Ice Fishing Line

[Bow-Dude]

I invested in a couple of inline ice fishing reels for this winters fishing expeditions with my wife.  I have never paid a lot of attention to the line I put on the reel until tonight.  My son gave us some 6 lb test florescent orange and green monofilament line to install.  I started the process and noticed how much stretch the monofilament had.  I checked my other reels and the stretch is much less.  I have always purchased quality line in the past but nor really paid a lot of attention to what its qualities are. I normally use Berkley Tri-line either 4 or 6 lb test.  This got me doing some research, braided verses non braided, versus fluorocarbon, verses monofilament.  I bought some braided line and put on a reel several years ago when we went to the gorge, but did not care for it.  Braided has changed a lot since then.  Maybe it is time to try it again.  My wife seems to loose a lot of fish at the hole and I am sure it is because the hook is not set deep enough or not at all.  My son used this line on his new reel last winter and lost fish after fish at the hole all night. He finally started pulling so hard to set the hook that I thought he was going to rip their lips off. I am sure the line stretch was a contributor to his woe. I have been re-thinking the whole process and have decided that perhaps getting a non stretch line would be good.  New reels, new poles, now new line.  Give me your best recommendations.

[muirco]

I use 10 lbs pline tactical florocarbon and never had a problem even with perch. Florocarbon is pretty much invisible, so the thickness doesn't matter to me. Worked every ice season. Before that I used pline normal florocarbon.

[dubob]

I invested in a couple of inline ice fishing reels for this winters fishing expeditions with my wife.  I have never paid a lot of attention to the line I put on the reel until tonight.  My son gave us some 6 lb test florescent orange and green monofilament line to install.  I started the process and noticed how much stretch the monofilament had.  I checked my other reels and the stretch is much less.  I have always purchased quality line in the past but nor really paid a lot of attention to what its qualities are. I normally use Berkley Tri-line either 4 or 6 lb test.  This got me doing some research, braided verses non braided, versus fluorocarbon, verses monofilament.  I bought some braided line and put on a reel several years ago when we went to the gorge,  but did not care for it.  Braided has changed a lot since then.  Maybe it is time to try it again.  My wife seems to loose a lot of fish at the hole and I am sure it is because the hook is not set deep enough or not at all.  My son used this line on his new reel last winter and lost fish after fish at the hole all night.  He finally started pulling so hard to set the hook that I thought he was going to rip their lips off.  I am sure the line stretch was a contributor to his woe.  I have been re-thinking the whole process and have decided that perhaps getting a non stretch line would be good.  New reels, new poles, now new line.  Give me your best recommendations.

This might answer some or all of your questions:

 What is the best ice fishing line?

[doitall5000]

Good reading for great information. Line stretch, color, strength are things to consider.

[Bow-Dude]

Bob... I read thru the info.. Thanks. Maybe others have been like me and not given a lot of thought to the line stretch. I found that the line my son gave us will stretch 5 inches for every foot. That means that in 20 feet of water, you will get just over 4 feet of stretch. An experiment that was suggested and I want to try is to tie a milk jug full of water to 20 feet of line and then give it a jerk as if setting the hook. The article said you could not pull the milk carton over due to the line stretch. If that is true, no wonder we lose fish as often as we do on the way up to the hole.

Muirco... I hadn't considered fluorocarbon too much but will look at it a little closer. Seems to have some desired qualities I hadn't considered previously.

[Anglinarcher]

I read Bob's link and I give it a C+ (not a comment on Bob, just the link).  I found it verbose, poorly written, and full of unsubstantiated claims. Some of those claims just really turn me off.  Really, no one ever has come in to the store and said they wanted more memory in their line, but the claim states "Most fishing enthusiasts prefer a fishing line with a good memory. ".  Still, 75 to 85 percent I can get behind.

I have said for a long time fishing items are just tools, and no person can do all jobs with one tool.  Don't ask a carpenter to only have a roofing hammer when he needs a framing hammer and a finish hammer and ............

I concur that "Nylon" monofilament has lots of stretch.  Note that stretch is measured to breaking.  Like a spring, the closer you come to the end of the springs ability to stretch, the more tension you get, so you will get closer and closer to the line rating as you get near the breaking point, and the and of stretch.  The last documented results I read some years ago said between 18 and 22%.  I suppose that some might be as much as 5/12 or 42%, but that is new to me.  Still, 18 feet in 100 feet is pretty bungee cord like.  If you are subject to shock, this can be a good thing.  If you need sensitivity or solid hook sets, this can be a bad thing.  Remember that 

Fluorocarbon always has more memory, a complaint I hear so often that it makes the aforementioned claim about good memory seem laughable.  When it first came out it was said to be more abrasion resistant, but it is also more brittle, especially when it gets cold, often negating the results.  Also, per diameter, it is not as strong.  Go into you nearest fly fishing shop (post COVID when they get product back in) and you can compare tippets of the same diameter and see that the fluorocarbon has less strength compared to the same diameter of mono.  It does have two awesome advantages.  First, it has less stretch, only 8 to 12 percent in the study I saw.  Second, it also refracts light about the same as water, which makes it seem more invisible in water.  There are lots of studies that claim it helps, but lots that say it does not.  If in doubt, I use it and I have it on many of my revolving spool reels (hate it on spinning or spincast styles).  Less stretch means more sensitivity, better long distance/deep water hook sets.  There is a great reason to use fluorocarbon, but this is a finish hammer, and does a poor job as a framing hammer or a roofing hammer.

OK, super lines, like the braided and fusion lines have strengths and weaknesses as well.  First, remember that fusion lines are not as strong, and have more stiffness, than braided lines made of Spectra or Dynema, and they are also less expensive than braided.  Both are a lot stronger than mono or fluoro per diameter and this is their advantage.  Super lines have incredible strength per diameter, super flexibility, but they absorb water.  Frozen braided lines during the winter is NOT fun, and the water proofing will wear off in time, as will the color.  Super lines also have very low stretch, from 2% to 3%.  Did I mention color, well they are not clear, physics will not permit it, clear Spectra cannot be made.  Still, for ultimate sensitivity, ultimate strength, superlines are best.  For shock they are the worst, and while the super thin nature helps negate the fact they are not clear, they are not invisible.

So, back to the "What is the best ice fishing line"?.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING!  

For shallow water, say to 30 feet, I tend to stick with Mono (Nylon).  My test find no difference between "ice line" and quality regular line.  5+ feet of stretch seems excessive, but I feel I can get enough of a hook set even with that amount, and I don't use super low poundage so I can make it work.

If I am fishing at extreme depth, or any other condition where super sensitivity is necessary, I spool up with a superline.  I then use a uni to uni knot to tie a leader at the end, often Fluorocarbon, so I get the best of both worlds.  I prefer to be in an ice shack (above freezing) or fishing outside above 32 degrees, but spraying your spool with a good line line conditioner will keep the water from soaking in.

This review is in no way intended to comment on all of the claims made, or to refute all of the items I believe to be incorrect.  It is only to give my perspective.  Percentage stretch has no doubt changed over time as formulations have changed, as has memory.  Still, the old saying is true, you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear.  Nylon is always going to be Nylon, Fluorocarbon will be Fluorocarbon, and Spectra will be ..... you get the point.  

Now my post is verbose, but I hope it at least understandable.

Now, I am so ready for ice fishing!

[Bow-Dude]

Anglin.. thanks for the reply. I have decided to go with the 8 strand braided 6 lb test. I too fish inside an ice tent the majority of the time so hopefully frozen line does not become an issue. As cheep as line is, I can always change it if I don't like it. Looking forward to the ice season... this heat has been tough.