NW Ontario and I've caught a lot of them on a Pflueger Trion that I got in 2006.  I also have 2 stradics on laker rods and they offer zero advantage over the old Trion or any of my other reels.

[evobassfish]

I plan on using my high end reels this season. It all comes down to the individual imo, if you are the type that takes care of your equipment then it should take care of you.

[BIGfishBILL]

If you have nice reels and aren't careless, you should use them.

Not to hijack the thread, but is anyone paying $140 for an in-line reel....I'm gonna pass.

https://www.scheels.com/p/13-fishing-black-betty-freefall-trickshop-edition-inline-ice-reel/859915-BBFFWTS1.html?cgid=ice-fishing-inline-reels#start=3

[TroutFishingBear]

Don't skimp out on the cheap shelter now...LOL.  Wait that's me!  As it goes if filling up a tank of gas is around $50 and that will only get you to the destination but need to refill to get back home, that's $100 right there.  Well the whole trip better be worth it so I'm gonna bring my geettterr gooodddieee reels to the ice fishing.  The Ugly sticks get's the rough ride in the back of the truck bed, but the good rods and reels gets to ride in the Eagle Claw Ice rod case.

I think slipperybob has a good perspective in this post. Imagine, you spent a lot of dough to get to the place, dough on warm clothes, dough on bait/minnows, etc., and you cheaped out on the reel and it failed, making all the other expenses also a sunk cost? Now obviously if you can't afford it, use what you got. Been my MO for years and I catch plenty of nice fish.