Ice line question

Hey there fellas,
Had a quick question about line. Just wondering what line you guys prefer when using spoons and or jigging raps for walleye and perch? Mono vs. Braid? Also what lb. test are most of you guys running? Used crystal fireline last year in 6lb with a flouro leader with mixed results. Just bought a tuc precision 32″ and pairing it with a shimano sedona 500. Will be fishing mostly slender spoons up to 1/8 oz and bladebaits up to a 1/4 oz for walleyes. Also will be fishing as light as a 1/16 oz for gills and perch. Thanks for the replies gentlemen. Awesome site by the way!!
Thanks for the replies!

Berekly nanofil in 6lb will reduce water brought back and keeps guides ice free great hole hopping line

That is a wide range of species and bait sizes. First question is what depth are you primarily targeting these fish. for and overall line I would suggest a 4-6# mono or fluoro depending on depth. I do not like using small braided line when I am attaching a leader (just personal preference) and I feel the braided line may hold up your fall on the smaller spoons. Thinking about it a leader may not be needed especially with the larger blade baits and spoons as you are getting a reaction strike. My final answer is 4-6# mono or fluoro depending on depth.

Thanks for the replies guys! My perch and gill fishing doesn’t usually exceed 20ft and walleyes maybe as deep at 25-30ft at the deepest. I usually hole hop outside. I was thinking a good mono or flouro but just wondering about stretch? One other quick question, do most of you fellas tie a small barrel swivel inline to reduce line twist? Maybe James or Joel could weigh in this deal since you two got me hooked on slender spoons last year. Love the show fellas! Can’t wait for the new season to kick off

If you are on a cloudy/murky clarity lake you could go with a braid. But I personally would use 4-6 lb mono just because it will not freeze on you while hole hopping and it is much more transparent when fishing in clearer water. I’ve never had issues with mono line stretch down to 29 ft. Haven’t ever had to fish any deeper than that however so beyond that I’m not sure about stretch. And welcome to IDO the guys and gals on here are awesome!

Thanks for the reply icefanatic. Sounds like mono is the way to go. Most of the lakes around here in Nebraska are fairly murky with a few exceptions. Really enjoying the forum so far! Lots of good info!!

Don’t use mono just on my account that’s just my personal preference, you might get 5 more replies that say braid is the way to go. Trial and error for me has led me to use mono mostly because I fish shallower clear water lakes. I suggest trial and error for you as well, good news is mono is cheap to experiment with. Good luck

The folks at Thorne Bros turned me on to P-Line a couple years ago. It’s a type of fluoro and has been great. that’s my go to.

From your description I would run 4# since you’re also targeting pannies. FYI – Pline makes a 5# but your buddies will give you a hard time for that or at least that’s what I found last year.

I still run braid for one application. Deep water panfish when in the house or outside on warm days. The freeze up on braid is not good when hole hopping outside.

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Hey there fellas,
Had a quick question about line. Just wondering what line you guys prefer when using spoons and or jigging raps for walleye and perch? Mono vs. Braid? Also what lb. test are most of you guys running? Used crystal fireline last year in 6lb with a flouro leader with mixed results. Just bought a tuc precision 32″ and pairing it with a shimano sedona 500. Will be fishing mostly slender spoons up to 1/8 oz and bladebaits up to a 1/4 oz for walleyes. Also will be fishing as light as a 1/16 oz for gills and perch. Thanks for the replies gentlemen. Awesome site by the way!!
Thanks for the replies!

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Hey Loomis, welcome! Like many others here have said, hard line is for me, mostly relegated to fishing inside the Otter only. The fused type lines and 832 Sufix ice line are water repellent but will bring more water to your guides that eventually freezes. That said, they work better than average in your hard-side or heated portable.

Sufix Ice Magic and P-line have always worked well for me, with the Sufix being a bit easier to find. Both are copolys that do a great job of maintaining knot strength and durability while still being relatively low on memory, leading to a tough line that’s easy to use.

While filming for the show and just fishing around, we routinely land big fish on lighter line than you might think. 6lb is about as heavy as I’ll go on most of my walleye rods, with some in the 4 and 5lb category.

Good luck and thanks for dropping a line!

Joel

Thanks for all the replies fellas. Sounds like 4# P-line should do the trick. I here ya Joel on using lighter line for sure. All my open water walleye jigging rods are spooled up with 4lb mono and have landed some dandy walleye no problem. BTW Joel got my DVR set for the 17th looking forward to your new season!! Thanks for all the help guys. Bring on the ice!!!

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Thanks for all the replies fellas. Sounds like 4# P-line should do the trick. I here ya Joel on using lighter line for sure. All my open water walleye jigging rods are spooled up with 4lb mono and have landed some dandy walleye no problem. BTW Joel got my DVR set for the 17th looking forward to your new season!! Thanks for all the help guys. Bring on the ice!!!

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Thanks Loomis, good luck out there this year and keep in touch here. Fish awwwwwwwnnnnnn!!!!

Joel

P-Line is what I have been using for 3 or 4 years now. I use 5# for walleye and 3# for panfish with one or two rods spooled up with 2#.

For the past few years, I have been using 4 lb Fireline in the smoke color. Then I put on a #10 SPRO swivel then tie 8 lb Sunline Super FC Sniper Flourocarbon as the leader to a large sized Fast Snap. I use an 8 lb leader because it always scares me when there is a big walleye shaking its head at the bottom of the hole and I can hear the line skipping off the bottom of the ice. I’ve used this setup in super clear 14+ foot visibility and in less than 6 inches of visibility. I have never found the fishing being shy to this configuration and will continue to use it until it fails me.

I used both mono and fluorocarbon last year. 6# fluoro on my jigging/spoon rod. I used the northland stuff last year and it worked fine with lower cost that others. 4# mono (suffix ice) on my dead stick rod to let the minnow swim easier and have a little stretch. Tried braid, but couldn’t stand the freeze up while hole hopping. If I fished strictly in a shelter, I would definitely use braid on my jigging rod with a swivel and fluorocarbon leader.

P-line here as well. Great stuff. I run 4lb.

Personally if im fishing much over 20ft deep I like fireline with a floro leader usually 8 lb test tied to a swivel. I get alot better feel with the hard line. if im up shallow id go all mono/floro.