In-line reels

[KadenBear]

Thinking of purchasing an in-line reel. Want to know everybody's thoughts,  pros vs cons, favorites.

[opsirc]

bought two of the less expensive ones couple years back, work great and have not had any problems with them.  use one for pan fish and one for walleye fishing.

[Kettle]

I bought a frabil one to test out before I drop big money on one with a 2:1 retrieve. I got one since I don't use a house often and the open face one's freeze up. I think mine is the 100xla I reel with my right hand and it's set up opposite, it can be switched though.

[eyeguy 54]

 

some posts from HSO

 

http://hotspotoutdoors.com/forums/topic/181419-inline-reel-reviews/?tab=comments#comment-2211764

[Bmann]

I bought a Frabill 371 combo a few years ago, I think a 32 or 36" light action rod for panfish.  I think I paid around $40 at our local L&M, as I had a hard time dumping $80-$110 for the 13 Fishing varieties without dipping my toe in the water first.  It is certainly a different feel, but it really has made the little panfishing I do more fun for me. One thing that seems like a neat idea on the 13 fishing versions is the trigger setup, as mine is definitely a two-handed operation.  I guess not much different than spinning in that regard. 

[Kettle]

Caught this 40 inch pike on an inline yesterday, the one to one retrieve took awhile, released and swam away

[CJH]

I have a Black Betty I like for panfish.  I also bought a No 8 tackle one for Walleyes, but I don't like the drag on it.  Might use it as a backup to the BB.

[eyeguy 54]

grabbed 3 cgi #8 inlines from scheels for 15 each :). it is being replaced by the 13 fishing descent. might still be some at scheels stores if you like them. I love mine.  fun out of the kayak in the summer also for verticle jigging. 

[BFDaddy51]

I have several in-line reals, varying costs & retrieve ratios. I like them all, for different situations. Also, you get what you pay for generally, the elimination of line twist but a good drag system will cost more.  I would definitely get one with some amount of ratio improvement over 1 to 1on the retrieve.  I have found that their benefit regarding "line twist," is eliminated with fused line use.(Spyder Wire)  It has no memory and works fine on spinning reels. Just my opinion, but I have found all reels have "freezing" issues when used outside in below 32 weather.

[Tom Sawyer]

18 hours ago, eyeguy 54 said:

grabbed 3 cgi #8 inlines from scheels for 15 each :).  I love mine.   

Ricky said the drag sucked on those CGI's, but for 15 bucks I thought I'd put one to the test...

@Kettle that's one h e l l of a nice gator!

[eyeguy 54]

I havnt had a problem with the drag yet. Not sure what the problem is. It is a little different than on  spinning reels but seems to land fish ok. 

[AlwaysFishing23]

Its been fine for me but is a bit finicky an eighth of a turn of the knob and you've gone from loose to tight but usually can make it work. For that price you can't go wrong! Hey Eyeguy how do you like the tickle sticks I'm thinking of giving one a try?

Edited December 1, 2017 by AlwaysFishing23

[eyeguy 54]

I bought the 27 inch UL to use up north for crappies in the deep water. Havent used it for that yet. It worked great in the kayak for gills for vertical. Not sue I would like it for those light biters thru the ice. Got the 3 reels from scheels today and rigged another up for gills on an old UL 25 inch gander rod with a titanium spring bobber. Love the setup for gills.  Played with the drag and I have  lot of adjustment from zero to full drag. Maybe you got a bad reel if it goes from loose to tight in 1/8 turn. None of mine do that. 

[Tom Sawyer]

Tried the star drag on mine too after it got spooled up, and seems fine. Cleaned out heavier grease and just lightly oiled. Ready to rock some ice tomorrow and give it a try. Hopefully it doesn't get to wet. LOL!

 

[AlwaysFishing23]

Well its more than a 1/8th of a taut feels like it just finicky I find I don't even use the free spool just pull drag out to lower your jig and free spooling gets line wraps around everything as the spool just fly Unless its tighter on spool tightness. Cant decide on the tickle stick or the beaver dam noodle rod I like both but the beaver dam is cheaper and feels nice. It feels like the tickle stick would be easy to break with the flat tip but haven heard of it happening yet. Wish I would have seen that deal that price I could have bought two for the price of one. But now I can try the decent.

[eyeguy 54]

the first tickle I bought was a SUL 24 inch. Took it back cuz I didn't like the fact that the tip had memory and it ended up curved. Beaver dam looks nice. I might play with the 27 inch UL on gills this winter to see how I like it. Eyesight and reflexes are not what they used to be so that titanium spring bobber helps on the old gander rods. Might need to upgrade to the st Croix some day but they are spendy. 

[AlwaysFishing23]

I was talking to a buddy and he wants to try the SUL but I said it may be to light plus it has such a light tip. We both seem to use bigger tungsten jigs 1/16th- 1/32. I was thinking UL or light but I want to play with them more before buying one. I think I’m going to try the beaver dam for the heck of it for How much they are I’m not out much.

[eyeguy 54]

HT Enterprises Ice Blue Super Flex Ice Fishing Rod.  might want to check this one out.  I might grab the 24 inch UL to try. 

[Rick G]

22 hours ago, AlwaysFishing23 said:

It feels like the tickle stick would be easy to break with the flat tip but haven heard of it happening yet. 

Broke one of the flat tips my second time out with it. 

The Beaver Dam rods are a good buy for their price. My favorite budget priced noodle is the Wright and Mcgill panfish rod. I think it was right around $25, very sensitive rod for the 4-5mm tungsten jigs.

[eyeguy 54]

can those rods be found anywhere Rick?  look like an older one

 

[AlwaysFishing23]

1 hour ago, eyeguy 54 said:

can those rods be found anywhere Rick?  look like an older one

 

Same thing I was wondering I like what it sounds like and the price. I haven’t broken a ice rod yet but I feel I could break the tickle stick with soft flap tip.

[eyeguy 54]

caught a lot of fish from the yak this summer and mine didn't break .  Rick probably slammed his in a door.  

 

[eyeguy 54]

ordered a 26 inch ultra lite for 16 bucks with shipping. will see what its like  

[Rick G]

10 hours ago, eyeguy 54 said:

can those rods be found anywhere Rick?  look like an older one

 

Bought one two yrs ago, the other beginning of last yr. Both came from Fleet Farm....  To be clear, it's the Tony Roach edition panfish rod

[AlwaysFishing23]

Found it seems like a nice rig I’ll cheak them out next time I’m around a fleet.

[eyeguy 54]

heading that way this morning so gotta have a look at the different stuff they have. 

[Rick G]

17 minutes ago, eyeguy 54 said:

heading that way this morning so gotta have a look at the different stuff they have. 

Me at some point too...lol ,cash burning a hole in my pocket 

[Wanderer]

39 minutes ago, Rick G said:

cash burning a hole in my pocket 

That’s the bad thing about cash!  I suggest getting rid of it too before you lose your pants.

[AlwaysFishing23]

I’m In The same boat....

[AlwaysFishing23]

Those of you who have used the tickle stick do you feel it’s worth the $50? There’s plenty of other noodle type rods out there for half the price. I do like the ultra sensitive tip but wanted to cheak you folks of your thoughts.