How much line?

[stumper1300]

How much line do i nned on my tip up?fishing mainly 15 ft or less,pike and walleyes.



stump

[Pasquatch]

75' for all practical purposes in that kind of water...

[FullTmeDad]

For most fishing 75 feet should do fine. However last weekend I fished Higgins and found that I didn't have nearly enough line to fish it. I now have two tip-ups with 300+ feet of 15 pound test dacron and I'm ready for those big lakers.
FTD

[AD]

I usually spool 100 yards of line on all my tip-ups if it will fit, doesnt hurt to have too much line, but sure can hurt if you have too little.   

[Pasquatch]

I usually spool 100 yards of line on all my tip-ups if it will fit, doesnt hurt to have too much line, but sure can hurt if you have too little.   

That's true, but there's no need for that much line if he's fishing 15-20 feet of water.

[METIPPIN]

I try to put as much as the spool will hold. Only because I learned my lesson once when I had a pike (at least I think it was) spool me while I was tending to another trap an after 5 minutes she was spooled out and lost a fish. I was in only 6 feet of water and 50 yards of line was out. I was pretty depressed reeling in line i did with no fish and a bent swivel. Oh what could have been.

[Tip-UpTommer]

the amount of line you put on your tip up depends on what you are fishing for mainly. if you are fishing walleyes you usually fish in under 30 feet of water and for the most part dont take a lot of line. i have had walleyes that didnt take any line and never tripped the flag. they dont run much and 50 yards of line on your tip up is plenty. on the other hand lake trout fishing is the other extreme. most of the time you fish in deep water and lake trout love to take a lot of line. in this case 300 yards of line wouldnt hurt. many of the people that i fish with have different tip ups set up for different kinds of fish. you also want extra line on for pike too. they tend to like to run.

[wormwigglr]

i like about 50 yds because if the fish gets a chance to run and hits that stopping point it throws the hook deep in their mouth. if you use a little bit of line then make sure you got a good knot on the spool so they don't pull all that line and have it stuck hanging from their mouth.

[Chucker]

One other thing that some people seem to be forgetting.... The amount you "reel" in when you pack up is directly proportional to the diameter of the spool. The more line you've got on that spool, the fatter it is, and the more line you'll bring in with each turn when packing up for the day.

[Pasquatch]

Never thought of that, makes sense, though.

[wormwigglr]

that makes sense if you are fishing deep water but its not that big of a deal if you are fishing shallow. its not that big of a deal to take an extra 10 secs to reel line in.

[buckmanJR86]

i put as much line as possible on. with 3 1/2 foot leaders..  and the more line on the spool, like he said, means u dont have to move ur hand as much   (for us lazy cold handed icefishing guys)

[TogueHunter]

I usually spool 100 yards of line on all my tip-ups if it will fit, doesnt hurt to have too much line, but sure can hurt if you have too little.   

I agree, and I fill mine right up because it also makes winding them up faster.

[Mongo]

What ever comes on the spool from the store goes on the reel.

[Shrek]

I do not use my tip ups much and fish shallow as well maybe  to 60' max and just put some tape on the spool as backing and maybe 50 yards of line , seems to work F/ me.

[Auger]

Fill it up.  The bigger the perceived diameter of the spool the less resistance to the fish as he takes line, and you have to complete fewer revs to wind it back on the spool.

[rob-s]

100 yrds 36 lb on most of my tip ups others have 200 yrds 20 lb.
  the larger diamiter is easyer on the hands with a large fish, plus it dosnt blow in the wind as much.

[BobWhite]

You guys who say it matters were you fish what if you only put 50 yards on and then get invited to fish a deeper lake?
It makes sense to have more line and be more flexable then be limited to the places you can fish.

[TogueHunter]

One other thing that some people seem to be forgetting.... The amount you "reel" in when you pack up is directly proportional to the diameter of the spool. The more line you've got on that spool, the fatter it is, and the more line you'll bring in with each turn when packing up for the day.

I couldn't agree more Chucker... Also with the larger circumference, the reel will have to spin less when the fish is taking the line, reducing the drag and the possibility that the fish will feel the resistance and drop the bait.
  I have a friend who had tipups with small diameter metal spools, that didn't turn very freely to begin with, and he also didn't have much line on the spool.  He kept getting flags all day long, but the fish would run about 10ft and drop the bait.   I'm not positive it was the drag on the line, but it's a factor that should be considered.
So the bottom line on how much line?  Fill that sucker up!  Even if you have to use some backing line like you would on a fly reel.

[rob-s]

if you have 50 yds and get a nice fish, your pulling line and laying it on the ice, it freezes together, the fish runs and the gob goes down the hole. you pull it back in and get the fish. but your left with a knot a ways into the line and have to cut a big chunk out. you only started with so much what have you got left?
 another thing to realise with a full spool is to remember to leave a little space, dont fill it completly. its a cold day you have to check your bait several times , each time you do it puts enouph of a layer of ice on the spool so it wont fit on the spool at the end of day wrap up.
 days this happens you have to thaw your line at home and rewrap or your going to end up with a mess

[hali-man]

its a cold day you have to check your bait several times , each time you do it puts enouph of a layer of ice on the spool so it wont fit on the spool at the end of day wrap up.
 days this happens you have to thaw your line at home and rewrap or your going to end up with a mess

I have had this happen, but would still rather have the extra line.

[Blaine]

Fill it up.  The bigger the perceived diameter of the spool the less resistance to the fish as he takes line, and you have to complete fewer revs to wind it back on the spool.

BINGO! Far less resistance when the fish takes the bait....

[MSUICEMAN]

i fill mine up... still almost got spooled once. fish wouldn't stop running. finally had to put an end to the run and set the hook. got the fish up to the hole and it was a BIG sturgeon. lost it though as its final run it broke the treble on the surge.

still, all in all... pretty darn cool!

[musky-man]

iv found that if u put too much line on ur tip ups, like all the way to the edge of the spool then the line can come off an a iregular way, i dont realy kno how to xplain it but it happens a couple times, so just dont over do it lol

[TogueHunter]

iv found that if u put too much line on ur tip ups, like all the way to the edge of the spool then the line can come off an a iregular way, i dont realy kno how to xplain it but it happens a couple times, so just dont over do it lol

Yeah I know what you mean, unless you're really careful and winding it on level it can get lop-sided.
I fill my reels up to about 1/2" to the edge, but I'd much rather have on too much line than not enough.
Have never had a fish big enough to run that far... hopefully this year!   

[NickP]

i fill um up

usually 100yards sometimes 75