Page 39 - ODUNovAndDec2018

spooler reel. The reality is that there is no or little twist on either a spinning reel or spooler reel when

the line is fresh and new. You can better manage your line and simply get more mileage out of your line
however with a spooler reel, but twists develop into your line when using any reel because when you
pound the jig, you are creating twists. If you can imagine fishing hard for a week… you might get three
to four days out of your line with a spinning reel before you have to change the line or take care of it
where you might get six days out of a spooler reel before you start to notice the twisting. On tough
bites, you simply have to monitor your line and change your line frequently so that you don’t have any
twists in the line that turn your jig fast when you pause. You can stretch the line with your fingers and
drag the line through the snow to work out some of the twists to get through a day but changing line

often is the key to catching fish
when the bite gets tough. I still
find myself using a classic
spinning reel often particularly
when I am fishing outside but I
must change line on a spinning

reel much more often. Bar
none, the best ice mono on the
market right now is the Frost
Ice Line because of the thinner
diameter and knot strength.
This line is also marked every
three feet with a high vis
orange interval which makes

bite detection much easier
when having to watch the line.

The rod simply must load up
and handle the lighter line. I
am a big fan of shorter rods on
really tough bites simply, so I

can block out more wind
disturbance and keep
everything closer to my eyes.
My favorite finesse rods are the
twenty and twenty-four-inch
Meat Stick Rods in our Jason
Mitchell Elite Series (pictured
next page) line up. The tip is

sanded down so that you can
watch the tip like a spring
bobber. What I find on tough
bites however is that rod tips
and spring bobbers have the
most influence on softening the
stroke on the presentation but