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fly reels for the ice

mww24

By mww24
in Ice Fishing

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mww24 Experienced

mww24

Posted
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What can you all tell me about using fly reels for ice fishing? I mainly fish for pannies in the winter. I'm thinking of trying it out on a couple spring bobber rods this winter. I have been using ticas and a few gander spinning reels till now. What are the sizes the reels come in? what size works best on a ice rod? what kind of line do I spool? what are some of the advantages and disadvantges compared to a spinning reel? Basically, if you have info I want it. Thank you

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RiverFish Mentor

RiverFish

Posted
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I don't use the fly reels, but I do have some info. My understanding of using fly reels is to reduce line twist. The line twist thus causes your jigs to spin under the ice. The spinning jig can cause fish to be turned off by your bait. I use a good qaulity swivel to try to reduce my line twist. Hopefully I achieve that.

Sorry I don't have any specifics on size of reel or line.

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dfeste Community Regular

dfeste

Posted
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I use the 4/5 size reels, the other option is the 2/3 size. Either will work just fine. To spool line I fill the reel mostly with 40lb mono and just put whatever your normal ice fishing line is on top as you would with a spinning reel. You want the reel as full as possible to get the most line on each twist. As noted above the advantage is that the line will not twist as it does on a spinning reel.

I admit that it took some time to get used to but now I actually prefer the feel over a spinning combo. I use these rods as my primary jigging rod. After reading your post I'm thinking about setting my deadstick, bobber rod up this way as well.

I'm a big fan of the Okuma SLV reels. They can be found online for about $45. I would put the drags on the SLV reels up against any spinning reel costing twice as much.

These reels are at a 1:1 gear ratio so that is where they fall short of a spinning reel. I have yet to fish crappie in water over 25 feet so I don't consider that a huge disadvantage. You simply have to watch your line as you are either back reeling or peeling it off and you will be fine. It does also take longer to get the lure back down the hole.

Dave

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polarsusd81 Grand Master

polarsusd81

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Not at a reasonable price for a reel that isn't 1:1. I run fly reels in the 4/5 range and get between 9-11" of line per turn on them. I fish them shallow and deep and my panfish rods are all rigged with them. Love em. Hopefully next year there will be a "new" one on the market catered towards ice anglers.

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stumper Community Regular

stumper

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I run the biggest reel I can find, i want it to retrieve as much line per crank as possible. I use 20lb mono as a backer and them take a few of the tape tabs that come on new spools of line and put it over the backer in a few spots. This keeps the heavy mono from loosening up on the spool and it keeps the lighter ice line from pulling into the backing. You can build a much better combo than the Frabill for less money if you shop around for a reel.

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Dark Cloud Grand Master

Dark Cloud

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Yes. Martin Multiplier has a 3:1 gear ratio. I do not know anything about these reels or whether or not they would work for ice fishing.

They weigh about the same as your average brick! lol...

Only a matter of time till someone markets a flyreel for ice anglers that is lightweight and has some sort of gear multiplying feature. cool

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walleyehuntR1975 Rookie

walleyehuntR1975

Posted
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Was at the big C store today and saw Frabil is offering a ice rod & fly reel combo this year. I like the look and feel of the set up. Price tag held me back. I liked the reel but it was not available without the rod.

the only place I have found that offers the frabill straightline reels is at thorne bros. online. But I think most of the guys that use the flyreels will tell you that you could get a much better reel for a few more bucks. I wouldnt know personally because I've never used a flyreel.

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polarsusd81 Grand Master

polarsusd81

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After handling the Frabill reel I have to agree with walleyehuntR, you can get a much better reel at even the same price if you look around. They went with a 1/2 size on that Frabill and it is tiny. You will be lucky to get 7" per turn filled to the brim on that one. The counterbalance isn't large enough to balance out the weight of the oversized handle either. The other thing I really don't like about it is not being able to completely back the drag off, aka freespool.

I strip line out the end of the rod when I want to go quick, and keep a thumb on the spool as to not backlash, but I can drop a standard 1/32 ounce jig just as fast or even faster than someone with a standard ice spinning reel. No line memory with a bigger spool and no twist to gum things up either. I can even let a small jig pull the line off the reel on it's own for a super slow death sink. When you get fish in a negative mood, that super slow death sink can be just the trick needed to trigger them. I have slowed a 1/32 ounce jig to less than a foot per minute and can get it to go even slower with one click of the drag. When you do that you need to set it in a rod holder though, cause even the slightest shake and you will turn biters away. This ultra finesse technique is made much easier with a Thorne Bros Powernoodle.

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BartmanMN Grand Master

BartmanMN

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the only place I have found that offers the frabill straightline reels is at thorne bros. online. But I think most of the guys that use the flyreels will tell you that you could get a much better reel for a few more bucks. I wouldnt know personally because I've never used a flyreel.

I was at Reed's in Walker yesterday and they had a large assortment of the Frabill staight line rod/reel combos with the fly reel.

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Marcus Taplin Enthusiast

Marcus Taplin

Posted
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I got two new custom rods from Thorne Bros. this year, I bought the Frabill fly reel separate at TB and put it on a stealth. Then just picked up a cheep plastic fly reel at gander for 2bucks, I have heard a lot of guys just run those instead of buying a $40 reel. I am going to try it on my powernoodle this year, I think it will work just fine for 2 dollars!!

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polarsusd81 Grand Master

polarsusd81

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I run a few different okuma reels. I have sierras and magnitudes. The magnitudes are 4/5s and made out of magnesium, very light. I got em off the electric auction site for about 35 bucks a piece. Awesome price, but they may be hard to find now. The standard arbor reels require a lot more backing, but they have a true freespool drag for the ultra finesse stuff. The large arbor reels can get almost to true freespool, and with a couple tweaks to the innards, you can get em to perform better.

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Dark Cloud Grand Master

Dark Cloud

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thanks. So the 4/5 size isn't to big for a ice rod? do you back with mono and uni to uni your ice line to them?

I actually prefer the 4/5's on most of my ice rods. Better line retieve ratio and feel better on most rods(to me).

I do run 2/3's on short 16-20 inch rods.

I have played around with quite a few flyreels and really like the Okuma SLV. Great drag, light, and you can silence the clicker... cool

Philly35 - I have been eyeing those Tech reels. Im interested but not sold by any means. I like to "pencil" grip rods and those dont seem quite right...

I'd rather see a smaller flyreel that was light with a 1:3 ratio in it... whistle

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polarsusd81 Grand Master

polarsusd81

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Mww, I don't think a 4/5 is too big but a lot of other folks do. My hands aren't huge, but just slightly bigger than average maybe. I can easily palm the 4/5 with or without gloves. You get a bigger diameter for turning the handle too so it's a bit less akward.

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dfeste Community Regular

dfeste

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I have small hands for a guy and the 4/5 size reel feels the best to me. As said earlier I hold it like a pencil and this reel combined with a TB power noodle was by far and away my favorite. I just put one on a quiverstick and am waiting for ice to check that one out

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