Ice fishing reel problems

[ctuma]

I have several ice fishing reels that the drag will not work all the time. A few of them are a couple years old and 2 of them I bought last winter. When the drag is all the way tight the spool will still spin. I think the problem is when I'm done fishing I place the hook in one of the rod eyes and tighten the drag up so I don't have hooks falling off and getting caught on things. Any ideas on how to fix the problem without having to buy new reels.

[so haaad]

Sure, buy decent reels. I never thought they made that much of a difference for ice fishing until I got a Tica Cetus reel. Check out their 4bearing model if you are on a tighter budget.

[EatSleepFish]

it depends on what you mainly fish for... panfish you wont need to worry about the drag (unless you get yourself into a 1 1/2 - 2 lb. crappie), but if youre chasing walleyes, trout or northerns you better hope youve got a good reel and drag. How much did you pay for them? like alot of other things in life you get what you pay for with ice fishing reels. you cant expect much from a reel that costs under $20. If you dont want to buy new reels. id try to lube up all the gears, get the dirt out, and make sure theres no rust on any of the parts. there could be a plastic ring missing from the drag shaft that isnt allowing the knob to be turned all the way.

[mrcarp]

YES I USED TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH REELS. THEN I POSTED THE SAME QUESTION YOU HAD ON HERE. I THREW MY JUNK REELS. BOUGHT 2 TICA REELS I LOVE THEM I WAS HESATANT AT FIRST BECAUSE I NEVER HEARD OF THEM. MAN GLAD I TOOK A CHANCE SMOOTHEST DRAG I EVER HAD ON A REEL SO FAR ABOUT 40 BUCKS EACH BUT WELL WORTH IT. HOPE THIS HELPS.

[DinkADunk]

I've settled on using Shimano AX-ULS for my panfish crappie rods, various Tica reels for Perch and lighter Walleye rods (SS500's are great in the summer on ultralight rods) and the Shimano Sedona reels for the larger walleye rods; seems to be a reasonable trade between target species, capability (i.e. drag quality), and cost. That little Shimano reel is pretty good for the price and balances well on the shorter, lighter action rods. I find the larger Tica and Shimano (Sedona ) reels tend to choke down on the first guide too much for my likeing.

[ctuma]

They are my walleye reels. I brought them in the house this morning from the garage to see if was from being out in the cold and now the drags work fine. I paid around $40 for them as a combo. I think it might be the reel oil in the them thats guming up from being outside. I try putting some new oil in them and see if that helps. Thanks for the response.

[Zzapp]

Look around for some blue lube specifically formulated for ice fishing - best $3 I've spent in a while. Most outlets have it, even the "Man's mall"

[CatManLee]

I don't think you need to spend a bunch of money on a reel for it to work well! I'm not sure how much I paid for my ice reels, but they weren't too expensive. I use HT Reels, I don't have them in front of me, so I don't know the model, but they work great. They have 6 ball bearings, a nice tight feel and have good drags that haven't let me down yet! I 'm sure there are better ones out there as with anything, but these work just fine and didn't cost much. I have had the reels now for 3 years, (4 of them) and they still work like the day I got 'em.

Sure brand does matter...I'm not saying any low priced reel will work, but some do work great. Shop around and make sure you are going to like it before you buy it. I want my ice reels to have the same overall feel as my summer reels, just a bit smaller.

JMO, Good luck...

[pulsar_nx]

I think the problem is when you tightn the drag your squishing the felt drag washer. When it's cold it might not be springing back once it's loose.

You may only need a new washer thats lighly oiled. Or it could be a cheap reel.

I've got a $13 bait caster that does that when the line is pulled out. But it also sounds like they used gravel for grease in it.

[fiskyknut]

Loosen your drag at the end of the day. Your tightening of the drag and leaving it that way is what caused your problems most likely.

fiskyknut

[zamboni]

I bought a Berkley Cherrywood combo at the outlet in Spirit Lake, IA for $9.99, that reels a POS, but the Cherrywood rods nice. I also have a South Bend Crystal Ice I got at K-Mart, that was $12.99, and a very good rod and reel.

[jphersh22]

How are the Ticas for open water casting? I use my reels for both.