Using summer reels for ice fishing

[Mrpike1973]

I would like to use a 2 Daiwa tournament reels for ice fishing this year do I just take the grease out and repack with what? or should I put them in the freezer and see what they do. I just don't want to ruin them. I'm upsizing to 1 bigger than an ultralight I think you get less line coil and less mess. Thanks

[ran7ger]

i use my pfluegers year round and don't do a thing to them.  some of them are on 10 years and work great.  however ymmv and i know lots of guys like to use hot sauce instead of regular grease during the ice season.

[hardwater diehard]

Dave Genz use to recommend taking the reels face plate off and poring hot kettle water into the reel to remove the factory grease then use a good winter oil/grease . I never tried this but do notice that some of my cheaper reels  are sluggish/stiff  while other reels not an issue .I would imagine that "greases" have improved over the years for a wider range of temperatures and conditions .  Kicked across this video recently in my season preparation tasks.


 

[bogtrotter]

A reel is a reel.  I swap out my reels from my fishing rod to my jigging sticks all the time, and have never had a problem.

[bart]

My reels have been doing double duty for years, no problems.



My new fish line will be here Friday. HD, I will be check out a few videos before changing out my line,  thanks!

[slipperybob]

Some reels do become very sluggish and may actually start to bind up when there's a big change in temperatures.  So one can always do the freezer test.

I use my reels all around, whenever.  So when some reels becomes sluggish when it's frigid cold, I tend to not use them for ice fishing.  It's usually the old worn out used reels that has seen good wear and tear. 

[matzilla]

any synthetic reel lube will work, doesn't have to be ice specific - lucas, ardent, frabill, quantum, bps, etc all have good synthetic reel lube. grease sliding parts, oil spinning parts. The only exception would be gears not supported by a bushing or bearing. Make sure you open up the drag and oil all of the felts/carbon friction discs. Don't forget the line roller

[SirCranksalot]

noooo problem. I don't own an 'ice reel'

[hnd]

yeah as long as they are quality products, you should have no issue. 

[Mrpike1973]

Thanks guys!

[gorf37]

In my experience reels that aren't labelled 'ice' don't suffer mechanically even in extremely cold temperatures - it won't break them, I mean sure the metal might be a touch more brittle and therefore subject to breaking if you run over them accidentally, but that's getting a little too theoretical.

Drag performance changes significantly especially below 20C/0F.  If you run your freezer that cold I definitely recommend testing.  Some drags don't change at all, others perform so poorly they're unusable.  I have had good luck with replacing with carbon drag washers to correct this.

[iceman260]

Never had a problem, I use presidents and shimano Sahara's they work fine in cold.

[rdhammah]

i use Shimano Sienna's and no problem.

[filetandrelease]

 I also use Presidents no trouble

[DR.SPECKLER]

i use Shimano Sienna's and no problem.

same.

[lefty2053]

same.

X3

[SirCranksalot]

same.

same

[bart]

I tried the, Line-spooling hacks(no line twist), video. The hot water does work, no twists, relaxed. Any memory the line may have had was all erased!
I used a large bowl and placed a smaller tupperware container with the hot water in it, no splashing, no mess. Bring on the ice!