frabill ice hunter 38'' heavy

[LDB_Bass_Hunter]

So I picked up one of these and mounted my shimano sahara 2500 on it. Planning on using it as a dedicated pike rod. Is the 2500 too big? What line do you guys recommend? I`m thinking that a mono would be best over a braid. I`ll probably be ripping lip less cranks on it.

[icejunky]

I picked up one of these as well, my will be for walleye and splake, so i opted with a Shimano 1000 sized reel. I find the 2500 sized reel pretty big  for most ice rods.

for line I have been using suffix braid (yes the bright orange stuff) and then I tie on a leader. Im not a pike guy (other then on tip-ups) so i will leave it to other guys to help you out with line strength. In my area I would easily get away with a 10lb leader

[Master Angler]

Mono would likely be best in your case, with that heavy rod and without barbs here in MB, that little bit of stretch in the line is a good thing, especially in the winter when you don't have much line out.  I like trilene sensation, I use it on a similar setup for big lake trout and pike, handles nice in the cold, 12-14 lb should work good in your case

[LDB_Bass_Hunter]

The rod tip is actually not too stiff at the tip, but has lots of backbone. I can see this thing working for eyes too.

[icejunky]

The rod tip is actually not too stiff at the tip, but has lots of backbone. I can see this thing working for eyes too.

I agree, i like the action on these rods.

[Master Angler]

The rod tip is actually not too stiff at the tip, but has lots of backbone. I can see this thing working for eyes too.

If that's the case, braid may very well be the best way to go.  I was thinking the rod would be pretty stiff, as I have a shorter frabil heavy and its pretty much a short broom handle.  The best option if you have 2 spools for that reel, is have one braid and one mono.  As for a braid, I won't recommend one, I've tried a few, but still experimenting trying to find one I really like for ice fishing, I've used the firelines and spiderwire stealth and they work good at times but I've yet to settle on one I really like.  I've got some of the newer Suffix 832 gore fiber stuff to try this winter.  By the looks and feel of it, it may be the best I'll have used so far, but still a couple more weeks to find out.

[browning13]

personally I love running the braid on my heavy rods (pike and lake trout jigging). I like power pro but it tends to build up ice if I'm fishing outside of a shack. I've also tried the spiderwire which is treated with a teflon coating that seems to shed water better. In either case I use 20lb and add a 15lb flouro leader for lake trout or 50lb flouro leader for pike fishing.  and to answer your question a 2500 size seems like a perfect match for a 38'heavy action.

[LDB_Bass_Hunter]

I see the in-fish guide guys using full sized fluegers on their longer rods.