Simple solution - use that fly reel you likely have laying around somewhere. Not only will you no longer have problems with coils in your line (big hassle with light jigs!) but your drag system will much improved. Been using 3/4 fly reels for icing panfish for a few years now and they work great. Only issue is it takes a little longer to reel fish in. Get a longer fight which can actually help fish adjust to pressure changes so not all bad there. I actually just tie on about 30 feet to 40 feet of fluorocarbon to my fly line and away I go. See no reason why the setup won't work for trout where a light jig 1/8 or or less is needed.
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You can use the coils to your advantage to detect strikes on the drop. Its a little trick I learned.
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i just use a bait casting reel... can run 2 lb test up to 20 lb test and not get as many coils in it.. most the coils that get in the line is for guy's useing a spin cast with the drag set to loos and they keep reeling while the drag is going out just putting turn after turn in the line.. the jigging action will do it too but not near as bad as reeling a spin caster with the drag going out..
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Sounds like a great idea. I think I will try it for the oh so deep Mantua this year.
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Small baitcasters work too. Most baitcsters are just too big to let me hold the rod the way I prefer. Since most of the current ice fishing rods are setup for spinning reels, the fly reel fits them just fine and I can hold the rod the way I want. I have had a camera down when ice fishing and you would be amazed at how bites you never feel. The coils interfere with spring bobbers, which I use when chasing panfish, so you still miss a bunch of fish. No coils and a spring bobber vastly improve the catch rate. An underwater camera would at least double it FYI.
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yeah i might have a idea on how you can't feel the bites.. but i got 3, 4 foot zebco bait casting poll's and two costom cait casting polls for ice fishing..
here are some videos i took 2 or 3 yeas ago..
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5shdTPXnj0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5shdTPXnj0[/url]
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Nice vids fuzzy[cool]
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Big believer in the spring-bobbers.
But is there any ice fishing line (affordable) that is better than others when it comes to line coils?
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I am a big fan of Pline fluoro clear in 2llb or 4lb test. Sometimes you can find 3lb which is actually the best all around. Another trick to avoid coils is to stretch about 40 ft of line just before you start fishing. I will hook a jig to something (usually truck bumper) and walk about 40 feet free spooling. Close the bail and gently pull the line to slightly stretch it. Don't use the drag! Let the line go slack and you shouldn't see any coils. If you do repeat with a little more pressure. I often repeat this a couple of times during a day of fishing.
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I just add a single small split sinker about 12" above my lure / bait, it straightens out the line just fine.
/shrug
-DallanC
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#502800]Ron, that AquaVu looks like too much fun! I actually have one that I haven't even used yet so that video makes me anxious to get out there and try it. I guess it would work great inside a dark ice hut.[/#502800][/font]
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The ice shack is where they work the best Mr. If you have one and have not used it yet it will be a whole new world. I still don't own one but have used a few, if you have clear water they can help a bunch, at the least tell you what the bottom surface looks like and the contour of the lake bottom. I want one.
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well the old black&white AquaVu are very hard to see in sun light. so you had to stay in a hut or cover the screen with some thing to see it.. i got a new color LED AquaVu and it's much better then the black & white one is.. but i cant record with the color one.. [:/]
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I have the old Aqua View BW. Works best in a shack. My kids have it now. I use a Marcum 825 color camera - better unit than Aquaview but does cost more. Marcum has some great BW units at reasonable prices. They just came out with two new units so the older version should be popping up on Ebay etc soon.
Cameras are great if you have kids or are introducing new people to the sport. It keeps them entertained and they see what is going on. That helps them to learn how to work a jig to get fish to bite.
Disclosure time. I'm not sponsored by Marcum. I had access to various manufacturer's ice equipment to test out when I lived in MN. Had friends who were sponsored by various companies and I ice fished about 60 days/nights a season (winter is long in MN) so I was used a field tester of sorts. The Marcum products were what I liked best and what I use myself.
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