drop reel or spinning reel

[Nowater2shallow]

for my slip cork, dead stick rod. i do us it to jig bigger baits with if not pan fishing, what would you go with, currently use spinning so i think i might just stick with it

[bass-o-maticjm]

I'd stick with the spinning

[ECobb91]

Spinning for dead stick. No reason to go with a drop reel.

I really only like drop reels for hole hopping to drop quick and line management is a huge bonus. I have almost zero line twist with them. But word of caution, watch how fast you reel. I have a Pflueger trion drop reel and it’s so fast I broke a couple rods reeling in. I swear the inches per turn is more than any baitcast reel I’ve owned

[Nowater2shallow]

so i have a clam straight drop and i notice i started to get line twist like wind knots in a spinning reel with 2# seagar fluor

[TDobb]

Been at it a long time, I use fly reels for ice fishing on ALL of my panfish setups and several of my heavier setups. I will not use the multiplier reels and I will not use one with the free fall trigger option that is so popular. I even picked up a couple of schoolie reels too. I photograph several ice fishing panfish tournaments each year, and every one of the hardcore panfish guys and gals have a pile of rods rigged with 7 dollar schoolies. You wont see a spinning reel on any of their setups. Line twist from a spinning reel, particularly when dealing with cold line, causes the jig to spin in the water. If you have ever watched a bluegill or crappie on an underwater camera, when that jig is spinning in circles like a helicopter, they might come in and look at it, but very quickly their pec fins start to back peddle and that fish is gone. Nothing in the water spins like a helicopter and it doesn't look like food to them. You might get lucky with a dumb one or two, but the majority will back off, and every big one will back away.

The idea behind using fly reels was pioneered by a dear friend, Mr Pat Smith. He got me onto them about 20 years ago and so I was well stocked before 13 Fishing ever came out with their black betty reel they charge 100 bucks for. That is the only reason I don't have a pile of schoolies, yet. As my fly reels break, I am going to replace them with schoolies. But the line goes straight on the spool and straight off the spool, not a 90 degree angle off a roller that usually doesn't have a bearing in it.

The Clam straight drop is a good reel, I have equipped my girlfriends rods with several of them cause she doesn't like the tiny knob on the fly reels, but it works much the same. The issues you are experiencing with the seagar fluoro may be more to the line having been stretched and stressed more than twist. I run 3 lb as a minimum, and most rods have high vis 4 lb line. I am a line watcher so I look for that line to tick and then drop the rod tip to see if it goes slack, if it does, the fish has it in its mouth, drive the hook home. You can't see that with clear fluoro.

[Nowater2shallow]

Tom thanks for the advice you gave me with that clam combo i had fun last year watching a graph and fishing and the line was the only thing i had an issue with. i have not branched out to plastic yet still us live bait

[gary_fritz]

I too use fly reels on my setups except for my dead stick rod that has a bait runner spinning reel.

I like not dealing with line twist and I also like to just palm the reel in my hand, it's a comfortable way to fish all day.

[Wormdunker]

30 years ago when I worked with Mr Pat Smith, we used Fly reels but I have since converted to the Clam Ice Spooler Elite and replace the handle with a Daiwa Handle on all my panfish rods. Still use spinning for gamefish rods. Tried all the free drop reels and just had too many issues.

Ice Spooler elite is excellent palming reel and has a serviceable drag. But you thumb the spool for drag. You manually pull the line out which you get used to but you also are constantly straightening the line as you pull it out. Give one a try, you will like it.