Ice fishing reels

How does everyone like the inline reels? And whitch brand would you go with?

I kinda like the eagle claw $50 one. It was a pretty good deal for a inline. Pretty smooth and fairly cheap.

It had a red spool on it. I cannot remember a model or a part # though.

I enjoy my Black Betty 6061. They have a smooth drag and drop light jigs like a rock. Stay away from any of the inline reels that don’t have a drag system. You will have to back reel and most likely lose your fish and snap your line (I have seen this happen more than once). I found my 6061 on closeout for $50 each. One thing to note, make sure the spool is not enclosed. I watch my flasher to see when I get close to the bottom and slow the spool down with my finger. If you don’t do this the line will go everywhere when the jig makes contact.

tucrs wrote:

I kinda like the eagle claw $50 one. It was a pretty good deal for a inline. Pretty smooth and fairly cheap.

It had a red spool on it. I cannot remember a model or a part # though.

This is the tony roach model.

I run the regular eagle claw inlines and after a good cleaning of the factory grease, some cold weather lubrication, and a carbon drag upgrade these reels preform lights out!! I don’t use anything else really. Grest reel for the price!!

i’ve used pretty much all of them. 6061, eagle claw, black betty, the new cgi. ultimately i switched back to spinning reels. i noticed absolutely no difference in catch rate. i would fish side by side with my partner who never made the change, and it was never like oh man i got to switch. it took more work to get baits down (even with all the new ones) and i eventually was like enough is enough.

i still have the cgi on a rod but got rid of all the others.

I’m a fan.

I have a couple of the Eagle Claw reels. Use the little dial on the side to set how free the spool spins to the weight of your rig. This will minimize backlash. Biggest benefit for me was reduced line twist compared to a spinning reel.

While the price is a bit high, I have two Beam Outdoors “Fire on Ice Elite 21” reels and I love them, but like I said, at $150 a pop they are pricey! I used their composite reel (which is no longer listed on their website) for a couple of years, the only drawback is with heavy use I chipped the spool and line would get caught on it. Now that I use the aluminum reel I don’t have any issues. Great reel, I would recommend it to anyone who can find the money in their fishing budget.

Fire On Ice Elite 21:
http://www.beamoutdoors.com/shop/fire-on-ice-elite-21-reel

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I tried one but just couldn’t buy into all the hype after giving it a fair chance. Kind of a clumsy contraption if you ask me. Nothing but trions and presidents for me.

I use the cheaper black EC inline reels for my finesse gill rods. I have tried other metal component reels and don’t like the feel and unbalance of a heavy reel on a feather light rod… I replaced the factory grease with Quantum hot sauce grease. They have never failed me.

Nick Cox wrote:

While the price is a bit high, I have two Beam Outdoors “Fire on Ice Elite 21” reels and I love them, but like I said, at $150 a pop they are pricey! I used their composite reel (which is no longer listed on their website) for a couple of years, the only drawback is with heavy use I chipped the spool and line would get caught on it. Now that I use the aluminum reel I don’t have any issues. Great reel, I would recommend it to anyone who can find the money in their fishing budget.

Fire On Ice Elite 21:
http://www.beamoutdoors.com/shop/fire-on-ice-elite-21-reel

I really checked them out but I wanted a reel with a longer “stem” because I tend to pencil hold my rods. The 6061 works well for this, but those Beam reels do look well made.
I am thinking about getting the new 13Fishing blackbetty freefall reel when it goes on closeout or at the ice show. They just announced it a couple weeks ago.

@captainmusky You make a great point, the stem is a bit short on the Beam Reels. If I don’t have gloves on it isn’t a bother but if I am fishing with any type of glove, I have noticed this before.

Tried and true schooley reels, fish em on any kind of rod

I threw my Black Betty down the hole. Way more satisfying than selling the thing. Lots of people like them, I hated both the in lines I had.

I ordered a Quick Tip with a split grip. Would an inline work on it or preferably a spinning reel?

Yes an inline reel will work. Since inline reel are unbalanced, I mount it on a little off center of the guides. This way the guides are vertical without having to hold the reel up. As far as the style of reel, that is up to what you like.

Brennon Nielson wrote:

I run the regular eagle claw inlines and after a good cleaning of the factory grease, some cold weather lubrication, and a carbon drag upgrade these reels preform lights out!! I don’t use anything else really. Grest reel for the price!!

+1 big time, however I have yet to upgrade them to a carbon drag.

Brennon, where do you get the carbon drag?

Here is a good write up I found on upgrading the eagle claw reel if anyone is interested.

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=281963.0

Sorry IDO for linking to Ice Shanty

Thanks a lot. I am really wanting to get the FreeFall once it comes out, I’m just hoping that it’ll pair up nice!

I have multiple inlines… Ice tech, 6061, std black Betty. If you are shallow fishing with tiny tungsten, then I go inline. Heavy stuff deep, I use the spinning reels. I honestly don’t think I out fish the spinning reels. Spend your money on electronics, and a better auger. Hindsight I should have spent the money on more fishing trips. I upgraded shanty and auger thanks to no ice in Ohio… No ice = awesome deals! Use what you have more and keep your money!!!

Evan Pheneger wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Brennon Nielson wrote:</div>
I run the regular eagle claw inlines and after a good cleaning of the factory grease, some cold weather lubrication, and a carbon drag upgrade these reels preform lights out!! I don’t use anything else really. Grest reel for the price!!

+1 big time, however I have yet to upgrade them to a carbon drag.

Brennon, where do you get the carbon drag?

I purchased a sheet of it on ebay then cut it out myself

Juan Gomez wrote:

Thanks a lot. I am really wanting to get the FreeFall once it comes out, I’m just hoping that it’ll pair up nice!

I have one ordered and coming! I’m gonna pair this up with my 32″ precision!