ifish pro

I’ve been thinking about picking one of these up this year after watching the episode on LOTW where the IDO guys were using them. I noticed it looked a little cold and windy, but they were still using braided line. Does anyone have any input on what kind of line and why there didn’t seem to be any issues with it freezing? I would love to spool up with braid but am nervous. Any info would be appreciated.

I can tell you from experience that they do freeze up with braid. Surprisingly less than one would expect though. I’ve messed around with some foam inserts with no success. At this point I do think it’s a downfall for these products but I wouldn’t trade them in for anything else.

I’d be curious to see if anyone has any solutions.

FYI. I got the chance to use them on superior last winter with some pretty good success. I would never consider winding in over 100′ line on a tipup.

Craig Sery wrote:

I’ve been thinking about picking one of these up this year after watching the episode on LOTW where the IDO guys were using them. I noticed it looked a little cold and windy, but they were still using braided line. Does anyone have any input on what kind of line and why there didn’t seem to be any issues with it freezing? I would love to spool up with braid but am nervous. Any info would be appreciated.

Hi Craig – In that episode, we were using them during the warmer late part of the season so freezing wasn’t too big an issue. In running them in a variety of conditions however, especially with heavier braid, freezing hasn’t been as big an issue as you might think, similar to what biggill reports. Especially for pike and sometimes even walleye, I think much of that is because we’re using heavier braid. On really cold days, you’re best advised in tending the set anyway, as actively making sure your bait is in the zone and everything is functioning properly is already in your best interest. As I continue using them, I’ll let you know if I find a good way to beat the freeze.

Thanks!

Joel

Joel and Matt are spot on with their explanations above.

Myself being a die-hard tip-up fisherman the ifish pros are a must have especially for early and late season when the temps are usually more manageable for these types of set ups; however, here are a few ideas that I’ve used to help make them work even during the worst of conditions.

– In both scenarios referenced above we were fishing heavier braid because of size of the fish we were targeting and in the case of Superior the depths. For most situations, especially targeting walleye, it would be perfectly acceptable to fish them with heavier mono.

– When using braid most of the issues with ice forming occur when you reel in and the water on your line freezes… To minimize this whenever I reset I bring the rod/reel into a warm ice house keep the line from freezing while I change the bait so that the wet line is only exposed to the cold for a matter of seconds between the time I leave the warm house and when I drop the line back down the hole.

– On windy days I always set my ifish pros next to snow drifts so that I can build a little wind block around the upwind side (leave the downwind side open to avoid drifting) which helps to keep the hole from freezing as quickly.

– And finally as Joel has said keep tending to your bait very frequently (always a good practice even on the nicest days) to keep the hole from freezing over.

Thanks Joel and Will for the detailed responses, that’s just the kind of information I was looking for! Thanks again.

I bought 4 of them at the end of the season last winter when they had a smoking deal on them. I can’t wait to give them a try this winter. Thanks for the tips!
Al Case