Thoughts on ice line and in-line reels

[Ihawkangler]

Curious what others "go to" ice line is.  I like the Suffix Ice Magic.  Reasonably priced and I have not seen any performance deficiencies relative to more expensive lines.  I also like colored line, as the clear stuff is hard to see for knot tying and bites.  I have tried the Berkley Ice line, but I have more memory issues with it. 

Second topic, in-line reels.  Everyone seems to love them and I am trying to, but I have more issues with them than my spinning reels.  I have a CGI and a Ghost; so not super high-end, but not the $19.00 variety.  Both will reel the line inside the reel track at times, requiring me to take remove the reel and unwind the line from underneath.  The CGI consistently gets line wound around the knob on the outside of the reel.  I would understand if these things happened while fishing outside, but they happen when fishing in my hut with no wind.

Maybe I just need to pay more attention to how the line is tracking is reeling, but if I have to guide it on and off, it defeats the purpose of "free fall".   Same issues occur with my spinning reels on occasion--some of this is just ice fishing--but not as often as with my in-line reels. 

[bert29]

on ice lines:
I've had best experience with P-Line Floroice in either 2, 3, or 4lb, and I have used (and still have some left I spooled this year) with Suffix Ice-magic as well. Both have served me well in the past winters.

as for in-line reels, I personally don't have any, but I do fish with those who do--and they will tell you, when you buy the better stuff (13fishing) they will perform and work like you want them to (provided you learn how to use them)
Kind of the old adage, "You get what you pay for" within reason of course!

[Figure ate]

I use Berkley micro ice 3lb on my UL with a BB 6061 and it seems to work well. I haven't really tried many other brands though, so I'm not much help.

A buddy of mine who is a very good fisherman bought some suffix ice fluoro last week and it seemed to be extremely brittle. It certainly did not meet the 4lb test it was advertised as, but it could have been a fluke?

[HANDLINE2]

A couple of friends and I are using some cheap Cabela's fly-fishing reels and they work well. If you fill up the spool with like some bulk 20lb mono and then add your ice fishing line on top it increases your retrieve rate substantially. Am pretty happy with this setup. My rods also have a longer handle which aids the use of the fly reels. RH

[Dave R]

I've been using Suffix 3# orange and it does the job. I also like the Berkley Micro Ice 3# green line. The Berkley is a bit easier for me to see, so will switch back when the time comes to change line.

Ah! Inline reels. I had an Eagle Claw and hated it and turned around and sold it. I then purchased a CGI and have had the line jumping off the spool and wrapping around the knob a couple of times. This was due to reeling with too much slack in the line. I also have a Frabill 101XLA, which you manually strip the line off the reel. Good drag and good when fishing in <20' of water. I also have a couple of Schooley reels mounted on a couple of rods. Great for <20'.

I have been looking at the Frabill 371, but can't bring myself to spending $70 for an ice fishing reel.

[jakefetch]

I agree on the Suffix Ice 3# orange mono.

I bought a couple of the CGI's when Scheel's had them on sale.  Only been out once this year.   I would say the release is slower than a spinning reel.  The drag is much worse than a spinning reel.  I did like the retrieve and how it handles.  I had no problems with the line coming off the spool as mentioned previously.  As stated above, I'm guessing the issues I had would probably be resolved by spending more money on a top quality in line.  $15 for a $35 reel was hard to pass up though!

[Ihawkangler]

Thanks for the feedback.  On the in-line reels, it is nice to not have the jig spin like crazy, but I have found using a loop knot takes most of the spin out with spinning reels.  Still a novice with the in-lines, but it seems the auto-set for drop rate works well if your hut is warm, but man, the second you get any ice build up, they go crazy.  Ice build up on any type of reel is bad, but the in-lines really seem to get fouled easily.  I have tried to pay more attention to my slack and fall rate, but I had them both jacked up today in the first 30-minutes.  May have to accept I am not an in-line person and stick with spinning reels. 

[Dave R]

but I have found using a loop knot takes most of the spin out with spinning reels. 

I also have found that using a loop knot reduces spin. With regards to inline reels, I haven't had any line problems with my Frabill 101XLA, or my Schooley reels.

[matzilla]

I just use a swivel and a spinning reel....the cgi I have is garbage. I had a Frabill 371 and really liked it but they're a bit heavy and unbalanced compared to a spinning reel or a fly reel

That suffix ice magic is very good mono, so is berkley. Suffix flouroIce is very unpredictable in my experiance. I typically use trilene flouro ice 3lb