Ice Fishing Reel

[Bow-Dude]

All this heat has me day dreaming of the cool/cold days of ice fishing.   I generally do not post anything through out the summer, only during the ice fishing season, so it must be a sign.  I won a couple of hundred dollars during the Archery 3-d league season and I have been hanging onto to it until I decided what to spend it on.  I have settled on a new ice fishing reel.  2 of them actually.  One for me and one for my wife.  My question for those of you in the know, What is your opinion of an inline reel?  I have read some good things about them so I thought I'd give one a try.  Eagle Claw makes a highly rated, inexpensive one.   4.5 out of 5 star's that won't break the bank to buy and should it end up down the hole because of in-attention, it won't make me cry.  Pro's and Con's.

[Cowboypirate]

I met a great guy on Pineview last winter, when setting up our shelter for a little night crappie fun. After chatting, he was showing me his inline reel and let me try it out. Loved it. I could set the line release so that when I released a small tungsten jig, lt flowed sofly down the water colum with no tangles - like honey- butter on a hot scone. Yes, i will be adding a couple to the ice bucket.

[obifishkenobi]

All this heat has me day dreaming of the cool/cold days of ice fishing.   I generally do not post anything through out the summer, only during the ice fishing season, so it must be a sign.  I won a couple of hundred dollars during the Archery 3-d league season and I have been hanging onto to it until I decided what to spend it on.  I have settled on a new ice fishing reel.  2 of them actually.  One for me and one for my wife.  My question for those of you in the know, What is your opinion of an inline reel?  I have read some good things about them so I thought I'd give one a try.  Eagle Claw makes a highly rated, inexpensive one.   4.5 out of 5 star's that won't break the bank to buy and should it end up down the hole because of in-attention, it won't make me cry.  Pro's and Con's.

In line reals are amazing, you can drop really light jigs without any line coil, which makes for better hook sets. Ice fishing with a flasher or fish finder is like playing a video game, I watch the fish come on to my screen, watching my jig then I adjust my jig depth to match the fish then I dead stick it until I get bit and  set the hook. As far as what reel to buy my first in line reel was the Eagle Claw and it’s hands down better than using any spinning reel, but I now use a couple different models of 13 Fishing in line reels my favorite is the Free Fall Ghost which has a trigger release the when pulled drops really smoothly then stops when released, but it’s pretty pricey at $70, a less expensive option at $35 is the 13 Fishing Descent it does not have the trigger but instead has a button on the side of the reel like the Eagle Claw to stop the fall you turn the reel handle. The reason I would spend the additional $10 for the Descent is that the side of the spool on the Eagle Claw is open and more than once the line has slipped of the spool and rapped around the nut that holds the spool on causing me to lose fish, this does not happen with the 13 fishing reels.

[Bow-Dude]

Thanks for the tip Obifishkenobi, My wife says, "since we have the money, lets spend it on a good one".  We will look into it.  Seems there are several manufacturers that build inline reels.  Any other recommendations?

[MACMAN]

I have a few inline reels. I gave them a two year try, and have pretty much relegated them to my panfish rods. I really didn’t like them, but for pan fish- they have the advantage of less line twist which won’t spin your light jig. I’m never going to get used to the free spool opening by a button on the side. It’s always a cluster untangling them when in transport and they open up. My recommendation for larger fish is a Pflueger president ($50) or shimano sienna ($30).  I have never had an issue with either. The siennas get a little stiff in neg temps. I haven’t found the presidents downfall yet.

[obifishkenobi]

Thanks for the tip Obifishkenobi, My wife says, "since we have the money, lets spend it on a good one".  We will look into it.  Seems there are several manufacturers that build inline reels.  Any other recommendations?

My only experience  is with the Eagle Claw and 13 Fishing reels so I can’t say one way or the other about other brands. I have my free fall pared with 27” Abu Garcia Veritas medium light rod about $25 that has a very sensitive tip with a good back bone for setting hooks on larger fish, this is the setup I use most, at places like Henrys, porcupine and the berry where I catch some of my largest fish. My pan fish set up is a 13 fishing 24” lite Vital rod, it is less than $20 at sportsman, paired with a 13 Fishing Descent reel. My Eagle claw is also on a Veritas pole and is rigged with a dodger and squid for Kokanee, the only spinning set up I use regularly is in my jaw jacker where depth control and line coil are not really an issue.

[dubob]

I have a few inline reels. I gave them a two year try, and have pretty much relegated them to my panfish rods. I really didn’t like them, but for pan fish- they have the advantage of less line twist which won’t spin your light jig. I’m never going to get used to the free spool opening by a button on the side. It’s always a cluster untangling them when in transport and they open up. My recommendation for larger fish is a Pflueger president ($50) or shimano sienna ($30).  I have never had an issue with either. The siennas get a little stiff in neg temps. I haven’t found the presidents downfall yet.

That's what's great about this country Macman; we get to use what we like.  

I know several folks that do very well with their spinning reels.  I've been ice fishing in Utah now for at least 10 years and started with the smaller spinning reels like the Siennas.  3 years ago I tried my first in-line reel (1:1 ratio).  It sucked big time.  The next season I went with the Eagle Claws.  Better by a wide margin than the 1:1 reels.  Last season I upgraded to the Ghost Free Falls.  I have 4 of them now and sold ALL my ice fishing spinning reels.  You couldn't bribe me enough to go back to the spinning reels.  I fish for perch, crappie, trout, and salmon through the ice.  I change to stiffer rods for the trout and salmon and stay with ultra lights for perch & crappie.  I've caught and landed slot buster cuts at the Berry on the Ghost reels and caught 5 lb bows at Starvation on them.  You get what you pay for and the Ghost reels are worth every penny.  I also use 13 Fishing rods; their Tickle Stix is the best ultra light I've ever used by far.   I'm already thinking ahead to the late November start in the High Uintas. 

[RonPaulFan]

All this heat has me day dreaming of the cool/cold days of ice fishing.   I generally do not post anything through out the summer, only during the ice fishing season, so it must be a sign.  I won a couple of hundred dollars during the Archery 3-d league season and I have been hanging onto to it until I decided what to spend it on.  I have settled on a new ice fishing reel.  2 of them actually.  One for me and one for my wife.  My question for those of you in the know, What is your opinion of an inline reel?  I have read some good things about them so I thought I'd give one a try.  Eagle Claw makes a highly rated, inexpensive one.   4.5 out of 5 star's that won't break the bank to buy and should it end up down the hole because of in-attention, it won't make me cry.  Pro's and Con's.

I've had a lot to say on this topic and found the reel for ice fishing that I like above all else.  Hint: It's not an ice fishing reel and I like it much better.  Here are the links where I posted on it and there is further discussion from others on ice fishing reels:

https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=865108&highlight=Baitcast+Reels+for+Ice+Fishing

https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/showthre...hlight=25w

[Anglinarcher]

I have two of the in-line reels, trying them out. I find them to be as mentioned a mess if you get them tangled. The fine line loves to get caught behind the spools. I also don't like the ones with the side push button but the ones with the release lever are better, for me.

I have been ice fishing in one form or another for 50 years, so I tend to get a bit set in my ways, but....

I have used direct drive in-lines before. In shallow water, for smaller fish, loved them. I have used super small bait caster style (can't even find them anymore) and loved them, but have not seen them in years.

I use spinning reels most of the time. I don't like the jig twisting you can get, something the above two reels don't do, but overall they are still easier when my hands are half frozen, my finger can't feel anything, and I have a jig to replace.

Still, I will keep trying my in-lines, while having a spinning reel setting in the first hole. Now, for big fish like Lakers, 150 or 200 series baitcasters are my go too.

[Bow-Dude]

Thanks for all the responses everyone. Let me tell you a little about myself. My information posted about me on this site is incorrect, I first joined BFT about 20 years ago. I noticed I have at least 3 different names I am lised under. I started ice fishing with my brother about 1968. My first experience was at Mantua. Back then we would cut holes in the ice with an ax. Can't remember ever catching anything and we only went a couple of times. We would walk from Mantua back down the canyon to Brigham City where we lived. We were both too young to drive back then. I have been ice fishing with my son for many many years and finally got my wife interested about 10 years ago. We have a snowmobile that we use to get around on the ice and we have 4 different ice tents that we have available. We bought the Eskimo Evo II Cross Over last year and it has become our favorite. We have about a dozen ice fishing reel/pole setups, all with spinning reels. Our Ugly Sticks are our favorite rods. If we go with the 13 inline reels, it will be by far our most expensive ice fishing setups. We are leaning towards the Ghost model. For 2020, they have multiple colors available in lieu of the standard white, green or black. I have sent them an email asking what the color options are as they do not list any on their web site other than "multiple colors are available". We are too old (both 65 and older) and lazy to fish out of anything but a heated tent, so line freeze ups are something we generally do not have to deal with. We really enjoy fishing at Strawberry best and the last couple of years have really liked fishing at night. We normally will fish at Renegade during the day beginning at sunup. Never made it over there last year, tried some areas a little closer to Chicken Creek after they started charging to park at the Marina. I have been interested in the inline setup for a couple of years and we decided to pull the trigger on a couple for this winter. Hopefully the Coved Scare will not affect us this year like it did the end of last years season.

[dubob]

Thanks for the tip Obifishkenobi, My wife says, "since we have the money, lets spend it on a good one".  We will look into it.  Seems there are several manufacturers that build inline reels.  Any other recommendations?

I think a good quality and get something, cheap after the poor quality products he is taking issue

If anybody else has a clue what joshua was trying to tell us here, would you please explain it.  I read it 5 time and still don't know.  

[RockyRaab2]

I no longer ice fish, but I kept one Eagle Claw inline reel. I have it mounted on a 9-foot heavy fly rod to use as a crappie rod. I can't cast with it, obviously, but that is not its purpose. The rod/reel is perfect for dropping a small jig straight down into brush or under docks, while keeping me far enough away to not spook fish. Its an odd combo, but it is absolutely the snizzle for pinpoint jig delivery.

[Bow-Dude]

Update... I received an answer on the choice of colors for the 13 Black Betty Ghost. Misprint, they only come in white and "pickle green". We ordered 2 of the white ghosts and expect them to arrive in about a week. Looking forward to this years ice fishing season. Thanks for all the responses. Hope to see some of you on the hard deck in a few months.

[muirco]

All this heat has me day dreaming of the cool/cold days of ice fishing.   I generally do not post anything through out the summer, only during the ice fishing season, so it must be a sign.  I won a couple of hundred dollars during the Archery 3-d league season and I have been hanging onto to it until I decided what to spend it on.  I have settled on a new ice fishing reel.  2 of them actually.  One for me and one for my wife.  My question for those of you in the know, What is your opinion of an inline reel?  I have read some good things about them so I thought I'd give one a try.  Eagle Claw makes a highly rated, inexpensive one.   4.5 out of 5 star's that won't break the bank to buy and should it end up down the hole because of in-attention, it won't make me cry.  Pro's and Con's.

That is all I run for ice season! Micro eagle claw inline for perch, regular eagle claw inline for trout, and i think it is called a magna (big one) eagle claw inline for burbot.   The one negative is the knobs that keep on the spool unscrew and will fall off. Make sure you constantly check that it is tight as you fish.  Good luck!