What Kind Of Line?

[DE82]

Hi everybody!

I was just wanting to ask what pound test as well as type of line people like using for ice fishing for panfish? I know 2lb test is the norm from what I've been hearing but I'd like to get everyones thoughts. I will be fishing Lake St.Clair and some smaller inland lakes like Union and Island lake.

All of those body's of water hold bigger species like Walleye and Pike so I'd also like a line that I can land a walleye if he takes my jig I'm fishing for panfish. I don't have a lot of faith in 2lb line. I will admit I haven't used it much though so maybe you guys can sell me on it.

I'm not new to getting big fish on light line, I use 5lb power pro and 6lb ultra green for walleye and bass in the soft water season so I know it's possible to get big fish on light line.

I don't know if he helps knowing what kind of lures/bait but I'll tell you. I will be using Harry's(ficious)Jigs and Zitz as well as the W2 size jigging rapala.

I've never done much ice fishing, I'm still kind of a beginner so any help is appreciated :)

[kcud rellik]

I started using 2lb Fireline crystal last year and loved it. I caught just as many fish as my friends (usually more) and NEVER had my line break. On it I caught gills, perch, smelt, and crappie. Only problem I had is I like to change jigs a lot and had to start takeing a knife/nail clippers to cut it.

[olddog413]

I used to use maximan for years. Last year I discovered P-Line Floroice. I love it. It is virtually invisable in water, strong knot strength, low memory line. I use 2# on my bluegill/crappie, 3# on my perch and 5# on my walleye set ups.

[icefishermanmark]

Vanish 2lb. is great, but because it's invisible going up to 4lb. shouldn't hurt you. Just set your drag a little loose so if a big one takes it you'll be ok.

[Darkness Z32]

I also used 2lb -4lb fireline crystal last year. I happened to lose only 1 fish on the 2lb, and that was about a 5lb sucker that I didnt want anyways. I myself like to try out new stuff all the time, so I have a few different rods with different set ups on them. Try stuff out, find out what works best for you.

[CulturedSavage]

2 pound Sunline Super FC Sniper is what I use for Gill's. I use 4 pound of the same line for Crappies & Perch. Stuff works better than anything else I have ever tried...

[woodie slayer]

i fish perch at fletchers alot and pke were always hitting my jig and breaking me off so i bought 1 pound diamiter (5 lb. strength) spider wire.
MAKE SURE you buy braided.it cost more,about 24 bucks for 100 yards but i've had mine on for 4 years. it last !!
i now land almost every pike that hits and at fletchers they average 30 inches.
the money i save in jigs and jack spoons plus i don't have to change new line each year.
i also use it for gills .i used to have to re-tie after 10 or 15 gills or my line would break when using 2 lb. mono.with spider wire the only time i re tie is if i want to change hooks..

try it you'll like it Mikey

[DE82]

To those of you who have said braid....I've not been a fan of braid in the winter because I find it freezes on me, don't you have that problem? If not what do you do?

What do you guys like 2lb vs. 4lb for panfish, what is the reason there? I'm worried about visiblity of the line myself. I don't get many fish through the ice so when I find them I don't want to spook them lol

[CulturedSavage]

To those of you who have said braid....I've not been a fan of braid in the winter because I find it freezes on me, don't you have that problem? If not what do you do?

What do you guys like 2lb vs. 4lb for panfish, what is the reason there? I'm worried about visiblity of the line myself. I don't get many fish through the ice so when I find them I don't want to spook them lol

I don't like braid for the same reason as you. It will freeze up. Scotch Guard will help slow this, but it still happens. These new ice fishing braids may have a special coating to help keep them from freezing I am not sure.

2 pound line in most cases will catch more fish. Even though Fluorocarbon is nearly invisible under water I still have caught more fish standing right next to my buddies running 4 pound.

[DE82]

I don't like braid for the same reason as you. It will freeze up. Scotch Guard will help slow this, but it still happens. These new ice fishing braids may have a special coating to help keep them from freezing I am not sure.

2 pound line in most cases will catch more fish. Even though Fluorocarbon is nearly invisible under water I still have caught more fish standing right next to my buddies running 4 pound.Why do you think that is? I'm trying to learn lol

[CulturedSavage]

Why do you think that is? I'm trying to learn lol


LOL, They can't see it!

[DE82]

LOL, They can't see it!Even if your using 4lb flouro as oppose to 2lb mono? Sorry if my questions seam dumb lol as I said I'm kinda new at this.

[CulturedSavage]

Even if your using 4lb flouro as oppose to 2lb mono? Sorry if my questions seam dumb lol as I said I'm kinda new at this.

There is a lot of variables there. It all depends on the brand name "quality" of the fluoro and the brand name "quality" of the mono.

Let's take something like Berkley Vanish for example. It is a fluorocarbon line, but is not a very refined line. This makes it more supple which is nice for casting & such, but makes it more visible underwater. A fluoro that is very refined will be stiffer and have a lot more memory, but is a lot more invisible under the water. This is the difference between fluoro fishing lines and good fluoro leader material which is much more refined.

Some mono's are harder to see under-water than others. If you were to take a 2 pound mono and compare it to a fluorocarbon that is more refined "but still is a very supple line" like Sunline's FC Sniper or Seaguars InViz-X in 4 pound I can tell you the fish would not see the 4 pound Sniper or InViz-X as well as the mono in clear water conditions. At the same time I don't think a line like Berkley's Vanish in 4 pound would do you any better than a really good mono like Berkley's Micro Ice fishing line in 2 pound. In my opinion Vanish is probably the worst fluoro line out there by far which is surprising as the rest of Berkley's lines in my opinion are superb. It has a lot to do with the fact that nobody in the world can compete with the Japanese quality of fluorocarbon. Not that I like this, but it is true.

If most of your fishing is done in low light conditions like at night it really is not going to matter either way. If this is the case I would just use 4 pound mono as it is cheaper. The lakes that I frequent tend to be very clear and I do a lot of ice fishing during the day when more light is reaching below the ice. The fluoro definitely has made a difference for me there.

The only fluorocarbon fishing lines I think are worth a darn are Sunline's FC Sniper & Seaguar's InViz-X. P-Lines is pretty good, but not as abrasion resistant as the other two. The FC Sniper is the only one available in 2 pound so I use it. Neither one is cheap, but one spool will last you all season. It may last more, but I change my line once a season. Good fluorocarbon lines will tend to have more memory, but an easy fix for that is spray some Blakemore's Reel magic on the spool before you go out fishing and memory will not be an issue.

I will add I am currently a member of Sunline fishing line's pro-staff so I obviously only use their stuff these days "I add this as most sites ask that you make it clear when giving advice so that people are aware of your position and will take the advice with a grain of salt" " I can see why this is, but as you can see I have fished and really like a lot of other companies lines as well and give the least biased opinion I possibly can", I have tried a ton of other lines now available on the market and these are my honest opinions whether I was on the Sunline staff or not. No gimic's or any of that stuff as I could care less if you find something you like better by all means use it. Your opinion is the only one that matters, but these are some guidelines to go by when dealing with finding the right fishing line for your fishing situations...

Perhaps more than anything it is presentation and being in the correct location though. Personally my advice to a beginner would be to not get caught up in all the gear junkie stuff and just get some reliable equipment and go out and have fun. You see guys all the time with the latest & greatest equipment out there not doing a thing while the older guy with a bucket & one rod is just sitting off by himself railing on fish. I am by no means a great ice fisherman as 99% of my fishing is chasing steelhead, but this same advice I would say goes for any type of fishing and I think many veterans would agree...

If what you are after is a line that will be stronger yet more invisible to the fish I would say go with a high quality fluoro line in 4 pound. Just about every fluoro line out there is available down to 4 pound. I would say a braid could also fit the bill, but as stated before I have always had issues with freezing. These new Ice braided lines may be better, but the fact is all of these "ice lines" in monofilament are no different than those companies standard lines. They are just packaged different. It wouldn't surprise me if these braided ice lines were the same deal. The one that does intrigue me is that Berkley Crystal line which they say is clear. Only issue there is they only sell it in 50 yard spools.

[DonP]

Let me preface this by saying that I am not majorly into ice fishing as alot of our members here...

But I got a spool of monofilament sewing thread from my mom before the start of last season as I wanted to try using it. As a main line I used 2lb. bright yellow monofilament for the visability. To this... I tied in a 3 to 4 foot leader section of monofilament sewing thread using an albright knot. I do believe that the sewing thread is rated at 1/2 lb. test. I did ice fish quite a bit last season after we finally got some ice... and I NEVER broke off one panfish. I caught plenty of gills (some very nice ones too) as well as a number of crappie and a few perch. And... I do believe it helped me get more bites... especially on neutral to negative fish.

Just make sure you adjust the drag (I do use a micro-spinning reel) and one can have a blast with this stuff. I had some 9-10 inch gills pulling out drag on me!! :yikes: :D

[CulturedSavage]

Don,

That sewing thread is a good idea. I am going to have to give that a shot!

[DE82]

WOW Cultured Savage thanks a lot and thanks for everybody else. I think I have some stuff to think about. Any other thought people have, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again

[nelsonk44215]

Let me preface this by saying that I am not majorly into ice fishing as alot of our members here...

But I got a spool of monofilament sewing thread from my mom before the start of last season as I wanted to try using it. As a main line I used 2lb. bright yellow monofilament for the visability. To this... I tied in a 3 to 4 foot leader section of monofilament sewing thread using an albright knot. I do believe that the sewing thread is rated at 1/2 lb. test. I did ice fish quite a bit last season after we finally got some ice... and I NEVER broke off one panfish. I caught plenty of gills (some very nice ones too) as well as a number of crappie and a few perch. And... I do believe it helped me get more bites... especially on neutral to negative fish.

Just make sure you adjust the drag (I do use a micro-spinning reel) and one can have a blast with this stuff. I had some 9-10 inch gills pulling out drag on me!! :yikes: :D

I learned this same trick a couple of years ago fishing with a bunch of old timers and it is the best change that I have made. I have caught up to a 16inch bass on it (had to play with it for a while!). I really haven’t found anything better in clear and/or pressured waters. I can’t however say that I have never broke off on any panfish though, have had many 14" plus crappies break me off. I say if you are looking to catch more fish and are willing to lose a few bucks on ice jigs, then this is your best choice.

Nelson

[1fish]

My $0.02,

I do not like the braided lines for panfish, even the Fireline Crystal in 1/4lb test diameter is more visable than 2lb mono. The exception to that rule is when I'm chasing gills in deeper water (20'+). The no stretch characteristics of the braid really shines then and helps transmit bites, combined with the no memory and your line hangs straight as well and your jig doesn't twist as much. However, the majority of the applications I run into, mono is the way to go.

Almost all of my panfish rods are spooled with 1lb and 2lb Berkely Micro Ice in the gray color. I've never had any problems with it, certainly not with breaking off fish of reasonable size, it doesn't get "kinky" in cold weather and knots stay well. There isn't a bluegill that swims that can't be landed on 2lb test. Personally, I'm willing to trade off the chance that I might loose a jig on a pike on occasion (however you'd be surprised how many you'll land if you play the fish) for line that's more suited to the target species.

But again as many have said, try it and if you don't like it, try something else! Everyone has different preferences and does things a little different based on what works for them.

[RichP]

I also usually use 2lb vanish for panfish, although last year I did a little experimenting with the cajun red line and seemed to catch just as many fish as my regular vanish...

[GVSUKUSH]

I use 4lb yellow stren with a 1-2 lb leader of some brand that I can't remember right now. I like the yellow line, makes it easier to see every little bounce of the jig.

[ryppinlyp]

I've been using the sewing thread for a few years now and the guys that I fish with have started to change over to it as well. Using a longer noodle rod can be quite a fight when using such lite line, even the smaller fish seem to fight harder than the bigger ones sometimes. Also I believe it's called transparent sewing thread if someone were to be looking for it.

[DE82]

Boy you guys are great with all this help. Keep it up I can use it all :)

[McKeel]

Instead of cutting your braid while ice fishing tie on a small or medium no knot fast snap some guys use for fly fishing. makes it easy to change jigs.

[Centrarchidae]

I like Stren superbraid in the lightest weight available (I can't remember if it is 2lb or 4lb diameter). I usually just take a magic marker and color the final 3-4 feet black. If they seem a little shy, then I'll use a leader of 2 lb flourocarbon. It seems easier to color the line than to add a leader. I really like the feel with the braided line, but as others have said,it tends to freeze up. It's not a problem if you have a warm shanty. Another solution is to have a second rod rigged with mono when you want to go out hole-hoppin, then you don't have the freeze problem.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

All my ice rods are filled with some type of Fireline Ice. Crysal or smoke. Most are 1lb or 2lb.

[ih772]

To those of you who have said braid....I've not been a fan of braid in the winter because I find it freezes on me, don't you have that problem? If not what do you do?

Not to be a smarta**, but I fish in heated shanty and I don't have problems with it freezing. :)

[aslongasitpullsback]

As with DonP and a few others here, I too use the yellow stren but in the 4# strength[15yr's].... I also used the sewing thread at times in the past...
If you really want to increase your bite raito on thows day where the fish are lip looked, go to a fly shop or some one that has a large supply of fly tackel[cabelas]. look for the litest tipet materail in the floralcarbon, they go by X rateings. I do belive that the Higher the X# the liter the lb. test they are... look for 7-9X. this line is slightly stronger than the sewing thread...
I also spool this on trigger under spins.

[DE82]

Not to be a smarta**, but I fish in heated shanty and I don't have problems with it freezing. :)I fish in a shanty as well, but only sometimes and don't worry I didn't take it as you being a smart ass.

[eyesforever]

Let me preface this by saying that I am not majorly into ice fishing as alot of our members here...

But I got a spool of monofilament sewing thread from my mom before the start of last season as I wanted to try using it. As a main line I used 2lb. bright yellow monofilament for the visability. To this... I tied in a 3 to 4 foot leader section of monofilament sewing thread using an albright knot. I do believe that the sewing thread is rated at 1/2 lb. test. I did ice fish quite a bit last season after we finally got some ice... and I NEVER broke off one panfish. I caught plenty of gills (some very nice ones too) as well as a number of crappie and a few perch. And... I do believe it helped me get more bites... especially on neutral to negative fish.

Just make sure you adjust the drag (I do use a micro-spinning reel) and one can have a blast with this stuff. I had some 9-10 inch gills pulling out drag on me!! :yikes: :DBeen using 3/4lb sewing thread for gills since 1968. Real bi&^h to tie with cold hands/old eyes though.

[kcud rellik]

Instead of cutting your braid while ice fishing tie on a small or medium no knot fast snap some guys use for fly fishing. makes it easy to change jigs.

I tried this last year and had trouble getting the jigs off of the no knots. Whats the easiest way to get a jig off when usign them?

I also fish out of a shanty so that could be why I don't have the line freezing problem.

[DE82]

Would you guys recommend a line special for ice fishing like say micro ice or would a line like ultra green maxima work?