# In line reels



## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

6Speed said:


> Just thought of something...I use both types of reels but love the in lines the best. My question is, what does @tincanary think about performance and durability? He's in the biz and I'd think his input could be cool on this thread...


Yes, but does he ice fish? And I'm not talking about sitting in a shanty. Some reels are more likely to freeze up with a little moisture than are others.

The major inconvenience with lower end reels is the risk that your line gets down in the arbor and you have to disassemble to free it up. The black betty reels I have seen do spin better (at least at start up) on the drop than do my cheap eagle claws, but they still have the same gaps that occasionally cost me time out on the ice. The star drag on the eagle claws is also very touchy, but it tends to loosen and not cost me any fish. 

If I were to buy another one, I would seriously consider this one. Aren't the Betty free fall ghost reels totally plastic? And you would be buying local:

















HWI Trigger Drop Reel @ Sportsmen's Direct: Targeting Outdoor Innovation


HWI Trigger Drop Reel



sportsmensdirect.com





Maybe too heavy though.


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## Mark4486 (Oct 14, 2015)

TK81 said:


> Yes, but does he ice fish? And I'm not talking about sitting in a shanty. Some reels are more likely to freeze up with a little moisture than are others.
> 
> The major inconvenience with lower end reels is the risk that your line gets down in the arbor and you have to disassemble to free it up. The black betty reels I have seen do spin better (at least at start up) on the drop than do my cheap eagle claws, but they still have the same gaps that occasionally cost me time out on the ice. The star drag on the eagle claws is also very touchy, but it tends to loosen and not cost me any fish.
> 
> ...


That’s exactly why I don’t like spinning reels for ice fishing. I sit on a bucket with no shanty and lines and reels ice over. Spinning reels have to much going on for ice fishing.


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## jimbo (Dec 29, 2007)

3? Yrs ago I thought I'd try a short rod, just to see if I thought I was missing something. I bought a $40 inline combo. Mail order.
First thought was it was heavy. Anyways I took it out to try it. Being it was cheap( at least that's what I'm guessing now), I had to pull the line off the reel,all the way out. which was a pain in just 12 ft of water. It was cold, so I put on gloves. I think I fished for less then 3 minutes and tossed it back in the box and got another rod.
When I got home, I figured I'd at least salvage the spring bobber. Broke the rod tip and just tossed the whole mess away


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

jimbo said:


> 3? Yrs ago I thought I'd try a short rod, just to see if I thought I was missing something. I bought a $40 inline combo. Mail order.
> First thought was it was heavy. Anyways I took it out to try it. Being it was cheap( at least that's what I'm guessing now), I had to pull the line off the reel,all the way out. which was a pain in just 12 ft of water. It was cold, so I put on gloves. I think I fished for less then 3 minutes and tossed it back in the box and got another rod.
> When I got home, I figured I'd at least salvage the spring bobber. Broke the rod tip and just tossed the whole mess away
> 
> ...


I love the long rod for shallow water, but I get most of my gills out of about 15ft or deeper. I will still occasionally use a long rod at that depth, but it has one of those HWI tight line reels on it.


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

I've got a frabill 371 that I got on sale a few years ago at an ice fishing show. I like it. Once you have it tuned right for the lure you're using it works great. I use it both for shallow water perch and ice fishing smelt in deeper water.


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## Minner (Apr 4, 2020)

TK81 said:


> Yes, but does he ice fish? And I'm not talking about sitting in a shanty. Some reels are more likely to freeze up with a little moisture than are others.
> 
> The major inconvenience with lower end reels is the risk that your line gets down in the arbor and you have to disassemble to free it up. The black betty reels I have seen do spin better (at least at start up) on the drop than do my cheap eagle claws, but they still have the same gaps that occasionally cost me time out on the ice. The star drag on the eagle claws is also very touchy, but it tends to loosen and not cost me any fish.
> 
> ...



I can only speak in regards to the Black Betty FreeFall Carbon, I have three of them and have 75 or so days on the ice with them, I do not believe any of these inline ice reels are "fully caged" so the "gaps" I think you are referencing are going to happen on any of them.

That being said, I have never once had the line get into these gaps between the spool and the frame, there is a line guide that the line goes through as it exits the spool and they have it on the top of the spool so the line does not exit the spool from the bottom, just like the reel you have a link to in your post above. This keeps the line from wanting to blow around or allowing it enough slack to really go anywhere it shouldn't. 

I use them with the absolute tiniest of Panfish jigs on up to jigging raps and spoons, what I like about them the most is the drags, I have landed some very large Ciscos on 2 pound test with them and never broke one off, never broke any fish off for that matter. You don't get line twist with them like you do a spinning reel either.


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## TK81 (Mar 28, 2009)

Minner said:


> I can only speak in regards to the Black Betty FreeFall Carbon, I have three of them and have 75 or so days on the ice with them, I do not believe any of these inline ice reels are "fully caged" so the "gaps" I think you are referencing are going to happen on any of them.
> 
> That being said, I have never once had the line get into these gaps between the spool and the frame, there is a line guide that the line goes through as it exits the spool and they have it on the top of the spool so the line does not exit the spool from the bottom, just like the reel you have a link to in your post above. This keeps the line from wanting to blow around or allowing it enough slack to really go anywhere it shouldn't.
> 
> I use them with the absolute tiniest of Panfish jigs on up to jigging raps and spoons, what I like about them the most is the drags, I have landed some very large Ciscos on 2 pound test with them and never broke one off, never broke any fish off for that matter. You don't get line twist with them like you do a spinning reel either.


Thanks for the detail. I have had my line get snarled up in the cheap eagle claw a couple times before. Windy days and mostly operator error. But when the fish are biting and it is super cold, my hands get a bit "dumb". I seldom wear gloves and mainly hole hop on a 5 gallon pail. Fishing for ciscoes, I suspect you are plying much deeper waters than am I. 95% of my ice fishing is for gills, specks, and perch in 6 to 20 FOW, and 13 to 16 is where I spend most of my time. If I get over to Muskegon, White, or any of the other drowned river mouth lakes where I am looking for perch in 40 to 70 FOW, I will be using the inline free falls for sure. I just don't get over there much these days. The OP stated that he was fishing mostly 6 to 10', and at that depth I am not even getting my free fall reels out of the sled. In fact, if I can get on the gills in 8' or less, I pull out my favorite 61" Higley with the Schooley.


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## Minner (Apr 4, 2020)

TK81 said:


> Thanks for the detail. I have had my line get snarled up in the cheap eagle claw a couple times before. Windy days and mostly operator error. But when the fish are biting and it is super cold, my hands get a bit "dumb". I seldom wear gloves and mainly hole hop on a 5 gallon pail. Fishing for ciscoes, I suspect you are plying much deeper waters than am I. 95% of my ice fishing is for gills, specks, and perch in 6 to 20 FOW, and 13 to 16 is where I spend most of my time. If I get over to Muskegon, White, or any of the other drowned river mouth lakes where I am looking for perch in 40 to 70 FOW, I will be using the inline free falls for sure. I just don't get over there much these days. The OP stated that he was fishing mostly 6 to 10', and at that depth I am not even getting my free fall reels out of the sled. In fact, if I can get on the gills in 8' or less, I pull out my favorite 61" Higley with the Schooley.


I use my inlines in 10' or less right behind the house more often than not for Gills. I also use them in deep water too for all kinds of stuff, but the bulk of my ice fishing is Panfish.

I just enjoy fishing them and in the event you hook into something big, definitely prefer them over a Schooley.

To each his own, more than one way to skin a cat.

Here's to hoping for some fishable ice soon!


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