Everyone using Fly Reels

[WolfpackFishNGuy]

I understand the benefits of a Fly Reel for ice fishing being maninly that there is no line twists which decreases the amount of spinning occuring of the bait down in the presentation zone. Any other benefits?

My thoughts are this is great idea for fishing crappies and bluegills particularly in shallow water < 15' per say.

It would seem to me that fishing deeper water and for other species lets say walleye that a spinning reel would be a better option.

I'm asking others opinions in my preparation for this ice season I was thinking outfitting everything with fly reels but now I'm thinking its a mixed bag of both. Thoughts????

[Lawrence Luoma]

I use fly reels and schooley's for all my panfish rods. For anything else it's back to spinning reels as line twists are really only a problem while using light tackle. Another benefit to using a fly reel is to reduced line coiling do to the larger diameter spools. Bite detection with light tackle requires a straight line from your rod tip (or spring) to your jig. Any coil, bend in line and or swivel will cause you to miss a lot fish that are biting that you won't detect because you won't have that straight line to the jig.

[anderson_dc]

It doesn't hurt to have a mix of fly reels and spinning reels in your arsenal. You can certainly fish fly reels in water deeper than 15', it's just more tedious getting your line up and down from those deeper areas. It's not a big deal if you are fishing a piece of structure where the fish will hang around for a little while. But if you're fishing a school of roaming perch or crappies and only have a couple of minutes to catch fish before the school moves on, a fly reel is probably not your best option.

[Tony Mariotti]

I've played a little with the Dave Genz Ice Spooler Reel and for my panfish outings in shallow water, I can't wait to team this combo up with my 48" Jason Mitchell Meat Stick. When I'm on a shallow slough with gills that are getting spooked by either feet moving, or shadows, or line twist....this is going to give me a crazy, new approach! I've seen fish spook in shallow (5-9ft) when I hover over the hole, especially on early and late ice. The longer rod approach, with the benefits of a fly reel.....oh boy, look out! We are getting closer!

[Dylan8351]

I've had a great deal of success using fly reels. Most of the fishing I do through the ice is in 8' of water or less so I don't reel much. I think if I was going to be reeling much I would take my chances with spinning gear. It does help with line twist though!