what heavier ice line and # to use????

[gamehog]

I am going to be hitting peck and north Dakota a few more times before the ice goes away.i will be targeting lakers,pike and eyes most of the time.will be hitting up all the other fish when not catching the big ones.i have been using just a standard fishing line for years and have had no problems.with technology changing I would like to know what is some of the better ice lines to use for bigger and heavier fish.in the summer I use braid and can drag anything in.i would like to be able to bring in a brute and not worry to much about the line.drag will be my friend.more tired the better.any help would be great.thanks in advance.

[lundin-loading]

6-10lb fireline ice. 6-10lb berkley flouro for a leader, 20lb flouro for the toothy critters

[vicster]

Braids are great for strength and sensitivity but can ice up on your reel pretty badly in cold conditions.  Some are worse than others.  Floro is great, low stretch, very low visibility, abrasion resistance, ect..  I usually use regular mono, use good knots, and make sure my drag is set.  You would be amazed at what you can land on six pound test if you are patient and let your rod do the work.  If I go with a braid I always use a floro leader.

[Tacojuan]

Personally I like braid it has no memory and can be low vis if you're using the right stuff. Mono and fluoro are aweful for pike but work great for walleye and I'm sure lakers. Switch leaders according to when you're fishing, pike rarely bite late in the day and the walleye bite can be great at night. I hope this helps

[vicster]

Thats funny, I've caught almost all my big pike with in the last hour or so before sundown this year.  No walleye to worry about so I just run tip ups with quick strike rigs and 30lb tip up line.  Did ty into a pig gator on the jigging rod and he just about spooled me before comming unglued.  It sure gets the hear rate up when you lean on  a fish and your drag turns with out lifting him off the bottom

[ColdHole]

I like the lighter braids on those nice sunny 40-50 degree days, but every ice braid I've tried causes problems when its cold.  I feel pretty foolish for not using fluorocarbon before this year, always figured mono worked good, why change.  But that was a game changer for me, pretty hard to beat.  I have the Trilene fluoro in 4lb on my light rod, and P-Line 8 lb for heavier fish, 20 lb for leaders on tip-ups.  My 10 year old landed a roughly 20 lb channel cat on the 8 lb and that fish absolutely abused the line on the edge of the hole, but it held up!

[doublehaul]

6-10lb fireline ice. 6-10lb berkley flouro for a leader, 20lb flouro for the toothy critters

I agree with lundinloadn. I prefer the 6 lbs. for it's small diameter.