ice reel

[muffman]

Hey slimeside i see you are using an inline reel how do you like it thanks for you help.
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[slimeside]

Its the only way to go for bigger fish that like to pull line. No line twist and much more reliable drag. You need to get used to palming the reel for really fine control. If you fly fish then you're already there. You can also use a small baitcaster but that's a bit more expensive (nice for really big fish though). For deep water panfish I still like a spinning reel for speed, both getting down to and up from the bottom.

The reel you see in the pic in my earlier post is a small fly reel that fits nicely on most ice rods. I like positioning the reel down a bit so I have more foregrip. If you've been to any of the sporting goods stores this year you probably noticed an explosion of in-line reels so there are lots of choices and quality ranges, especially if you consider small fly reels in the mix.
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[slimeside]

Good points. I only find it an issue in deeper water where getting down or up takes a lot of time. Fishing in <20' it isn't a big deal. In some ways I like the slow ratio better in real shallow water because it keeps me from jerking the fish to the hole before its ready. It boils down to personal preference. The cool thing is that the options to choose what you like are really expanding for ice fishers.
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[fishnate]

At fishUSA.com the Eagle Claw inlines are $21.95 plus several other inline reels to check out at decent prices. I bought one and the gears stripped out so I exchanged it hoping it was a fluke. The new one appears to be fine so far.
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[RockyRaab]

Just to throw a left turn in here, my favorite ice reel is an under-rod spin cast. They have a lever release and left-hand retrieve with a closed spool. Both mine have acceptable drags and hold 50+ yards of 4-lb line, which I consider plenty for the hard deck.
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[tlarson]

I try not to use an ice reel I will use almost the same reel year round that way I have the same action year round as long as your rod will hold it use what you already have.

just my thought all my rods will except full sized reels
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[muffman]

thanks for all the input on the inline reel it is good to hear what others thing thanks
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