Personnal Moral Victory-Threw Black Betty Down The Hole!

[Hawg]

Man I hated that thing!

[hnd]

quite frankly i finally was done with inlines last year.  i still have a 6061 and an eagle claw on 2 backup rods but they are gone off my main rods.   i'd not noticed a pickup in catch rates with them and i've not noticed a drop off without them.  

 

[LindellProStaf]

I had thought about trying one but they seem so old fashioned with a 1 - 1 ratio I just couldn't get into it.

[brian6715]

I always laughed at them, I think it will be a fad (an expensive fad). I guess I don't see the advantage, I have never had an issue with line twist, but maybe I am just extremely lucky?!

I can't imagine the 1-1 ratio, I would go insane. Imagine hole hopping over a nice crappie hole, that is a lot of extra cranking!!

 

[RebelSS]

They have their time and place. When I'm in the mood for an in-line, I just grab one of my old Schooley's.  

[Dusty]

I am with you. I also hate the inlines. Have one but never use it.

[brian6715]

The $$ they charge for some of them is quite hilarious too

Edited January 25, 2016 by brian6715

[CaptainMusky]

The 6061 is not a 1 to 1 reel. Much more conventional line pick up.

[MN BassFisher]

I have had an Eagle Clawn inline (Grey), the Eagle Claw (Tony Roach) model (Red/Black) and the Black Betty 6061. The one that has worked the best for me is the Tony Roach model. I think they have their place in shallow water and can be fun but my biggest complaint is with the drag. The difference between completely cinched down and not at all is like a quarter of a turn. I usually wind up having to fish these inlines with the drags buttoned down which doesn't give me much faith when I hook into a big fish, I've tried to back the drag off, went to set the hook and had a bunch of line come spouting out. That never happens with my spinning reel and my drag can be controlled just the way I like it and adjusted during the fight with ease. 

[perchking]

Never was a fan, but I don't fish shallow water.  My buddy had a BB this past weekend fishing crappie, it took longer to reel up the fish in 30FOW than it did to drop a jig back down.

 

 

[RebelSS]

I find their use best in shallow water for jigging. That's about the only time I use mine.

Edited January 26, 2016 by RebelSS

[wormdunker]

I am tossing an Eagle Claw Black too, the are in the end, JUNK.  At first it was a nice reel that worked well in shallow water.  The anti reverse gear started going this weekend.  On hook set or when fighting a fish the gear would release and let line out randomly, cost me a bunch of fish and one really big gill.

I have 2 model13 silver reels that are still working but I noticed something going on one of them as well this weekend.  All are less than a year old.  Oh well I gave it a try.  Back to Spinning reels.

[rundrave]

I just started using the Eagle Claw Magnum Inline reel and I love it so far. only a couple trips out with it but its so smooth. it took some dialing in but once I got it figured out its been flawless.

I am curious to know what do the more expensive inline reels do differently or better than the eagle claw or other cheaper brands? Is it weight or materials they are made of?

[Hawg]

My Eagle Claw is still in above water, the BB was nothing but a pain. I think it's all marketing, the're way to simple to have major differences.

[Scott O.]

I use an Eagle Claw inline as well as a No. 13 CGi inline and I really like both of them.  Once I got the drags dialed in, haven't had any problems since and I've fished with the Eagle Claw in 40 FOW on a number of occasions with it.  Now it performs best in less than 15 FOW, but can be used in other situations.  I wonder what was the matter with some of the other ones.  I am not a fan of the Black Betty due to a lack of a free spool feature.  I prefer this on my inlines, but can't fathom paying over $40 for others like the Frabill 3.7 or 13 Fishing 6061.  Guess it's a matter of personal preference.  Now I'm never going to convert to all inlines, but like others have said, they have their time and place.

[wormdunker]

I found the problem with mine.  The black eagle claw drive gears are pretty cheap to say the least. When you take the spool off there is a silver cap that threads on the interior of the spool.  The cap provides tolerances for the drive shaft but also and more importantly secures the gear in place on the spool.  I noticed the spool "gear", which is just a small stamped piece of steel (maybe 1/16" thick) that has 4 dog teeth ears on the outside of the gear to keep it from spinning in the plastic spool, was not seated flat in that spool.  It was at an angle.  The angle created a scenario where the drive gear would catch the spool gear on the high side and not the other.  It felt like a gear had stripped out when in actuality it was only catching half of the gear teeth.  

I took it apart, re-seated the gear in the black plastic of the spool and tightened the cap.  Ideally, if I decide to used the reel again, I will go back in there and cement that gear in place so it doesn't move.  Just an FYI to help.  If you feel like the reel gears are stripped out, check of this. 

[fishdog]

EVERY WINTER  IT SEEMS LIKE I ......"DONATE"  SOMETHING DOWN THE HOLE!  

USUALLY  ITS AN ACCIDENT..  BUT 

ONE WINTER IT WAS MY PROPAIN LATERN  ,AFTER THE LID FELL DOWN THE HOLE,  I "DONATED" THE THE REST OF IT DOWN. 

MY BAD...

FUNNY "PERSONAL MORAL VICTORY" 

i TOO CAN RELATE TO THIS CONCEPT...

[Hawg]

I was just out at Gander Mountain and told him the story of throwing the black Betty down the hole. He asked me which one I bought and when I told him he said that was a two-year-old model on closeout. There were no closeout signs anywhere to be seen when I bought it. He said they had a ton complaints on them. A special thank you to Gander Mountain for selling me their old junk!!!

[Jim Uran]

All I use are inlines, I'm a 1 to 1 fan. So far the clam spoolers and the frabill inline work the best for me. I've used the black betty 1:1 and was not a fan at all. The other two work wonders though. I prefer them over spinning but I've got a few spinning rods rigged up for when I take the fam out. 

[Hawg]

I actually like my Eagle Claw cheapie. BB was junk.

[jBohmer]

I always wanted to try on  of the in line reels just hadn't bit on it yet, mostly due to the slow season so far.  Thanks for all the above posts I think I am fine with what I got now I've spent enough on new ice fishing toys anyway. 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

29 minutes ago, jBohmer said:

I always wanted to try on  of the in line reels just hadn't bit on it yet, mostly due to the slow season so far.  Thanks for all the above posts I think I am fine with what I got now I've spent enough on new ice fishing toys anyway. 

No such thing as spending 'enough'.  There is always more to spend!!

[jBohmer]

47 minutes ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

No such thing as spending 'enough'.  There is always more to spend!!

touché`