?Best Non-Mono Ice Line?

[Mike Stark]

do folks use braided ice line??? does it freeze up bad if fishing outside??

what are folks favorite non-mono lines?

thanks,

mike

[bobbymalone]

What situations do you use braided line for on the ice? Do you just want high strength and a small diameter? Do you not want your line to stretch?

I have never used it on the ice. Mono seems to work fine for me, but I mostly work a bobber and a minnow with one pole and jig anything from a tiny ratso for sunnies to a decent sized rattling spoon with a minnow head for northern. I mostly fish for crappies or unsuccessfully for walleye. I have poles strung up with between 2 and 10 lb mono.

[Esox_Magnum]

Any braid will freeze outside, nature of the braid is it picks up water. I use all mono for ice fishing, tried Crystal in 1 pound ( might still have it on a jig rod) After seeing it on the camera it stood out like a 1/4" rope.

[palisade1kid]

Gamma copoly is my go to line in the winter.

Low memory,low stretch and awesome strength in thinner diameters.

Most of the braid styles freeze up from holding water in the line.

[Mike Stark]

i will be fishing for 10lb plus walleye up north.

anyone use power pro ice?

[bobbymalone]

Low memory,low stretch and awesome strength in thinner diameters.

That's nice and all, but I can get that from reading the box...

Why do you use it? What presentations are you using where mono has too much memory, too much stretch, or not enough strength at an acceptable diameter?

I understand why you might want it if you need something 10lb plus, otherwise I don't see the advantage. Not trying to be an @ss, just trying to understand.

I don't have a problem with memory with high quality mono.

[Esox_Magnum]

10# eyes can be caught on 4# mono line, did last year anyway.

[Mike Stark]

if i hook into a 15lb walleye...which would not surprise anyone in this fisherie(at least a couple 15lbers were caught last winter)...i dont want 4# pound test...this isnt your everyday walleye fishing.

[Mike Stark]

i would be fishing 1/2oz-3/4 jigs and #6 Chubby's.

[Ed Carlson]

I use 4/15 Power Pro Polar Ice line, or 2/10 Power Pro Ice on the Greenbacks, it will perform well for you.

Your Rod, and more specifically the line guides on the rod, is the key component to preventing ice-up. Along with line preparation, icing is manageable, and for the most part can be eliminated.

Treating your line with Ardent Line Butter makes superbraids lines even more icing resistant...very good stuff.

Another good product to limit icing and will also keep your line in good shape on the ice is Blakemore's Reel Magic , I use both, both help significantly to limit icing and to promote good spooling characteristics on mono and braids.

Choose a rod with larger diameter (ID) line guides and specifically thin Stainless Steel guides. Thick fat and small guides ice up quickly, as the thicker guides attract the moisture beads and cool them, and that will collect and turn into ice that hinders line travel through the guides and the reel roller bearing on the bail.

I prefer very thin stainless steel guides on my ice rods. And specifically SS Guides that are tapered with an edge at the top (inside ID) of the insert to chip off accumulated ice particles on the line...look close at some SS guides..you will see what I mean.

The SS guides also will not crack in the cold, far more durable in the long run. Line feeds through the stainless steel guides far smoother too. A quick snap of the rod, and any accumulated ice beads fly off.

For mono, the GAMA Polar Ice line is very good, and spools and holds it's strength better than any mono I have used on the ice.

[Mike Stark]

thanks ed....thats the info i was looking for!

[Ed Carlson]

Your very welcome.

[DTro]

I love braid and have tried several times to use it ice fishing. IF you are inside a heated house, I still like braid, but at this point I don't have enough rod/reels to have (outside rods) and (inside rods). I guess I could swap spools, but I guess I haven't found a compelling reason to use braid.

Like ED mentioned, the guides can make a difference, but I actually have a lot more issues with the line freezing up near the water line, it just grows and grows until you have this huge ice ball on your line, then you always have to clear that off.

It's a major pain.

I guess I just need to have "outside" rods and "inside" rods.

[erickol]

P-line

[jbird68]

I have 2 pound crystal on a couple of my rods. I like it but it will ice up. I think it also makes my Fr***ll spring bobber ice up. I just blow the ice out every so often. I've brought in some nice Bass on that 2# line.

[Ed Carlson]

Ya..I agree...the ice booger at the water line is a pain...that is a tough one to remedy. The fan downdraft pointed to the hole helps inside....but outside....I'm still stumped there...so I just consider it a line marker tell I get around to snapping it off.