reels

[Nowater2shallow]

Bare with me on this, have a hook 9 i am going to try and use it in flasher mode but never have fished with out a cork, so questions is what is everyone using i see these inline reels how do they work

I usally just jig for eyes so that gear is a little heavy for this

[A Wood]

Never used an inline reel. Been using Frabill bro series spinning reels and have had good luck.

[ECobb91]

Depends on the reel. But they are basically a hybrid version of a centerpin/push button reel. Some have a free spool button that when engaged there’s basically zero drag or resistance on the spool so your jig drops much faster than any other type of reel out there.. there’s also some who just use fly reels and strip the line off by hand.

imo the benefits of an inline is it basically eliminates line memory so your jig doesn’t spin under the water due to line twist. And it goes out a lot faster than any casting or spinning reel would, more time your jig is in the water the more time your fishing. And if you’re fishing deep and see a mark 20’ below you’re jig you can drop fast to it.

The downfall is on some the line gets behind the spoon very easily and the ratio is so high that 2 turns of the reel and you’re pulling in 5’ of line or more so it can be tricky to really get the bait at the exact depth you want.

i have a Pflueger trion in-line reel and the line does get behind the spool often but it’s a great reel. I’ve used the eagle claw one before and it broke within a single season. Idk if I’d ever fork out the money for a black Betty or a Carbon free fall reel though.

[TDobb]

I've been using fly reels on my panfish ice setups for about 15 years now. I will never go back to a spinning reel for panfish, but for bigger stuff like walleye and pike I will use nice spinning setups for the better drag systems. People will say you can drop a hook faster with a spinning reel but if I am using a 4mm tungsten or less, I can peel line and drop faster than the jig will sink in the water column. The most significant benefit to using an inline combo is a huge reduction in line twist, if your jig is spinning in front of a fish, they are not going to eat it unless they are suicidal hungry.

As mentioned, some inline reels have a tendency to get line behind the spool, and that can be a major headache. I've weeded those ones out of my arsenal and don't really suffer from that anymore. I have a bunch of cheapo cabelas fly reels as well as some nicer okumas. My girlfriend likes the inline reels with a slightly longer reel stem since she has to wear gloves 100% of the time on the ice, and we have settled in on the Clam Straight Drop reels for her. They have a little bit bigger reel handle, still a 1:1 ratio as the handle is directly on the spool. They are super cheap and highly reliable. We just thumb the spool for drag with big fish on all the setups. I am not at all a fan of the "geared" inline reels. Some guys like them because you can pick up more line per turn of the handle, but they just don't feel right to me. The only downside to an inline 1:1 reel is they are slower to reel up fish. I personally feel that that is a benefit but a lot of people dislike that aspect. When fishing deep water it takes a bit to get them up, but a lot of times I can pluck crappies from 40 feet of water and not pop their air bladder by going slower, making a live release much more viable.

Any other questions, I would be happy to help out.

[Nowater2shallow]

Thanks TDobb not sure we will have much ice this year and i normally just jig for eyes with a 4'6'' rod and i have and hook unit i took off the boat so thought i might try and set up and use a graph/flasher to pan fish with and build me a short rod to do it.

[ECobb91]

Check out Bass Khang rods for ice rod blanks. They’re awesome. If you ever ever fished a Frabill quick tip in the past it’s the closest thing you can get to those.

super soft tip to detect bits that goes into a wicked backbone. The panfish power noodle is good for micro jigs. Anything heavier like a hali or pimple I’d bump up to a panfish carbon or perch carbon.

[Joec1801]

I have 2 of the black Betty freefall reels and the third one is on the way. Have been using the first one for a few years and have had zero issues with the reel mechanically as others have mentioned above. In my opinion there is no comparison between one of them and a spinning reel for panfish. If you are fishing out in the cold hole hopping the line may freeze from time to time but they all do that. If you are using a flasher you can literally drop the tiniest jig to whatever depth you want one handed and set the hook in a split second on the crappie that swim in and grab it. I went fishing with a guy from work the other day and he tried my combo for about 5 minutes… that night he ordered his own. As far as walleye goes, I have never tried one for them.