Do you love big bluegill?

OPEN DISCUSSIONS ON ICE FISHING LINES

your favorite brands of lines, lb test, type and how you they are used in your arsenal.

questions and recommendations on what lines to purchase and use in particular situations...

its open give your opinion etc concerning ice lines

the selections are mind boggling!!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on February 9, 2015 at 9:58am

i currently have 2 rigs setup with Celsius blue ice line 2lb test. it performs well in the respect that it gets my micro jigs down to the 20 ft level and i can detect the subtle strikes from fish down to three inches... but im unhappy with the stretch... has anyone tried straight fluorocarbon on small spinning reels? or maybe Nanofil? Braid performs well for me but only in heated shelters or fishing above freezing.

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on February 14, 2015 at 6:30am

2015.02.11- im currently conducting a study on 2lb line types for ice fishing for gills. Fluorocarbon, ice braid and the ice mono. At the beginning of the ice fishing season I loaded up 4 rigs one with straight braid and the rest of the rigs with 2lb test ice mono.since day one ive caught fish with the mono but was not happy with its performance or fun factor. Bites were tough to detect after 10 FOW and to spongy when it came to fighting the fish. For those who fish braid you know what im talking about… you feel every head shake of the adversary… it is completely absent when using mono. So fun factor of zero when fighting fish. So I bought a premium ice braid and a premium fluorocarbon. Now I know the rule of thumb… never spool fluorocarbon on a spinning reel especially tighter arbor diameters such as ice fishing reels. What about small dia lines as 2lb test? I loaded up 3 UL rigs with the three different line types and im fishing the heck out of them. Post some result s after the testing… having fun in the meantime doing so!

Permalink Reply by Bruce Tomaselli on February 15, 2015 at 5:59am

I threw away all of the boxes my line came in. Is there a line called "Ice Blue?" It has a blue label with ice blue in big letters across the front of the box. It's 2 lbs. and it has been working fine for me. We haven't fished in any water deeper than 30 feet yet. I use braided line on my tip ups and plain old 4lb. Stren mono. I just bought some of those Fiskas tungsten jigs and they sure get you down quickly. They also eliminate the need for split shot in most cases. But, they aren't cheap.

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on February 15, 2015 at 7:00am

i went to a favorite supplier of mine Northwoods Wholesale Outlet the other day looking for tungsten jigs in firetiger pattern and discovered they had them in stock and on clearance!! felt like i struck gold! i show the jig in the snap above.

Ice Blue sound s like a familiar label but i don't see anything listed on a Google search.

i use the Celsius blue ice line on two of my four setups... it does the job... but fishing with mono... lacks sensitivity and feel for the fight of the fish.

the setups all catch fish... im catching more on the straight fluorocarbon setup and it has much better feel and sensitivity than the mono

how do you like the stren mono?

Permalink Reply by Bruce Tomaselli on February 15, 2015 at 7:46am

It's okay, not the best, but it's okay. That's what I build my nymphing tippets with for nymph fishing with a fly rod.

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on March 8, 2015 at 8:22am

anyone try Nanofil on the ice?

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 4, 2015 at 11:43am

argument for braid in the very cold ice conditions...

Permalink Reply by Bruce Tomaselli on December 4, 2015 at 2:51pm

Hey Slip Sinker,

I fished 2 lb. mono in January and February under the ice. Which of the 3 you have pictured do you feel works best in 2 lb. spools on the small ice reels? I'm usually fishing in 10 to 30 feet of water.

Bruced

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 4, 2015 at 4:43pm

i dont mind using the mono in 10 ft or less of water ... i started to lose significant sensitivity and would have to go with a spring bobber with greater depths to signal a bite.

i settled most of last season with the florocarbon and it s greater sensitivity.

the 2# braid was the most sensitive of all and very thin... i borrowed this line from my ice reels during the summer and early fall and have caught many SMB 's up to 5+ lbs

this year im going to try Nanofil... ive heard some good things about its use on the ice... due to its slickness.

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 19, 2015 at 11:14pm

2015.12.20.- im making a few changes on lines this year right out of the gate... 2 out of the 5 rigs will have Nanofil spooled this year after hearing some good reports and reviews from the ice last year. this action replaces the fluorocarbon and the mono setups. the Nanofil will be in 4 and 2 lb test.... expecting some great results from these setups.... well... if we ever get ice. the arguments make sense for Nanofil... it is a very slick line and should sink quickly without resistance.

the other rigs were to be spooled with Fireline Ice braid of 2# test.... this is the line i used to land a 5+ SMB in a deep water summer pattern with a tiny rod and reel... tiger by the tail and the line held. the target poundage was 2# test and my local retailer was sold out ... next choice was Power Pro Ice down to 3# ... the 2# test braids were out of stock! so i settled for the 3# braid.

very thin stuff... so i'll give it a try this year and ill let everyone know how this stuff performs... as well as my strategy.

hoping for ice... the forecast looks bleak.... above normal temps for the month of January.

Permalink Reply by Bruce Tomaselli on December 20, 2015 at 7:16am

The way things are going in Pennsylvania this Winter I may have no ice. It's going to hit 60 degrees on Christmas day. I'm going to try some of that Nanofil.

Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 20, 2015 at 8:21am

we hit a low of 19 last night ... so I took a walk down to the bridge and discovered 3/8" of ice over all areas of the lake excluding the main river and channel... but like you near 60 degs for us in a few days near 50 tomorrow with temps above freezing high/low for the rest of the month.

I have a really good feeling about the Nanofil... cant wait to try it out under the ice.