Ice Fishing Line

Now that the ice fishing season is upon us, I have began getting my gear together but I have come to the problem of what type of Ice line to put on my reels for walleye, pan fish, lake trout, and stream trout in inland lakes. I have all ways had problems finding good line, when I use fluorocarbon it always gets curly and twisted an ive never really tried monofilament or braid. Im just paranoid on what brand, type and pound test to use now. So what should I use for walleye? Perch? Bluegill? Crappie? Lake Trout? Stream Trout?

Any of the major manufacturers of Copolymer, Braids, or Fluorocarbon will be great. I like the price point and performance Vicious for my copolymer. I am just getting into braids and fluorocarbon (other than leaders). If you like the performance of fluorocarbon maybe look into treating the line to get rid of the memory.

Check out P-Line Fluoroice. It’s a fluorocarbon coated copolymer. I switched over 4 years ago to that and haven’t had any complaints. 3lb for panfish, 4 and 6 for walleyes

Frenchman wrote:

Any of the major manufacturers of Copolymer, Braids, or Fluorocarbon will be great. I like the price point and performance Vicious for my copolymer. I am just getting into braids and fluorocarbon (other than leaders). If you like the performance of fluorocarbon maybe look into treating the line to get rid of the memory.

I disagree. All have their advantages in certain seasons and situations, but all are not equal.

I want to talk about ice braid. I received recommendations for using Nanofil for ice fishing. I found that is great for in the house when the line can’t freeze up. When it’s used outside, it sticks badly to the snow and ice and frays badly when you peel the ice off the line. When I say badly I mean frays to the point it breaks. Bad deal when you are on superior with 150′ of line out. On top of that Nanofil is hard to tie. Fire line and others I’ve tried work ok, but I’ve decided to go all in and try something new.

I switched to power pro super slick on all my rods this season and am very impressed. Ice peels off nicely and it handles very well. The only problem I have with it is that the lightest line it comes in is 10#.

If you plan to fish over 15′ do not spool with fluorocarbon over mono. Fluoro stretches way too much for deep water and the invisibility benefits are not well documented. Invisible to us yes, invisible to fish, who knows. With that said, I do use fluoro for leader material. Why? I use it fore a shock absorber on my braid. If I want less shock or stretch I’ll tie directly or use a mono leader.

MichiganFisherman21 wrote:

I have all ways had problems finding good line, when I use fluorocarbon it always gets curly and twisted

This has been a problem for me as well, since I almost strictly use fluorocarbon for ice fishing… Although after trying many brands, it’s all about how much money you want to spend. Just like the saying, “you get what you pay for.” I have sacrificed a few more dollars for more quality line, but also believe I have found a happy/medium as well. I love using Sunline FC Sniper, if money isn’t a problem for me, or Seaguar Red Label has been great for me if I want to save some money.

Fluoro is great for clear lakes, and since water clarity improves during the winter months, it is a must have for me. Another, is that since it isn’t porous like Braided line or similar lines, it doesn’t freeze up as much or quickly as other lines. Another is the stretch, there isn’t much, comparing to monofilament. Also, it is less abrasive than mono, and that is a big factor when you things get cold and potentially brittle or if you run into a stronger/toothy fish. Another thing, is the memory of the line. Both mono and fluoro have line memory, so line curls will always be an issue. The more quality line, the less it becomes (obviously).Lastly, fluorocarbon sinks/less buoyant, comparing to mono and/or braided line, which aids in presentation of smaller jigs or lures.

Some of my observations and experiences with using Fluorocarbon.

Good info, although I am seeing some contradictory posts saying Fluoro has more stretch or less than mono. I checked the Seaguar website and they state that Fluoro has less stretch than mono. It would be nice if there was a stretch test or cold weather strength test video like NA Fisherman did a year or so back on knot strength with Knot Wars.

I’ll throw in my two cents on this subject. I will be talking strictly for panfish because that is the only quarry I chase under the ice. I’ve tried fluorocarbon many times but I always find myself falling back to mono. The primary reason for me is line memory. There is nothing that I value more than low line memory, curls are just a genuine pain in the a$$ to deal with on the ice, you will hear guys that will say just attach it to something then pull the line out to stretch it, yea it works. But for me if I have to waste time dinking around getting my line ready a second time after spooling it on all my reels that is just not what I want out of my line.

Mono comes off the spool much much less curly and a little tug on the jig and its ready to go. Having a line that I can feel my jig with is of the utmost importance for me and curls disrupt my ability to feel the jig, that may not be the same for you however.

When I’m choosing lines I love colored monos: Stren Hi-Vis gold 2lb and Tangarine Suffix ice magic in 3 lb. If I have to spool fluoro on gin clear lakes I go with the northland tackle fluorosilk, with my experience it has performed the best under my requirements of all the fluoros out there. Hope this helps. I’v e also heard good things about the ASSO colored fluoro lines but have never actually used them if you happen to be looking for a high vis fluoro line.

My advise is to find which line qualities you value the most and then select the best fit according to the strengths of each type of line and the situation you are facing.

Icefanatic…..that is a dynamite great post. Well stated and obviously well educated.

Seaguar abrazx ice 2 lb… only line that has ever stood out above the rest for me. The stuff is amazing, but holy hell do you pay for it. Also it’s definitely NOT for the guys who like the hiviz lines.

On another note… braid sucks for ice fishing, unless it’s heavy baits for lakers and pike.

I love fishing with braid specifically Suffix 832 in Neon Lime or Ghost. I love that there’s no memory and the sensitivity. I love how thin braid is as compared to the similar weight of other styles of fishing line. The one thing that does bother me is that braid does soak up water and freeze. On the other hand, if it’s that frigid cold, I usually utilize my ice shack and Mr. Buddy Heater. Most commonly, 4 lb Suffix 832 with about a 12″-14″ Flouro leader is my bread and butter. For my pannies I like a 2-3 lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and for walleye, I use 6-8 lb with the same Trilene. I really don’t know if that’s exactly “right” but it seems to work well for my style.

I use ASSO ice heavy fluorocarbon and I’ve tried all the other ones out there and nothing has come close to it. It’s not cheap I’ll admit that but I think it’s worth it for sure. For braid I like & use Power Pro. The bad thing with any braid though is that it’s like a sponge but inside the shack it’s doable.