Ice Fishing Line

[whateverisbiting]

I apologize in advance for asking a question that has probably been addressed a thousand times.  Though on a search I was finding old posts and things change quickly in technology.

 

I tried ice lines a while back and did not see any performance difference so I have not been willing to pay more for that small package.  For mono/fluoro I use summer line brands suffix, trilene, P-line and I also use braid with and without a mono/fluoro leader.

 

For spooling a winter spinning reel with all 4 lb mono, is there any ice line today that you have actually experienced a performance difference?  Specifically I am interested if they are actually less stiff at the lower temps (less memory).

[slipperybob]

Seems like, pretty much nothing significant has changed.  Except for braids, as they have achieved the next level with SK71 standard and with new weaving and other treatments a few years ago.

 

I use a bunch of variety.  The one with the least temperature change is......ASSO.  Then again they are dedicated ice fishing lines so they do come in small spools only.  Which is a total bummer if thinking about spooling for open water.  The strongest is still Stroft GTM, but it's a little more stiff in comparison to a lot of other softer lines.  These are specialty lines so you won't just run to the store and find them.

Braids, the availability of 8 strands in smaller #test that are useful for ice fishing.  But wait, Sufix has just released this year 131 G-core braid.  That's 12 strands plus 1 core braid.  Now I wonder how much performance merits it will have.

[Wanderer]

On 11/21/2021 at 7:41 AM, whateverisbiting said:

 

For spooling a winter spinning reel with all 4 lb mono, is there any ice line today that you have actually experienced a performance difference?  Specifically I am interested if they are actually less stiff at the lower temps (less memory).

Pretty straight forward for me in the light line category: Berkeley Micro Ice in 2, 3, or 4 lb test has served me very well.  There’s a reason stores sell out of it earlier than other line, even pre-Covid.

[Chill62]

I tried Clam Frost Fluorocarbon a few years back (SMOOKING DEAL and figured if its bad it's bad but dang its cheap) and I will not go back.  I like the clearness of Fluorocarbon and I also fish deep basins often and this allows me to not use braid (Personal preference I hate it) but due to the strength and relatively lower stretch I love it.  The last few years they have came out with Pink and Orange which I also thought was waste of time but I really like the pink and the reason is when the line catches on the side of the hole and only using 2-4 pound test that's like seeing a needle in a haystack but with the pink I can see if and get it unstuck quicker.  Another thing I like about Frost is they have 1-8 in one pound test increases.  I will say this is just opinion but I feel their line is a hair stronger and a 2 pound Frost is closer to a 3 pound test and as a result I will drop down one extra pound to help my presentation.  Surprisingly I have pulled in a lot of Northerns on 2# test of theirs, yes I know it all a matter of where that hook is but the feel you get by decreasing thickness of line helps especially with younger anglers.

[Austin12345]

Definitely agree with this Clam frost is the real deal I picked some up last year I was running a four pound frost mono and three pound floro leader for my walleye rods last year and a 3 pound mono leader and 2 pound floro leader for pan fish. I set my drag lose so I pull out my line on the first drop this gets rid of all memory making it very sensitive. Sufix makes good stuff to and I love all their lines for summer time but in the winter I would give clam the slight edge.

[whateverisbiting]

Great info thanks for all the responses always new things to try!

[monstermoose78]

I like Berkeley micro ice mono 3 pound test in grey for panfish and 4 pound for my perch and eye rods.

[fishing_the_northland]

Never tried the Clam ice line but I have been wanting to for a while. Trilene ice is ok, but I have really liked Sufix ice magic in 2 lb for panfish. Very limp and strong, it has handled hammer handle pike before and lasts the whole season

[Wanderer]

I guess I’m going to have to get out of my box a little and try those other 2 lines.

 

Welcome to the forum @cm012419

[AdalineDDawson]

On 11/27/2021 at 2:05 PM, slipperybob said:

Seems like, pretty much nothing significant has changed.  Except for braids, as they have achieved the next level with SK71 standard and with new weaving and other treatments a few years ago.

 

I use a bunch of variety.  The one with the least temperature change is......ASSO.  Then again they are dedicated ice fishing lines so they do come in small spools only.  Which is a total bummer if thinking about spooling for open water.  The strongest is still Stroft GTM, but it's a little more stiff in comparison to a lot of other softer lines.  These are specialty lines so you won't just run to the store and find them.

Braids, the availability of 8 strands in smaller #test that are useful for ice fishing.  But wait, Sufix has just released this year 131 G-core braid.  That's 12 strands plus 1 core braid.  Now I wonder how much performance merits it will have.

The Sufix 131 G-Core is braided line that is great for casting and jigging, when you need a relatively thin line.

[tinker]

I use Sufix Advance Mono on my open water and ice fishing rods without any problems. This year I tried the Advance Mono Ice line and am very happy with it. I have tried Braided line thru the ice and it just does not work for me. My ice rod set ups are 4 lbs Advance Lime color ice line , small swivel, 4 lbs Advance walleye color for a leader. Works for me.