Good reel for ice fishing

[Iceman12]

Looking for opinions on what reels people like for ice fishing?

[Matt Johnson]

I pretty much exclusively run with Tica’s or Shimano’s for ice fishing. Tica has 4 different ultralite options that cater to the ice angler. The Tica Cetus LF500 and the SS500 are both good options.

Cetus SS500

• Gear Ratio: 5.2
• Weight: 6.3 oz
• Bearings: 6BB+1RB
• Line Retrieved Handle Turn: 20.2 in
• LineCapacity(lb-yds): 4-95 | 6-60 | 8-50

Cetus LF500

• Gear Ratio: 5.2
• Weight: 6.2 oz
• Bearings: 2BB+1RB
• Line Retrieved Handle Turn: 20.2 in
• LineCapacity(lb-yds): 4-95|6-60|8-50

There are also other models available from Tica that range in different bearings and features. I generally use the two mentioned above.

For Shimano, the Symetre 750, the Sahara 750FB, or the Sedona 750FB are all great choices…

Symetre 750

• Slow Oscillation for excellent line lay resulting in greater distance.
• (4) A-RB Anti-Rust Bearings.
• (1) Super Stopper II Roller Beaing anti-reverse for instant hooksetting power.
• Solid unflexing Aluminum frame.
• Lightweight Graphite rotor and sideplates.
• Cold Forged Aluminum spare spool.
• Fluiddrive II ploished, oversized drive gear for increased efficency.
• Floating shaft reduces friction between the spool shaft and the pinion gear.
• Power Roller oversized lineroller reduces line twist.
• Dyna-Balance eliminates wobble during the retrieve by counter balancing the rotor.

Sahara 750FB

• 3 A-RB® Anti-rust ball bearings.
• 1 Super Stopper II® Roller Bearing anti-reverse for instant hooksetting power.
• Solid, Unflexing Aluminum Frame.
• Lightweight Graphite rotor and sideplate.
• Cold Forged Aluminum spool for increased strength and durability.
• Cold Forged Aluminum spare spool.
• Fluidrive II® polished, oversized drive gear for increased efficiency.
• Floating Shaft reduces friction between the spool shaft and pinion gear for a smooth, effortless retrieve.
• Power Roller® oversized line roller reduces line

  twist.

• Dyna-Balance® eliminates wobble during the retrieve by counter balancing the rotor.

Sedona 750FB

• 3 A-RB® Anti-rust ball bearings.
• 1 Super Stopper II® Roller Bearing anti-reverse for instant hooksetting power.
• Lightweight Graphite frame, rotor and sideplate.
• Cold Forged Aluminum spool for increased strength and durability.
• Cold Forged Aluminum spare spool.
• Fluidrive II® polished, oversized drive gear for increased efficiency.

Those would be my top three Shimano choices. I also like to run the Sadona 1500FB for my larger ice rods where I need more line and need to balance things out better. I have a Sadona 1500FB on a Thorne Bros Professional Plus and it provides a great set-up.

Abu Garcia, Silstar, Diawa, Quantum… are other brands to take a look at. Just make sure the reel matches the rod and desired species. Also make sure the reel is going to function properly in cold weather, this means both the drag system and the smoothness of the retrieve. Those are really two of the major factors to pay attention to. You don’t want a reel that’s going to malfunction in cold weather when you need it the most.

There are really a lot of option out there for reels,..

[icehousebob]

Matt, You're making it waaay too complicated. Just ask yourself two questions about the reel you might buy for ice fishing: #1 Will it do what I want it to do in cold weather? #2 How will I feel if I break it or drop it down the hole? I have some very nice summer reels that never get near the ice. They can't pass question #2.

[Bob Horn]

Tica Cetus!!! Simple enough.

[CrappieJohn]

Now Bob...fess up here and tell everyone about your triggerspins from Zebco. lol

[icehousebob]

Tom, If I had one, I wouldn't mind dropping it down the hole. Seriously, the last couple ice reels I bought are the lower buck Guide Series from Gander. They're loose enough that they don't stiffen up when they get cold.I also like to clean out the grease and use light machine oil instead.

[Northlander]

All the reels mentioned are great. I also have 2 JR's tackle reels that I really like. Check out this sponsors site at www.jrstackle.com

[hanson]

Iceman-

I am a super huge fan of the Tica Cetus SS500. It is an awesome reel at a decent price! After that, the Shimanos that Matt Johnson mentioned in the smaller sizes (500 & 750) are great little reels!

I'm still trying to figure out a way to properly balance a Garcia 7000C3 on a Thorne Bros rod. (Little inside joke there to the catfisherman!)

[Bob Horn]

TC, I was just trying to give Matt props. Actually zebcos are my go to reels. LOL Had to let the cat out of the bag, way to go Tom.

[wallydiver]

About how much do the Tica Cetus reels run? I'm in the market for some new reels also.

[Bob Horn]

If you can get a great sale $40. if probably $50. I got the last year for $40 buy I bought 5 of them. (zebcos lol)

[wallydiver]

I'll have to keep an eye open for a sale. I'm sure the wifey would be just THRILLED if I bought five of them!

[hanson]

wallydiver-

I picked up a couple Tica Cetus SS500 last year for much less than $40. It was at Gander Mt. late in the ice season. I want to say it was $30. There is no way I could confirm that but I was shocked at the price at the time and was trying to figure out how they were different from my other Ticas?? They weren't!

[wallydiver]

The hunt is on for a good deal on one of those reels.

Hanson, in my opinion, you seem to know quite a bit about sleds. I'm sure you saw my power valve cable post in the snowmobile forum. My question is: Do you know if there are any special adjustments that need to be made when replacing one of these? Some guy I talked to earlier said there is a few adustments that need to made and I'm not sure if I believe him.

[Matt Johnson]

The Tica Cetus' will run anything from about $25 - $55 depending on where you get them and which model you get...

[hanson]

wallydiver-

I think I own about the same sled as you do. Mine is an '02 ZR600EFI. Honestly, I don't have a clue.

I can turn a wrench pretty well on the older stuff but once you add a computer & exhaust valves, I get a little intimidated.

I would just swing into RV Sports up there in TRF and start chatting with the guys, or give them a call perhaps. The worst thing that could happen is they'll want you to bring the sled in but I've found most dealers helpful in giving advice on something simple.

I would assume that the exhaust valves function in a similar manner to a carb choke. The important thing being that they need to be synchronized and open & close the same amount. Now I've never done this but perhaps you could feel for the synchronization and movement by pulling the pipes off and feeling in the exhaust ports. This would be similar to getting the synchronization close on a twin set of Mikunis. Just a thought.

[iffwalleyes]

The ticas are a awesome reel. I bought 1 lf 500 cetus 2 years ago and since have bout 2 more LF and 3 SS 500. They are awesome reels and work flawlessly everytime out. I sure have been happy with them. I used to use Shimanos always before. I still use several shimanos but they aren't my main reel. On all of my main rods I have Tica. They really balance out nicely on my Thorne Bros rods.

[fisherdog19]

You won't find a better reel then the Tica Cetus. I have one on all four of my ice fishing set ups. One six ball bearing and three four ball bearing ones. You can find them for a good price on e bay. I got two of the four ball bearing ones for 20 bucks each, they go for 30 at Fleet Farm. The SS500 are their top reel for icefishing.

[Guest]

Use all Tica.Try HSOList under fishing equipment or ice fishing and then tica reels,sometimes a pretty good deal.Watch the shipping costs and remember there is no sales tax.

[CrappieJohn]

I know this topic was floating around late in the ice season last spring. Honestly, there are a ton of fine reels out there that will work. The Ticas and the Shimanos are the top dogs though. I lean towards the Shimanos like Matt and others here will tend to favor the Ticas. Is one superior over the other? Not really.

Regardless of what you decide on, do yourself a favor and remove the side plate, remove the grease inside the case, and give the shaft and gears a good drink of Hot Sauce. I don't care what brand of reel you like the best, they'll all operate a bunch smoother by doing this. And remember that the bearing count can go against smoothness in the extreme cold. Having sealed bearings, those reels with eight or ten bearings can get darned stiff when the temps take the dive.

[wallydiver]

WOW! Busy topic tonight. I leave for a little while to play some "basement hockey" with my 4 year old and come back to a bunch of responses. I'll watch hsolist for some deals.

Hanson - I'll take it to RV as a last resort. Being from trf, I have a tough time paying a dealer when I know a ton of guys that work at Arctic. I just need to find one from salvage and I'll hopefully just fork out a case of cold ones and I can get one of those guys to pick one up and install it for me.

If I do it myself I can see me screwing something up. I took the hood off to get a flame job (simple enough, right?), put it back on, now the speedo doesn't work. I can't imagine what'll happen with a power valve!

Hanson and/or Matt: Either one you planning an early trip up to LOW. If so we should meet up and chase some piggies. I'm excited to finally hit the ice with a sled this year.

[Jim Hudson]

Yup what Crappie Tom said... I always try to get as much of that excess grease I can from a new reel. Performs so much better in sub zero temps.

Oh, another fan of Tica reels along with the smaller sized Abu reels. This year I will be trying out some of the Okuma spinning reels, I have some nice looking small spinning reels on the way from this company.

[Matt Johnson]

An early ice trip up to LOW will probably be on the agenda. Drop me an e-mail and we'll have to keep in touch...

[BigDaddy]

If it's in your budget, the SS500 IS the reel to have. Buy it/them early. I was looking for one in late December for a gift and had to hit a number of stores.

[Iceman12]

Crappie Tom or anyone knowledgeable with grease: As far as removing the grease. Do you just wipe it out or is there a special way to do this? Thanks