fly reel for ice fishing question

Having never used a fly reel for anything, I am a little curious about using them for ice fishing. My question is, are they mainly just used for shallow water applications or do they work for deep water as well? Most of my ice fishing season is spent chasing perch in depths of 30 to 80 feet on the Madison lakes. I run spinning reels on all my rods, but have a Thorne Bros perch sweetheart that is currently in need of a reel and was wondering if I should be considering a fly reel. Not sure if they are really applicable to deeper water presentations.

Thanks.

Fly reels make for a fun battle with fish, however fishing deeper that 30 feet would take a long time to get the fish up the hole. At approximently 10-12″ per crank, it would be a long time to reel a fish deeper that 30 fow. I think the deepest I used my fly reel was 30 foot of water for panfish, that took a while to reel in.

It would be a great battle fighting a nice Jumbo from deep water on the fly reel, however I think you would get tired or reeling and letting the line out that far. just my thoughts.

John,
Th gearing is 1::1. I will fish 30 ft. on occasion but more often 8 to 20 ft. Would think 80 ft. is better suited to a spinning reel.
The big thing with the fly reel is it really eliminates line twist. So those of us that have been using the smaller ice spinning reels where line twist can be a hastle, have an option that cam get us away from that.
Good luck,
John

The line twist was the main reason I was curious if a fly reel was applicable. I figured with the 1:1 retrieve, it may not be well suited for deeper water. Guess I’ll be shopping for another spinning reel. Thanks for the input.

John,

If you’re anything like me, you’ll wanna throw that fly reel across the lake by the time you get down to 30 ft.

I love the fly reel concept and use mine for gills and pies in less than 25′. Perch can be fast an furious. Think of the fly reel setup’s as more of fine finesse style or technique when you’re in a critical situation.

I have a fly reel you can have if you want to try it. Spinning is the way to go around here. You’ll find if you go with a decent make in the reel the the line twist is less than the inexpensive bargain ones. You can also use a tiny swivel 12 inches above your dropper rig will almost eliminate line twist. Most line twist issues I’ve had is because I put the line on backwards initially especially flourcarbons have a grain to them. When putting Vanish on put the spool on the ground face up and put 10 cranks on then move your rod tip toward the spool. If the line twists flip the spool over so the label is down towards the ground and fill her up.

I use swivels, but if I could eliminate another piece of hardware that shows up on the marcum, and a couple more knots from the equation, I would be all over it. Unfortunately, I may be stuck with the swivel. I’ll maybe give your fly reel a try though Kevin. Bring it along next time we get out. If I don’t like it, I’ll do as Matt suggests and throw it across the lake.

For Deep Water Perch get a Swish Rod and use a pencil weight in line to get it down quick and you will have zero line problems. The swish rod was designed for the Perch in Mendota.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CUSTOM-SWISH-ROD-Ice-fishing-pole-rod-/330512357468?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf412585c

I have also seen guys make homemade ones out of old film reels.

I didn’t know that they were still made. Used them on the bay of Green Bay years ago. They came in two sizes. Great for deep water.

I am not a fan of swish rods. It feels like fishing with a tire attached to your jig rod. I used them in the past and got rid of them all.

I have a question. I read and I searched – it DOES seem to me that it was answered before but I don’t remember the answer.

How can I get my (el cheapo) fly reel to only reel in 1 direction. Back reeling’s nice,but only when I want it.

It’s an old South Bend Finalist.

Thanks.

Quote:

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I have a question. I read and I searched – it DOES seem to me that it was answered before but I don’t remember the answer.

How can I get my (el cheapo) fly reel to only reel in 1 direction. Back reeling’s nice,but only when I want it.

It’s an old South Bend Finalist.

Thanks.

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Only if it has a one way drag. I’ve had a cheapo fly reels that the drag went both ways. I call those tension knobs instead of drag.

Thanks,Bob…

I took the reel apart again: there is NO drag whatsoever.

Then I started to google “fly reels” and the word “discount” appeared….Cabelas had discounted,lightweight flyreels at half price – $9 and change each – and they have a drag system.

If they work great,great if not,I’m only out the price of three of’em.