Freezing Line

[pike doctor]

So the other day when we were out on Mille Lacs my line was freezing up almost upon hitting the water. I was wondering if the other hole hoppers out there have any remedy to stop your line from freezing. I use Fireline and i have had people tell me to spray WD-40 onto the line, but I dont think I want to do that.

Anyone ever try to coat their line with vasoline or anything like that?? I want to stop my line from freezing, but not if its going to be something that pollutes the lake.

[hanson]

Superlines are really, really bad for ice buildup.

Switch to a good mono, fluoro, or copolymer line and you will minimize the ice buildup. You can't eliminate it but it is much easier to deal with on mono than superline.

[slipperybob]

Superlines are bad for freezing up...I've heard of some people treating it with silicone. They spray on towel and while line winding pass it through the silicone soaked towel.

I'll avoid flouro's for hole hoping. Cold will stiffening up those lines and weaken them considerably more than just your mono's/copoly's. I've heard of great improvements but still thinking the chemical composition is still pretty much the same.

Mono's/copolymers, have been my choice. Typically 4-8lb fares better, when you've got to flick ice off your rod tip. I'm afraid of 2-3lb line breaking, but don't have much experience to say it will perform better or worse, as I would use lighter lines for finicky fish.

I'm gonna test some yozuri hybrid line for ice fishing. It's a floro/copolymer line.

[pike doctor]

I think i am going to try unspooling one of myreel and then putting vasoline on the line while i reel it it. I absolutely hate using mono and any other type of line. For some reason i am die-hard Fireline. It is absolutely flawless in 30 degree temps, and i love it on my tip ups.

Does anyone think putting vasoline on the line and guides will make a foul taste in the water for the fish scaring them away???????

Let me know what you guys think.

[Jim Almquist]

Never had any problems with mono in the winter so why not save the super lines for the fish house and have a spool of mono for outside.Vaseline=petroleum jelly kinda sounds like put gas in the lake or at least a oil slick on the hole.

[Deitz Dittrich]

You can try it, but I would think the vaso would get stiff when cold just as bad as icing up.

[looneyducer]

I fish outside a lot, and I've made the mistake of using Fireline as well. Do yourself a favor and get rid of it. Save it for summer or something. Just run some Mono and big eyes, and end the problem. Jig, jig, and slide the ice down the line a little ways. Jig, jig --- .... You can have some ice on there. Just crank it right into the spool when you reel; pull it back out to drop it down.

If you really think you need Fireline, tie a little leader of it between the swivel and the lure. A lot of people do that with Floro or a smaller diameter mono in clear water.

[slipperybob]

Ah but if you use the regular fireline, it's black, and when it's outside and sunny, it helps to stay less frozen. That's one of the first things I noticed about crystal fireline. I all of a sudden got more ice build up.