Frabill Straight Line

[GatorBait]

The new Frabill straight line combo rod is out this year. Supposedly eliminates the spinning of your jigs due to line twist through a tight line technique.

So my question to you. Who has one??, who has used it already??, and what are your thoughts on it??

My early ice is shallow sight fishing and it sounds like this could be a deal breaker for that situation.

[foulpole18]

Never used the frabill combo, but put a fly reel on a setup last winter and it rocks. Really is ideal for shallow water since fly reels don't have much pick up per turn of the reel. No line twist means no spinning jigs.

[Brad B]

I bought one and it is a very nice set up. I put 110yds of 2lbs ice mono on it. I added a spring bobber to the end. there is a little spin but not near as much as a spinning reel. the key is to lighten the drag up and back reel the line off. it lowers the jig without any spin. if you just pull the line out you will get some spin. I was talking with Brian aka : Bro about it since he was the one that helped design it. he said the original prototype reel was even a hair smaller in diameter then the product models. he also aluded to the fact that there will be more options next year in this lineup. there may be a chance that they might offer the reel by its self. there has been inquiries by summer time fly fishing people. I believe you can undo the reel from the rod and reattach it the other way to make it a right hand retrieve. as it comes from the factory it is designed to be held in your right hand and reeled with you left. this my be a issue if you are use to holding the rod in you left hand and reeling with your right hand. over all it is a nice rod/reel combo. I am planning on buying another one at some point in time.

here is a pic of mine.

[foulpole18]

Brad did you put any backing on the reel before the line? If not, I would put some on to fill up the spool as much as possible to increase the amount of line picked up with each revolution.

Have fun with the setup. Fly reels are fun to use.

[Brad B]

no I didn't put backing on it. for the depth of water I plan to fish with it I don't think it will be that bad. the reel is so smooth that if you turn it fast it picks up a fair amount of line in a short time even without the backing. there is also the little trick of putting a piece of flexible foam around it to fill up the space. cut the foam to the width of the spool and wrap it around then run a piece of tape all away around that to keep the line from cutting the foam.

[silverbulletguy]

I'm wondering if you can turn them around to crank with the right hand. I didn't want to take one apart in the store but with it having drag it looked like it would only be good for left hand cranking unless their is some part inside that can be reversed. Any help?

[fishersofmen]

I played with one of these for a while at the store, really like the feel. I will be getting at least one.

[Brad B]

I'm wondering if you can turn them around to crank with the right hand. I didn't want to take one apart in the store but with it having drag it looked like it would only be good for left hand cranking unless their is some part inside that can be reversed. Any help?

you got me wondering so I took my reel off and turned it around. there is nothing you can reverse inside to switch it. the only way to make it work right handed would be to run the line to the top of the reel instead of the bottom. this would put the line closer to the rod. with the factory setup you run the line to the bottom of the reel like a normal fly reel. this maybe one of the things Bro was hinting at about next year for changes and additions(offering both left and right hand models). I will try to talk to Bro at the ice show and get some more info from him.

[g_anoka]

I looked at one of these at a local store. My question is about the drag, as I looked at the reel, you would need to back reel, or let go of the handle. Not sure if how well that would work for me. Otherwise it is an interesting new setup.

[ihc1]

I have a couple of the frabill fly reels and I think if you take the spool off, remove the wire clip that holds the bearing in , then remove the bearing and flip it over and then reinstall the bearing wire clip, and spool it should be right hand retreive. Also if you don't like the clicking as your pulling out line I found a way to remove the clicker.

[DTro]

I played around with one today at FF. Not exactly sure how the drag works, but yeah it seems like you have to let go of the thing.

My first impression was that it was uncomfortable to hold. I think the reel was hitting my palm the way I was holding it.

[Stick in Mud]

I was at Scheel's and the fishing salesman there said none of these are designed for walleye fishing. The only one they had in stock was an Ultralight, but I thought I saw some of the specs of the longer rods, and they looked like they'd work just fine for walleyes. Anyone want to chime in?

[GatorBait]

They come in 24" UL carbon fiber and 27"/32" fiberglass Quick Tip. They look to be specifically designed for panfishing, not sure they would have the overall strength for consistent gator fights. Not saying I won't try though.

[Stick in Mud]

Well I didn't say I catch walleyes "consistently," so I may just be in luck, then?

[GatorBait]

Well, I've brought 50"+ sturgeon in on jig rods that shouldn't have stood a chance to that type of fish, so anything is realistically possible. I'll test it out this year, might just have to baby the fight a little bit.

[Brad B]

I played around with one today at FF. Not exactly sure how the drag works, but yeah it seems like you have to let go of the thing.

My first impression was that it was uncomfortable to hold. I think the reel was hitting my palm the way I was holding it.

it will be a odd feeling for someone that normally reels with their right hand. for me I like the feel because I reel with my left hand. as for it being uncomfortable to hold and hitting your palm it was designed to be palmed on the reel. yes there is the drag but by palming the reel you get extra tension on the spool when needed.

here is how I hold mine.

if you hold it like this then the drag would have to be set tighter.

[Stick in Mud]

I love how you've got them all rigged up and ready to go, Brad. You're a guy I'd trust for fishing info!

[Brad B]

I love how you've got them all rigged up and ready to go, Brad. You're a guy I'd trust for fishing info!

I like to have everything ready to go ahead of time. now we just need some good ice on the lakes. My typical year is like this. starting april 1st I fish for Blue Gills and Catfish ,fish them all summer. I stop Blue Gill fishing around the begining of August(don't like the dog days of summer for lake fishing) but hit the river for the cats still. once fall starts I try to get out after the gills again once the water starts to cool down and clear up. I normally end my open water season by the 1st of November. this is when I break out the ice gear and get it ready for the upcoming hardwater season. during late spring/early summer I try to mix it up alittle by doing some Bass and Northern fishing. also like to get a few trips in up to mille lacs for Walleye and Perch. I also try to make time in the spring to pour some sinkers and jigs for the upcoming open water season. as for the ice season I start fishing when there is 4 inches of good ice and fish until the first week of March. during the ice season I target Blue Gills and Crappies and every so often I will put out a tip up to see if I can get a roaming Northern. I have tried the last two years to ice some Channel Cats but the cats are still winning, hopefully that will change this year.

[DTro]

I'm right handed, so yes typically use my left hand with a spinning reel. I normally hold my ice rods sort of like I would a pencil (not like either of those pics).

I've seen guys use fly reels and I see them holding it way in front of the reel to get it out of the way.

I don't know, its something that might make it easier (line twist) yet makes it harder (horrible gear ratio and somewhat uncomfortable). They kind of cancel each other out. Not to mention they are pushing $60

I guess I'll have to try one out for myself rather than speculate.

[silverbulletguy]

I agree with dtro-Spendy and not sure they would help me catch more fish but I'm interested in trying one out. I'm probably gonna wait til I find something a bit cheaper. If they just sold the reel for $20-$30 a guy could pick one up and put it on a rod to try it out.

[foulpole18]

Look around for different fly reels. I picked up a Cabelas model for 29.99 on sale this summer. Its not quite as good as the Okuma I got last summer, but it looks better than the Frabill model I looked at FF.

[stillwaterangler]

I have a pan fish popper from Frabill that I'm thinking of trying to make into one of the straight line rods by adding a fly rod reel I have here at the house. The reel is slightly larger than the on Brad's pictures but I think with some backing on it I shouldn't have too much of a problem. Any thoughts?

[Brad B]

Look around for different fly reels. I picked up a Cabelas model for 29.99 on sale this summer. Its not quite as good as the Okuma I got last summer, but it looks better than the Frabill model I looked at FF.

what size was the cabelas reel. I would like to get a size 2/3 reel but the only 2/3 reel I seen in their fly fishing catalog was one made by reddington and it was $99.99 so the frabil combo is cheaper then this. I may buy a frabill and pull the reel off it and use it as a summer time fly reel on a 2wt fly rod(I hope to build this next summer after I take a rod building class this winter).

[FirstIce]

I looked at one about a week ago and for the quality vs price it wasn't worth it. I ended up getting an okuma slv instead and what a huge difference

[curtistodd]

I cant justify spending $60 on this. I was at cabelas in Grand Forks on Saturday and they had quite a few fly reels in the bargain cave. Some of them were under $25.