Inline ice fishing rods and reels.

[Water Wolf]

Hi All,
I found this ice fishing article on why you should be using an inline reel vs spinning reel.
Check it out at ------->https://www.rapala.ca/content/ice-fishing/why-you-should-own-an-ice-fishing-Inline-reel-blog.html?fdid=blog&id=1&utm_source=Rapala+Canada+eRap+Up&utm_campaign=03d867dc9d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_11_03_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1559c1f9ba-03d867dc9d-164088689

Just curious, how many of you own an inline ice fishing reel?
Do you find it to be an advantage over a standard spinning reel?
Have you ever had trouble with backlash or tangles with the inline reel?

In everyone's opinion, are they worth the price?


WW

[Icephishwyo]

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=378698.0
Here ya go

[bart]

I have three, the first two are a Clam spooler(favorite) and a Frabill Straight Line on my St. Croix Legends, use them for pan fish in 15' of water and under. No twist, love these two rigs!

I also have a Black Betty 6061 on a 13 Fishing Wicked Ice Rod, I basically got it for walleye and perch in deeper water. I never got the hand of it, really I hate it, it just collects dust...

[HWeber]

Great paperweights

[slipperybob]

That is a nice informative article.  However the thing about spools on a reel, well what one thinks isn't always what the reality of performance is.  For example baitcasting reels have far smaller spools in comparison.  For example the average low profile freshwater baitcasting reel spool measures about 34mm to 38mm in diameter.  While the average ultralight to light spinning reel spools varies from about 36mm to 42mm in diameter.  Yet these low profile baitcasting reel spools can manage lines like 20# test monofilament line diameter while that ultralight spinning spool will struggle with such a large diameter. 

So with a much larger spool diameter on these inline reels, it's probable that there is not much of a difference in line performance on the real field.  I've tried fishing larger spinning reels with the concept that larger spools will give better performance results and found out that wasn't the case in real field results.  Sure the line coils were larger and appears to be less drag resistance.  However the larger spinning reel spool also meant that the angle of line deployment cone to the first line guide was a bigger difference eventhough it was no more than one or two degrees of angle larger.  The real physical advantage is line retrieval.  With baitcasting reels, we know just from the physics of size and weight that it takes just a little more force and inertial momentum to get the spool going.  Such that even a mere one mm radial difference will yield noticeable field performance results that a person can feel and see without strict data collection.  Sometimes it's not even the fact that there maybe no actual physical gain in actual distance of a cast, but the efficiency of less force needed to generate is all the results. 

The backlash issue is user error.  Yet we would not blame ourselves but rather the equipment first.  It's because the use of spinning reels has developed a habitual rod twitch to deploy line off the spinning reel spool.  If one does that with an inline or baitcasting reel, the results is almost an instant bird nest of line tangle on the spool.  That itself sometimes does happen to that of spinning reels too where too much line comes off and a knotted mess is a result.  What these current inline reels and same for baitcasting reels is a need to just methodically lift the rod to generate a little force assistance to get the lure drop to get the spool spinning.  Visualize pitching a jig, only pitching it just a foot of a distance and allowing gravity to do the work with the momentum.

[missoulafish]

Don't have any, won't have any. Zero need or want.

[Junkie4Ice]

I've asked this question multiple times and never get an answer - what's the benefit of a spinning reel over an inline reel? The only argument I've heard is drag, which is irrelevant for panfish.

So people can dislike inlines all they want, but let's say inlines were the norm of ice fishing. Why would I switch from an inline to a spinning reel?

The trigger seems to have solved the issue of backlash for the most part but slipperybob is right, backlash is 100% user error. Inlines take a different style of fishing and if you aren't willing to adjust your technique, there's no point in switching.

My favorite inline is the original black betty. 1:1 retrieve rate, just you and the fish. I really like the feel of the new piscifun inline, we'll see how it performs this season. I like the price point of the freefall ghost, but it's disappointing how much quality you lose going from the freefall to the ghost. Haven't gotten my hands on the new pfleuger line of inlines.

[DR.SPECKLER]

How is drag irrelevant for panfish?i use 1lb test and that drag needs to be smooth with a big gill,speck or perch.inlines have jerky erratic drags that dont have much adjustment.another thing about inlines is some guys use the pencil grip and the spool rubs on palm with a fender or not.another reason is a shimano sienna 500 that can be used year around is 25$ and a quality inline is almost 100$.call me a spinning reel fan boy.

[missoulafish]

Yes, a drag that is going to work perfectly every time. I don't fish for pan fish other than an occasional perch so I need a drag that can handle fish over 30 pounds. If you are just fishing  panfish I could see how they would shine but I also do see how a spinning reel won't shine just as bright. I guess people like the ability to just press the trigger to drop line as it's convenient? Opening a bail is just as convinient to me. Line twist isn't the issue  everyone thinks it is and the argument that jigs someone how have more gravitational pull when tied to an inline reel doesn't make sense to me.

[Junkie4Ice]

So the drag system and price are the only 2 arguments? No sense in trying to argue with you as your mind seems to be made up. But i'll completely disagree that it's relevant. Just to clarify, I'm not arguing that the idea of drag is irrelevant, just that an internal drag system is not needed (my previous post may have been misleading). People have been using their fingers on the spool to control the drag for as long as I can remember which is a benefit of the pistol grip. Your ring or middle finger are in a perfect position to control the spool with spinning or inlines. Again, if you aren't willing to change your technique then don't change your equipment.

If you're wearing gloves with an inline, sure you might struggle with the pencil grip. If you wear gloves while ice fishing you've already categorized yourself as someone who wouldn't see the benefits of an inline. No offense to glove-wearers but the amount of sensitivity you lose with gloves just tells me you don't care about the details of ice fishing.

I agree Missoula, a 30# fish needs a quality drag. You might fight a giant lake trout or pike for an hour with multiple runs, you want a good drag. Blackbetty came out with an XL version of the freefall designed for bigger fish this year. Hopefully it has a better drag system. I really think we will see a push towards higher quality inlines in the near future since the drags have been so heavily criticized over the years. You're point is my point as well "I see how they could shine but I don't see how a spinning reel won't shine just as bright". I don't necessarily argue that an inline is better than spinning, but I don't know how you can argue spinning is better than inline, for panfish.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Ok i will also add that one benefit that inlines are supposed to have is the freespool option.however they dont free spool micro jigs say 2mm or 3mm very good and still have to feed line off by hand like a spinning reel.and im not biased i just dont think a inline does anything good.im a hardcore centerpin fisherman and a reel repair/upgrade guy so i know about freespool reels and inlines just are not that great.i dont care what guys use and im not pushing a inline is better than spinning or vise versa agenda.

[jrjach75]

Do any of the inlines have a "clicker" on their drags? That's the only thing I don't like about mine. I use a BB freefall a lot for panfish, especially in deeper water, fishing for suspended crappies and a school comes in 10ft lower... sure is nice to use that trigger to drop done a couple feet at a time. When I hook into an accidental bass, trying to play the fish, I'd like to know when I'm reeling against the drag.

[Junkie4Ice]

Ok i will also add that one benefit that inlines are supposed to have is the freespool option.however they dont free spool micro jigs say 2mm or 3mm very good and still have to feed line off by hand like a spinning reel.and im not biased i just dont think a inline does anything good.im a hardcore centerpin fisherman and a reel repair/upgrade guy so i know about freespool reels and inlines just are not that great.i dont care what guys use and im not pushing a inline is better than spinning or vise versa agenda.

The freespool doesn't allow 4 or 5mm jigs to drop freely. It's more or less a convenience feature to allow you to pull out line at the pull of a trigger instead of flipping open a bail. But, you can't even fish a 2mm jig with a spinning reel without a leader because of the line coils unless you're using the coils for visual bite detection.

None of the inline reels I've used have the drag "clicker", not really sure why?

[Dave R]

I use both and tend to use inline in water 10' or less. I believe that the jig / lure falls faster from a spinning reel than an inline. Some may disagree with me and that's okay.

[DR.SPECKLER]

The freespool doesn't allow 4 or 5mm jigs to drop freely. It's more or less a convenience feature to allow you to pull out line at the pull of a trigger instead of flipping open a bail. But, you can't even fish a 2mm jig with a spinning reel without a leader because of the line coils unless you're using the coils for visual bite detection.

None of the inline reels I've used have the drag "clicker", not really sure why?

right.you will get coils or slinky line with heavier mono like 3 and 4 pound especially when its really cold out but thats exactly why i use finesse 1lb for micro jigs.i believe most twists which produces coils are due to guys that reel against the reel drag.all my worthless opinion.lol i just do not have problems with line twist in any fishing scenario.let fish run and pull drag,when it stops reel in and repeat process until fish is landed or lost.

[jrjach75]

The freespool doesn't allow 4 or 5mm jigs to drop freely. It's more or less a convenience feature to allow you to pull out line at the pull of a trigger instead of flipping open a bail. But, you can't even fish a 2mm jig with a spinning reel without a leader because of the line coils unless you're using the coils for visual bite detection.

None of the inline reels I've used have the drag "clicker", not really sure why?

Never had an issue with my BB freefall, 4mm and 5mm is all I use with it. 3mm jigs sometimes need a little "help" to get started on a drop, but once in the water, no problems. Maybe use smaller diameter line? I'm just using 3lb suffix ice magic. 

[hnd]

inlines cure lure spin which in most instances doesn't affect fishing.  i also like the trigger'ed models as opposed to flipping a bail. 

but outside of that i prefer a spinning reel for most any other feature. 

drag, lure drop speed, back reeling, nonexistance of accidental freespool.   

I used them all and they just aren't for me when i'm trying to put meat on the table or in competition. 

I will say its pretty dang fun to run a clam spooler with a palm drag in shallow water.