Best ice fishing line (for traps)?
 

Hello fellow anglers,

I have been fishing for over 30 years now and have yet to come across ice fishing line like I remember from the 80's. I liked I because it was slick and had a larger diameter. This new stuff is so thin that if you don't follow proper line management after a fish goes on a significant run, the line starts knotting around the button marker and turns into a mess. Last time out using suffix ice, of the 4 traps I caught fish on, 3 of them I became so badly tangled I ended up cutting line and starting over. I just don't see the advantage of using a thread-like line when ice fishing...thoughts???

I use tan Woodstock 30 lb braided nylon. It's what came on a new set of 40 ups, so I put it on a used set I have too.

Jax Cat Tackle has 200 yard spools for a good price.

It is thick enough to deal with when your fingers are frozen.

Just wrap the line over the button and it shouldn't tangle.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I use 25 lb. braided dacron, but most ice fishing lines are a braided line of some sort.
The main problem with line tangle is that the line is wet and can freeze to the ice surface, or even itself on cold days, and when pulling in a fish, try to keep the line in one area.
If you start walking around a hole while pulling in line, you are almost guaranteed to have a tangle.
Also, when done unhooking the fish, put the line back in the water, preferrebly rebaited, and you can uncoil the coils you created when pullin the line in.

Basically you are retracing you steps.

Thank you for the solid feedback gentlemen and "tight lines" to you all
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I use heavy dacron line on my traps. Same stuff I use for backing on my saltwater reels and for rigging eels. I think it's 50# test or something close to that.

The kind of line you use would also depend on your intended quarry. IE... I had seperate tilts rigged light for trout while my pike and pickerel tilts were rigged heavier and were much easier to work with. Having said that, we get so little ice where I live now I am totally out of the loop as to what brands are currently favored.