Brennon Nielson wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>wiel0059 wrote:</div>
I searched high and low and can’t find the weight of the old one either… It says the new one on their website is 6.6 ounces. Anyone able to find the old weight?

I’ll be picking a few up these up once I see them in stores, love the new auto instant engage and position of the trigger for one-hand use.

I was under the impression that this was brand new this year? Didn’t know there was an older model

The FreeFall is definitely new, but its in the Black Betty line so as Craig originally asked, how much does it weigh compared to the 6061. The 6061 is what I was referring to as the ‘older’ one.

I searched high and low and can’t find the weight of the old one either… It says the new one on their website is 6.6 ounces. Anyone able to find the old weight?

I’ll be picking a few up these up once I see them in stores, love the new auto instant engage and position of the trigger for one-hand use.

Where did you see its heavier? Their website says both are 22 lbs – I could be missing something I guess.

I’ve absolutely loved my ION – best auger I’ve ever used. The one thing that’s always made me nervous about breaking is the trigger switch. The new flush mounted trigger is a great idea to resolve this. I like the new reverse switch as well – just cleaner handles all around.

The new center point and cast bottom should make it much, much better at re-drilling holes too. I’ll probably pick up the new version at one of the ice shows after I get a chance to handle one.

This is an absolute steal if you’re looking for a 6061…

http://kabeles.com/shop/ice-fishing/2015-black-betty-6061-inline-reel/

I’ve used most every inline out there over the past 3 years, as have the guys I fish with (we panfish 99% of the time, so we use mostly use inlines). The 6061 is everyone’s favorite. We call it the Cadillac of inline reels and I have it on the majority of my rods now. The free spool is unreal. No inline has ‘perfect’ drag IMO, but the 6061 has the best I’ve seen for an inline. We’ve caught a bunch of walleyes, smallmouth, and largemouth this year targeting panfish with small spoons, the 6061 handled them all.

For larger spoons (1/16 oz and above) for crappies and occasionally perch I still use a spinning reel. Anything smaller (1/32 oz forage minnows down to tiny jigs) its all inline reels. The No. 8 CGI would get my ‘next best’ vote. Its quite similar to the 6061 and much cheaper. I also have a handful of regular Black Betty’s that I use when fishing 12 foot or shallower.

I have a hard gun style case and it works great. I have it fitted for 7 rods and I could run it over and they’d be fine…

I have to say, the Striker Transporter Bag has been great this year too. I actually got it to carry all my other stuff – ION batteries, extra gloves, tackle boxes, etc etc. But, I’ve used it a ton as a rod bag this season. In all honestly I’ve taken it every single trip trip out this year, and I bet I’ve taken my hard case about 50% of the time (or less when I sit and think about it). When I want to pack light, I throw 5 rods in my Transporter Bag and head out. I walk into a lot of lakes in the woods, and being able to throw everything in there and throw it on my back has been awesome. When I take the shack and ATV or Snowmobile, then I take the hard case. I have two buddies that needed new rod cases this year and they’ve seen both set-ups. Both have bought the Transporter Bag. For what its worth.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

The striker climate suit, what I’ve been wearing for a few years, is one of the warmest… But it also has layers, zippers and vents in all the right locations to make it an all weather suit.

Going to walk aways…
Going to sit a while….

Works for both.

Most other suits lack the versatility

Yep! Right there with you, exactly as stated.

Recently when its been warmer than normal this time of year, I keep my bib liner in and just wear shorts underneath. It makes it extremely easy to stay mobile on the ice and I’m still plenty warm. Then when its cold, I just wear light sweats with the liner in. I like this way better than having to layer a bunch underneath, which always make me feel like its harder to move. Versatility to the max!

The new Northland Buck-Shot Flutter Spoon. 1/16 oz. It’s put a TON of crappies on the ice for me over the past 2 weeks… Best color has been Pink UV.

Like Merican Eagle said, your fishing style really plays into this. I personally have an 8″ ION and love it. I personally would hate having to go back to a gas auger now… I was initially worried about battery life on the ice, but I have 2 batteries and 95% of the time would only need one and I drill more holes than most.

The extreme lightweight, no exhaust, and literally pressing a button to drill are all awesome. I’m not a guide, but I take a TON of people out fishing, including kids, and I love being able to give them the full ice fishing experience. With the ION, everyone I take out can drill holes, many times the first time they’ve been able to do it and they think its a blast, so I love that too. When I’m out with big groups I also use a hub quite a bit, and being able to set it up and then drill the holes inside works awesome.

My next choice if I had to give up the ION would be the Eksimo HC40. I have two buddies with those units and they run great. Still don’t have to worry about gas, and no fumes. They’ve never had issues with them starting in very cold weather, either. (Just noting this because I see it as a concern from a lot of ice anglers thinking about propane.)

As far as feedback from ‘us’ on the forum, understanding your fishing style would help give insight! How many holes do you normally drill? Do you drill in a shack ever? Etc.

Being in Iowa, your ice depths most likely don’t approach what some of us in Northern WI and even more so in Northern MN see. With this in mind, Electric really could be a great option for you, IMO.

Another vote for the Striker Suits. Insanely warm and very versatile.

I wore the full Climate Suit (with top and bottom liner in) for the first time Sunday. Sat out in -25+ Wind Chill and was not one bit cold. Had only sweat pants and a sweatshirt underneath. I was amazed to be honest.

Normally I wear them without the liner, but having the versatility depending on the weather that day is an awesome feature.

I had an Eskimo 949i for a few seasons and loved it. Was great when I was fishing 2-3 guys a lot. Now when I use the hub its normally 4 people, so I upgraded to a 6120i simply for more room. They’ve made great improvements over the years and I’d never look in another direction for a hub because I’ve had a great experience with both and Eskimo’s CS is top-notch. To me, they are a great blend of quality and affordability.

Michael Boyack wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>wgorby wrote:</div>
Eskimo Wide 1 Inferno for the win

Did some research. This looks like a great option! Appreciate all of the feedback from everyone.

I love my Wide 1 Inferno and would highly recommend… I did a ton of research before buying as well. The wind position is awesome as well.

Great to hear, as a fellow ION user! I’ve had zero issues with mine. But, one of the reasons I was willing to go with the ION was my prior experience with Eskimo’s Customer Service. I’ve reached out to them with minor issues and questions on Eskimo shacks in the past and they always went above and beyond to make it right and answer my questions – in a more than timely manner.

skuman777 – Just my two cents… Its an awesome reel. I have really enjoyed using it for game fish and it has performed flawlessly. I would use it for walleyes over panfish. For panfish I go to the inline reels (6061 or CGI for me). I’ve even used it as an open-water drop shot reel for smallmouth. With this set-up, I used 10 lb braid (fluoro leader). For ice, I’ve used 4-6 fluorocarbon and haven’t had issues with any of them.

Depending on price point, IMO, the best inline out there is the 13 fishing 6061. At a better price point, I also have the CGI on a lot of my panfish rods and have zero problems with it.

Erock wrote:

Red or blue glow hexi-fly with a crappie minnow. Especially after dark they destroy em.

I didn’t think I’d see anyone else would say a Northland Hexi Fly because I never hear people talk about them, but Erick nailed my favorite!

My ‘secret’ go-to for both perch, bluegills, and crappie is the Hexi Fly. Erick mentioned minnows, I use plastics – Impulse waxi or blodwoorm mostly depending on what size they want that day.

Finally got a chance to use the new version of the Tickle Stick and Widow Maker’s from 13 Fishing the past 2 weekends. The new Tickle Stick is a great improvement in the guides – won’t freeze up nearly as much anymore. The fact that they took a guide out also seems to have really helped spread the action out, I’ve been really impressed fishing spoons for perch with a L action.

The Widow Maker’s have blown me away though. I thought they’d be good, but I’ve been on a VERY light bluegill bite both times out and the ability to not only feel but see the super light bites with the flat tip has been critical. I ended up giving my fishing partner my other one because he wasn’t getting bites and he was amazed. If you can get to one of the shows that are left this weekend, you may be able to get a good deal on either model.

As far as actions / lengths I only panfish so I have almost all 27″ UL or L rods. UL’s for jigs, L’s for spoons. Good luck in your search, and yes, lets get a cold front soon!!

I have the 6120i and love it. Would buy again in a heartbeat.

Used it all last winter when taking family / friends out. Never had the heater on higher than low and the coldest day I fished out of it was -10. Fished it a few days where it was about 15 degrees but windy and never even started the heater, blocked the wind better than expected and worked great for 4 of us. The insulated fabric that eskimo uses feels a lot heavier to me than others that I looked at and like I said, its beyond warm enough.

I researched quite a bit before buying, a few things that really sold me on the 6120i after testing a bunch out in the stores / reading the forums were the zippers and ice anchors. The YKK zippers on the Eskimo’s zip like butter. My past hub was a complete pain in the butt to zip the doors open / shut. Then the anchors, most people on the forums actually buy the Eskimo anchors even if their hub is another brand. Just buying an Eskimo saved me this money and they worked great.

I’m very confident you’ll be happy with either one! I’d go check them out in the store if you can, nothing like hands on testing…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

The Ion’s slight delay is a safety feature they designed…has ZERO impact on performance whatsoever…

Exactly. To be honest, I’m surprised other brands don’t have this on electric augers when your considering its a push button to run an 8″ auger blade…

If you can’t wait a second or two for the purpose of safety, then to each their own I guess.

targaman wrote:

When I fished next to a vex with mine it was worthless. Even with the noise filter to the max.

Thank you! This is what I feared, since it uses the same transducer as the older ice units which leads me to believe the ice software part is very similar. Too bad, they are great units but the IR just doesn’t work so they become unusable when next to a Vex / Marcum..

Agree with Ben, looking forward to following. Also on that note, has anyone fished with a Helix 5 or 7 with the ice cone next to a Marcum LX6 or LX7?

I’m most interested in hearing if the Helix units have better IR than the older 688 ci type units. Those old ice units are completely unusable next to a Marcum LX6 which my buddy has…

glenn-d wrote:

Guys what kind of backing do you put on your BB reels.

I don’t back at all, but I also don’t use braid. If you use braid I’d back. But, the key, IMO, is to not over spool them as this is when you start to see issues with line jumping off, etc.

I put 60 – 75 yards of 3 lb Bionic Fluorosilk on my 6061’s (I use them for jigging for panfish) and it works awesome.

icenutz wrote:

Does anyone know which of the No. 8 CGI reels have the handle on the left side of the reel, left handed or right handed? They have the same picture for both on their website.

I jig with my right hand and reel with my left.

The “Left Hand” model means you reel with your left hand. Right Hand model, you reel with your right. Same as 6061.

Hopefully that helps!

My favorite is the 13 Fishing 6061.

This is my go-to. Free Spools works amazing, I can drop a 1/100 oz jig with the free spool, so you can imagine how well it drops something like a 1/50ish or larger tungsten jig.

Reels super smooth, and the star drag is also very smooth. I only jig for panfish, and this drag comes in very hand when I’m fishing large crappies or tie into something like a bass / walleye / northern.

I’ve used quite a few in-lines, and IMO the 6061 is the cream of the crop.

If you’re looking for something more reasonable, take a look at the No 8 tackle CGI as well. I stumbled onto this reel toward the end of last season when I needed another one a whim for late-ice crappies. Didn’t realize it was made by the same company as 13 Fishing at the time. Its basically a non-aluminum version of the 6061 and I was very impressed with it on late ice last season. For $30 its a darn good inline.

The ION is amazing. Couldn’t agree more with what others here have said. If my ION stopped running tomorrow, I’d buy another right away. I could never go back to a gas auger after using the ION. I didn’t realize how much of a pain gas / oil was until I used the ION for a while. Traveling is easy, drilling a bunch of holes is easy since it weighs 22 lbs, starting is easy, on and on.

The weight is also huge for me since I trek into a lot of back-woods lakes. Case in point this past Sunday. A buddy and I had to walk a mile into the woods to get to a small lake that actually had fish-able ice. Before we leave he says “Do you care if we just use the ION today so I don’t have to lug my gas auger back there?”…. 75+ holes later and we had a great day on the ice!

JoeMX1825’s review is also spot-on. All the gas guys (99% of which have never used an ION or even seen one in action) say the battery dies so you don’t get many holes. I drill more holes than most on the ice, so I got an extra battery. Most times, I never need it. Just keep the batteries warm which isn’t difficult since it takes 3 seconds to pop it on and off.

I’ve talked to a lot of other ION owners since buying mine, and I’ve never talked with someone who regrets buying one…

Agree with others. For Panfishing jigs, all I use are inlines. No jig spin and in deeper water the free spool is great. My favorite by far is the Black Betty 6061, but I also use the regular Black Betty quite a bit when fishing shallower than 10 feet.

In that price range, my vote would be 13 Fishing Tickle Stick with the no 8 CGI inline reel. Retail thats about $85, but if you look around right now you can easily get it under $75.

Now that I’ve used the flat tip rods from 13 fishing, I will not use a spring bobber because the flat tip acts as one, and its even easier for me to see the ‘negative’ bites. I actually got out on the ice on Sunday for the first time an used the new widow maker’s I bought a few months back. It was a very light panfish bite (I was catching small fish 5″ bluegills mainly, but I was just happy to be on ice!) and I was blown away by the rods. I then caught a 19″ bass and it handled that like a champ too (using the 27″ UL).

If you’re looking to stay under $50, then I’m with others, I’d go UL Wicked and slap an inline of your choice on it. If you like spinning reels, get the Wicked Long Stem combo – I love the long handle on those spinning reels…

Small disclaimer – I only fish panfish (bluegills and crappies) 99% of the time.

So, I have 4 UL’s (Tickle Stick and a few new Widow Makers for this season from 13 Fishing) and 2 L’s (Tickle Sticks) in my main batch of rods.

On the UL’s I put 3# Bionic Fluorosilk and on the L’s which I use for spoons I put 4# Bionic Fluorosilk. I’ve caught plenty of predator fish, as long as you use your drag you’re fine.

I’m a big fan of the Bionic Fluorosilk, personally, so now its all I use. I used to use 2# mono for jigging on my UL’s for small jigs, but the fluorosilk lets me bump up to 3# which is nice for fishing bigger crappies if I’m not using spoons, because the line truly is invisible (or nearly).

Like the other guys mentioned as well, always fresh line each year. Joel’s tip is a great one if you use different size lines on similar rods – for me it’s easy so I don’t have to do this. The UL’s have 3# and the L’s have 4#.

I love my Striker Ice Transporter Bag. I have a hard rod case as well, use them both. The hard rod case doesn’t go with on every trip, the Striker Ice Bag does.

The hard cases are great for storing 10 or more rods, but the trade off is they are a bit bulk and heavy. So, when I’m packing light or going into backwater lakes, I leave it at home and put the 4 or 5 rods I know I’ll use in the Transporter, throw it on my back like a backpack, and off I go.

So, both are great, I use the Transporter Bag more and would highly recommend. Hope this helps!

-15 C isn’t that cold, compared to what I ice fish in a lot days, to be honest… The Striker Ice Climate suit is rated for -30 F, or -34 C if the converter thing I’m using is right. And that is without any layering.

I almost never use the liner on my coat / bibs because the gear is so warm. If you left the liner in AND layered, I honestly believe you’d be more than warm and you won’t be anywhere close to $1,000. I seriously have a buddy that wears his climate suit all winter with the liner in, and wears shorts and a t-shirt under it because he doesn’t like the feeling of layering and he is never cold. No joke. He fishes Northern MN regularly too.

Just my two cents, maybe its not right for you, but the Striker stuff is more than just a floating suit, its the warmest gear I’ve ever owned. Good luck in your search!