Fly Reels

[Fred_Bear]

I tried one of these after hearing so much about them with the no line twist but I must be missing something because I couldn't stand it.

How do people deal with having less than 10" of line pick up per handle turn. It was so SLLOOOWWW and I lost multiple fish before finally just handlining.

Can someone with a lot of experience using fly reels for ice fishing please tell me what I am doing wrong...

[queenpdog]

I can't help you out, because I feel the same way. I got one of the Frabill straight line combos for my birthday and I'm just not seeing the benefits. The only time I really like it is in really shallow water, where stripping off handfulls of line isn't an issue. It's a nice rod, and the reel seems to be of good quality, but for me the feel isn't there becuase reeling in fish feels like running in slow motion. It's sometimes hard to tell if the fish is still on my line.

I plan to use it through the season to give it a good evaluation. Maybe I'll have a lightbulb moment and learn to love it somehow.

[Slabasaurus]

I was intrigued by the concept of a fly reel on an ice rod, and happened to have a 6 wt cabelas reel layin around, so I put it on my spring bobber rod for first ice. I thought at first it might be a bit too big and bulky, but the weight didn't have much of a negative impact on anything, so I gave it a shot.

The concept worked great. Only issue was the reel itself wasn't the greatest, so I picked up an SLV 6 weight before my week up north. It's pretty light, and the best part is it has approx 12 inches of line retrieve. The basin on the lake I fish most often is about 24 feet deep, so the longer retrieve really helps there. Also, the bulkier 6 wt is easier to handle with gloves on.

Below I've linked a post by Dark Cloud from not too long ago that I used as a guide to settin the fly reel up with backing. the craft foam idea is great, helps save on the amount of line you need, and adds to the line retrieve.

New Rod and Reel

[IamZombie]

There were some guys at the ice fishing show that make some straight line reels.

ice tech fishing systems

I really like the design, but I can't afford to drop that much on a reel.

They said they have a 12" retrieve per turn.

[Scott M]

You're not doing anything wrong. You don't have the gear ratios to pick up tons of line. That's the tradeoff in using a fly reel rather than spinning gear. Obviously check to make sure your reel is full, i.e. that you have a full arbor and are getting the maximum pickup per turn.

Straight line setups are designed for fishing in shallow water. You have a couple options if you go deeper. Put the fish on the reel, which it sounds like you are doing, or strip-play the fish. If you're dealing with small panfish, you can probably strip them in. But if it's anything with more size, you are going to want to put them on the reel.

FYI, for anyone looking to get into it, I wouldn't go out of my way to buy a fly reel just for ice fishing. If you already have one and can move it off a fly rod to an ice reel, give it a shot. Otherwise it's a huge waste of money, unless you buy a cheapie and for me I want a quality reel that I can use summer and winter. If you are going to only use a fly reel in the winter, look at Schooley's reels. You can buy a simple plastic reel that achieves the same thing (eliminates line twist) for about $3 or $4.

I'd look pretty ridiculous with a $300 Bauer Junior Mac on this Quiverstick if I didn't use that same reel in the summer. Some would say I'm foolish just to bring it with on the ice in case it ever got pulled in the drink! However, for what I paid for it, I want to put it to use, use the palming rim and I love the drag.

If you aren't comfortable with the smaller gear ratio or you fish deeper water, you probably want to try something else.

[Twins Guy]

Been fishing an okuma from TB since last season and because of the lack of pickup i tend to only use it in shallow water-less than say 12'. Over that depth and I find it takes too long to bring em up and it is tough to keep tension on the line. heaven forbid they swim towards you! I chose the size 3 reel and like it but might steer someone toward a larger arbor reel for more line pickup per handle revolution. I have mine filled nearly to the lip with fly line backing and then maybe 50 yds mono.

[fsnrod]

I like underspin reels for panfish I just stretch the line when it kinks.

[blackdog1101]

I use one almost exclusively for panfish. I flyfish and have a dozen or more reels so it was no problem for me to try one. I actually built an ice rod that has a fly rod grip and reel seat. Yes it takes up line slower, but thats the nature of the gear, and trade off for a better presentation to finicky fish.

[Esox_Magnum]

I love mine, I use it as deep as 18' so far and will use it down to 20'... I haven't found I have lost anymore fish than normal, jig design and rod choice has more to do with loosing fish than the reel....I run a 2/3 Okuma SLV on a 24" lite action Scheels rod....Yes it's slower than a spinning reel but have yet to loose tension even on the deeper fish...

[Mike Walerak]

I am all for the Schooley's reelsover the fly reels. I have a bunch of the rod reel combos I use for shallow water fishing. The problem it is kind of hard to find the original Schooley's. The knock offs do not have a drag like the Schooley's but they eliminate line twist just the same. The best part is the rod and reel is normally about 10 bucks!

mw

[UncleKes]

Every so often some new gizmo or technique or whatever comes along. I guess a single action fly reel for ice fishing was bound to come along sooner or later?? I have caught nearly every freshwater species that exists in Minnesota's water with a fly rod and Cabela's Madison River Single Action Fly Reel. Like most things in life you use the best tool for the job. At least that is what I have found in 55 years of fishing.

I am not impressed with a fly reel on an ice rod! You may be able to hook panfish and a small walleye or northern with one, but lets face it, there are better types of reels out there?

Just give me a nice spinning or spin cast or if I really must a casting reel (for lakers or the odd muskie.)

There is a reason why we use the tools we use out there, you know? There is also a reason why people don't use fly fishing equipment on the ice!

Call me old fashioned but leave my spinning reel on my ice rod!

[Scott M]

True UncleKes, but I'm sure that you've looked down a hole in those 55 years of fishing and watched a school of bluegills hold a foot off your jig as it spins like a basketball on Meadowlark Lemon's index finger! Sometimes the right tool is a straight line reel.

[Alagnak]

Which could be a number of different reels besides a fly reel. Some of cost $10 or less.

[Scott M]

+1 Alagnak, like I mentioned earlier, buy a cheapie. But I wouldn't go as far as to say that spinning gear is always the best tool for ice fishing.

[jake23]

I got mine from cabelas an put it on my TB rod works great but I decided to only use it when the fishin is slow. I used it a few times when the fishin was hot an got tired of having to reel down to the fish instead of just opening the bail. Figured if the bite was hot it probably didn't matter if there was some line twist. It took some time though to get used to the drag. Had a bigger fish bite an forgot I had to let go of the handle when it decided to run an snapped my line.