Inline reels

[catchinon]

I'm planning to add a couple of inline reels to my ice fishing arsenal this year. I've done quite a bit of research but would like some input from those of you have used them. What have you tried and which did you like and/or dislike? Any help will be appreciated.
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[joatmon]

I’ve been interested in those as well and picked up an Eagle Claw model after reading multiple reviews and considering costs. The models from 13 Fishing also rated well, but are a little pricier. Still need to string it and mount it on one of my extra poles.
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[icemonkey]

I have been using them for two years now and love them very easy to adjust the drop speed and the line won't fly off like a spinning reel highly recommended them.
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[muirco]

I only use the eagle claw inclines from the micro to the normal inline to the magnum. The only downside is the knobe comes off the line release. Eagle claw had sent me 3 new knobes in the mail free. I think this year, I will use some lock tight to keep them on. The function of the reels are great and don't break the bank. [fishon]
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[Jmorfish]

Two years ago I bought the Eagle Claw in-line reel, and it was one of my go-to reels last season....easy drop, no line spin, etc.....good price...just happened to find a "13" Black Betty in-line on sale, scarfed it up just a week ago ($ 40.00) and already have it set up on one of my best rods....Bring on the ice!....Guluk...
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[catchinon]

SkunkedAgain seems to really like his 13 Fishing Black Betty Freefall Ghost but $70 is a lot compared to $25-30 for an Eagle Claw. Anybody tried the $50 Eagle Claw?
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[MACMAN]

I got a few in lines and really wanted to love them, but I just don’t. The drag is marginal at best. I don’t think I get lures back down any quicker, although I can set it to fall on its own and not backlash when hitting bottom. This lets me fish the other rod while dropping. Probably my biggest issue is the free spool release. I have not found a way to transport the rods where it doesn’t get opened to free spool. I’ve had some major disasters to fix when I should have been fishing. I have relegated my inlines to my panfish rods. They seem to perform best with light line and not needing a smooth drag. My reels are all eagle claw and one 13 BB.
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[catchinon]

Thanks for the insight.
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[RonPaulFan]

Is there something I'm missing in understanding the attraction to inline reels? (Question to anyone)

I was ice fishing just fine with my spinning reels I use for casting when I saw the popularity of inline reels catch on regarding less line twist and not having the unnatural presentation of a spinning lure. That made sense, so I switched to one of my bait casting reels for ice fishing.

That worked well for my style of ice fishing. After I set up my MarCum LX-9 and especially if I'm on structure and using it's camera, I want to leave it there yet still fish the many other holes I make. What I do is note the favorite depth of crusing fish that aren't staying put in one place and then run around from hole to hole dropping in a tungstun lure and using the digital depth counter to quickly go to that exact same depth without any guessing.

Is there any advantage of the inline reels that I'm not recoginizing?

I have the no twist advantage, I have better bearings and less friction, I have better gearing and plenty of gear ratio advantage, so what does an inline reel do better?
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[SkunkedAgain]

Craig I have a selection of most of these reels and I do love the ghost but it’s too spendy for me to buy another one so I tried the 13 Fishing Descend model, it’s about $5 more than Eagleclaw and holy cow I love that reel, it’s my go to reel when I’m not using the ghost. This reel is way better than the Eagleclaw and I didn’t have a very good experience with EC customer service, one of my EC’s broke (main frame snapped) and I didn’t really expect a replacement but I wanted to buy a new part to fix it and they never would get me the part or the price quote anyway. So I bought a Descend to replace it and liked it so much that I got another one this year. If I could afford to do it, I would replace my other EC with one too. The ECs are good but off balance and cause the rod to cant funny so I recommend the 13 Fishing Descend if you’re going to try one.

I’m also with Macman on the useage of the reel it’s for panfish and lite presentations. If you’re after big powerful fish I stick with spinning or baitcast reels. You use heavier lures so they tend to pull the kinks out of your line anyway. That’s my take anyway. Later J
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[wbb]

Since baitcasting reels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, I'll just use the smaller casting reels for this list of advantages.

Inline vs Baitcast reel
1) Most light ice equipment (rods, holders,...) are designed for under-slung reels. You can use them with baitcasters but the rods can twist if the eyelets are far enough from the rod, which isn't good, sometimes...
2) Spool diameter. The inline reels have roughly double the diameter spool of the baitcasters. This means larger looser loops of line to straighten out. Only really matters if you're using light jigs.
3) A lot of baitcasters have a really small level wind guide. Its pretty easy to get ice on the line that sticks in there. No such problem with the inline reels.

Honestly I wouldn't have picked up an inline reel except, my little nephews are just beginning to go with me and their father. They haven't yet mastered the art of not reeling against the drag. The birds nest they can create almost makes the Freefall Ghost economical, just for not replacing the line.
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[RockyRaab]

I quit ice fishing but kept one Eagle Claw inline reel for use on a 9-ft crappie rod. That rod is strictly for vertical jigging next to stickups and docks, so there's no casting involved. The inline is perfect for that.
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[DjHill16]

I have five of the normal eagle claw inlines and two of the magnums. None of them have given me any issues in the four or five years that I have been using them. The normal sized ones have handled everything from blue gill and perch to small lake trout from bear lake and 24" browns from porcupine. I bought the two magnums two years ago in hopes of trying them at bear lake for the big lakers but we have been ice free there for a while. For the money I absolutely love them but have had my eye on the 13 fishing reels for a while just haven't needed a reason to get one yet.
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[catchinon]

I was wondering about the Descend, but it doesn't have a lot of hype. Must be hard being Black Betty's little brother. At less than half the price I think I'll try it. Meantime I can see how joatmon's Eagle Claw is and decide if I want one of those.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Descend is a higher quality version of the Eagleclaw design. Basically the same functions, but higher quality stuff so it works better less failures for sure. Better fit finish and balance and feel. Later J
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[SkunkedAgain]

I agree the inlines really have a limited use, but they are great for what they do. Later J
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[N.E.T.O.]

As others have mentioned, I tried them out and realized that I just didn't see any improvement over the spinning reels. In fact, when using some pole holders they are more difficult since the reel hangs below the pole.

I usually just set my setups down on an elevated cooler or something anyway, so it's no big deal either way, but I currently don't have any level winds/baitcasters in my ice fishing arsenal.

When I ice fish flaming Gorge, I'll take my Calcutta just because it's already setup for giant mac fishing, but that's really my only exception.
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[catchinon]

Oops, just noticed I was getting the name wrong-- it's Descent, not Descend. Sorry if I threw anybody off.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Sorry that was me that started that mistake. Glad you corrected it. J
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[MACMAN]

That’s great to hear the Decent has worked out for you. I have a couple Snitch/Decent combos on order. The snitch rod is by far the best panfish rod I have used. My boy fights me for it on every trip to Pineview.
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