I think its a good idea to change Mono every year but what about other line types? On most of my rods I use a 6lb suffix 832 braid tied to a swivel and then 10 ft or so of fluorocarbon. For those of you that use a similar setup how often would you recommend changing out braid? It seems most people change their ice line yearly but with braid it seems like a waste. Thinking of leaving the braid on their and just changing out the flouro leaders.
On my ice gear that has minimal uv exposure I will go 2 years on my mono. No issues here. I ice fish about every other weekend now only… If I’m lucky.
I have braid on some summer trolling rods and jigging/rigging rods that has been on over 7 years. One thing you can do is strip the braid off and spool it on backwards to expose line that has never been used. When doing so I will change my mono backer though. This is especially feasible with ice fishing reels as most people never have over 40′ of line out ever yet the spool is full.
Braid, rare.
Mono or flouro – frequently.
Tip up line I don’t until I feel its needed like noticeable frays or I can break it myself with gloves. My other ice line on rods is every year sometimes twice a year depending on how much I go out winter is the slow season for fertilizer and seed sales so I have an awful about of free time
I change my mono for my panfish rods every year, otherwise the line twist/memory is too much of a pain to deal with using those small jigs.
For my walleye rods I probably change the mono every year too, but I can stretch that longer since I’m normally using heavier spoons the memory doesn’t bother me as much. Bobber rod I’d replace every year for sure though.
Braid….well I’ll be on year 3 or 4 on my walleye setup. Haven’t had any problems with it yet so I’ll keep it on there through this winter I bet. I do agree it’d be a waste to replace every year. I’ve often thought of just putting like 30 yards of braid on at a time(with a bigger mono backing amount) since I rarely get bit off and only lose so much line to re-tying. Especially considering I never really fish deeper than 30 feet(LOTW) for walleye, and in most cases I fish in less than 20 feet of water.
That way, one spool of braid would last a loooong time.
I feel like braid let’s you know when it’s done via fraying or breaking.
On my rods I use for walleyes, perch, crappie and pike I rarely if ever change the line. These fish dont fight hard or for long periods of time.
For lake trout I cut off a bunch every day and/or change the line completely every couple days. The line digs into the ice during the fight and gets ruined quickly.
Change out my line (mono) every year but the braid I change every other.
Mono/fluoro I’d change every season and then flip it end for end at mid-season. I use nanofil on a couple rods in lieu of braid. I put it on new and use it a year then flip it end for end and use it a second year, then replace it. Braids are a bit less fussy so I think every three or four years depending on how hard its used. Ice fishing is as hard on all lines as fishing in areas with lots of rocks so you need to check the surface of the line for checking and cuts/frays, again depend on how much use has been put on the line.
Braid will last years, with the smaller ice spools company offer nowadays that cost about $5 for mono and some flouro, the question becomes why wouldn’t you?
$5 isn’t much at all but when you have 12-15 combos and different types of line and strength that $5 adds up in a hurry.
Who needs 15 ice combos? 
You would be correct if that’s case.
Who needs 15 ice combos?
You would be correct if that’s case.
“Need” is such a strong word lol. There are 5 of us in my family that all ice fish and it is much easier to grad a different combo when one of the kids messes up his rod or fishing different species 
I think some of that depends on how much use it is getting. if you don’t use the setup much, you can easily go multiple years.
I fish quite a bit but I don’t change line much (maybe less than I should?), but when I do, I don’t change out the entire spool unless I have a good reason. Rather I change out maybe the first 50 feet or so. If I’m using braid and have mono backer line, when the spool starts to get looking “low”, I add more backer line so the spool is “full” again.
Who needs 15 ice combos?
You would be correct if that’s case.
I carry 6 combos in my otter case. Typically I only use 2 or 3 but some are setup for jigging some for panfish some for dead sticking. Same as in a boat. Hell I got the Suffix 832 ice line for 2 of the rods this year and that was $10 for 50 yds! Cant imagine I will say it was worth it at the end of the year but im a sucker for the promise of something that works better
I pull all my braided line off the reel and reverse it every couple seasons. Usually replace the fluoro “leader” at beginning of season and then maybe a couple times during depending on how dinged up it gets.
But for me, it’s only fishing line.
Until you set the hook on potentially the biggest fish of the season and snap, not from the knot or teeth. That fish still haunts me from last year.
How much we spend on gas, bait, beer, etc respooling is pretty darned cheap.
$5 isn’t much at all but when you have 12-15 combos and different types of line and strength that $5 adds up in a hurry.
Quit buying “ice line” and save ooodles. P-line in big spools.
For my reels that I run braid-swivel-mono, I normally run about a 2ft leader with 2-4 lb mono ice line. It seems that with re-tying etc, I go through that leader length often (every 3-4 trips, 2 weeks). Once my leader gets short, I just re-tie and that keeps my line fresh. With all mono set up I do pretty much the same thing, removing the last 1-2 often so that means “re-loading” also. For me it is more about line action than wearing out the line. Old line just seems to keep the curl longer which means spinning lines. Even with the swivel, line will twist and turn. Since I do 98% pan fishing here in Iowa, the line twist becomes a big issue and I do everything I can to make sure I don’t have it. For the braid part, it is like my open water reels, I don’t change it often and have had some on for years, just keep checking it and cut out the end pieces that get worn.
Not often enough…. I’m cheap.
Also no often enough I’d go with answer of when it needs or have time to kill before ice is solid and deer tags punched
I’m in the minority here , i change my line multiple times per season ice and open water . Hands Come in contact with any gas from the auger or sunscreen in the boat ur days done , i am Always prepared to re rig line in an instance mainly because i feel my chances of catching a hog increase greatly with nice new line compared to anything with memory that’s all curled and used up . I cant stand the idea of leaving home unprepared in those aspects ,i like to be on top of my game when I’m going ice fishing .
It has been 3 plus years since I changed out but this year I am going with 8 lb hi vis braid on all my rods then flouro leader with an alberto knot. Not a big fan of the swivel. The memory on those small reels needs to go away…..hopefully for good.
I only change when I want to tryouta new line…or whenever I noticed that I’ve stripped off too much and there’s barely any line left on the spool.
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