New to ice fishing just curious what peoples preference's on ice rods and reels. I am mainly going to be fishing for trout?
Do you like the ultra light rods with micro reels?
Heavy with a normal spinning reel?
Length of Rod?
Reel Size?
Line?
Flasher no Flasher?
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I use a ugly stick with a small reel. I like to use a kastmaster or a sweedish pimple tied to the line. Then i tie a paddle bug about 10 inches below the pimple. I tip both with a worm. I use the pimple as a weight and also as a flasher. It helps me get my jig down quick if i see a fish below me on the fish finder.
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You can use any pole or reel you want for ice fishing. Even the kid toy ones. I personally love the ugly stiks too. If you are going for trout go with Medium action. Normal reels work just fine. I prefer short rods so I can get over the hole, I know people that like the long rods better. Any fishing line works good, for trout I would go with about 4lb test. If you are talking about a lure flasher I do like to use them most of the time. If you are talking about a Ice Flasher I would definitely reccommend one, will up your catch rate by a lot. Good luck with it.
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Light rods for panfish, medium for trout. Most of my rods are 28-30". My go-to setup is a swedish pimple (hook removed) with a jig about a foot below it. White tube jigs and various colors of rat finkees have worked well for me. Tip the jig with bait, waxworms are my favorite. There are times when the fish will hit the pimple, so using a hook there is not a bad idea at all. It can lead to more tangles/breakoffs though.
I use spinning reels and all of my setups have braided line. It is super strong, won't coil up with memory, and you can fit a ton on a small reel. 14 lb Fireline works great. It is more visible than mono so I will tie the braid to a small swivel and use a mono leader for my jig or sometimes the pimple and the jig both. Tying the pimple right to the braid will keep you from losing them expensive lures, too.
Ice fishing can be addictive so be prepared to buy about 10 rods and $400 worth of lures
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Whatever rod/reel setup you choose just make sure it's quality and the reel should have a smooth drag that won't freeze up or bind on you. I've seen way too many cheep combos that have plastic spooled reels and trashy rod handles. I prefer to purchase a rod then choose a good quality reel that balances well with it. I prefer the shorter, 24 to 30" rods but unless you're in a tent it's not a necessity. Shorter rods are much easier to guide a fish up through the hole with. Lighter rods show bites better and are more fun in my opinion. UL for panfish and trout up to 16". L for trout up to 23". Use heavier rods for bigger fish. I've iced plenty of 3 to 5 lb fish on UL and L weight rods so I know they can handle typical Utah fish.
Line: I fish 2 to 6 lb depending on what I expect to catch. Flaming Gorge I take 6 to 15 lb line. Mono works well for me in most situations but super lines or floro might be helpful in water over 40 ft. but certainly not a necessity.
Flasher: If you can afford one get one. I just use a graph but a fish finder deffinately helps locate fish and helps determine their mood.
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I prefer a light rod for fish 16 inch average or smaller, stiffer for bigger, with 4 -6lb fluoro on each. I have 4 ice rods, and rotate through them depending on what I'm fishing for. I prefer small reels in general unless I'm going to be fishing deeper (65 ft or more), usually for lakers. I would prefer to use a flasher, but haven't been able to save the money to get one. I've been holding out for a Vex Fl-18 or equivalent from other manufacturers, but haven't bit the bullet. Because I don't use a flasher, currently I ALWAYS use a spring bobber. I've had many species just mouth the bait, and have learned to be aggressive on hook sets.
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i use a 42 inch micro ice pole that is amde by schoolys, i picked it up at fish tech. hands down its my favorite pole i can get the smallest perch bites and then turn around and fight the starvation steelhead. really sweet pole. i just use my regular spincasting reel and i load it up with 4 lb braided line then a 5 foot mono leader. i always have 3 poles setup 2 for panfish, crappie perch etc. and 1 for trout. my panfish rigs consist of either a live forage monnow spoon or a halis on the botom and then some type of ice fly tied directly to the line above i use, shrimpos, ratsos, rat finkees glow bugs etc. another good panfish rig is a bottom bounce or drop shot type of setup. use a bell sinker on the bottom and then tie2 ice flies directly above it about 8 inches apart. for trout ive always just used a kastmaster as a flasher and tthen use a 1/8 oz tubejig in chartruese below that about 10 inches. always tip with waxies. ive also gotten alot of big trout using the gulp brand 3 in leeches just put on a jig head, they really smell bad but the slimers love em.
tightlines
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