13 FISHING - Freefall Carbon - Inline Ice Fishing Reels - 2.5:1 Gear Ratio

I do a lot of ice fishing and have gone through a lot of different reels. This one is on the top, being the best. So I bought another. Works great.

The 13 FISHING - Freefall Carbon - Inline Ice Fishing Reel is a beautiful piece of equipment for your collection of reels. It’s very smooth and easy to use. It works wonderfully for jigging walleyes through the ice with braided 10 pound test line. I’m very impressed with its response to action and its overall feel while fighting fish close to the weight of the fishing line in using. It’s nearly impossible to get the line in these reels twisted. Of course use a proper swivel when jigging. The drag system is dependable and I wouldn’t trade my 6 reels for anything.

We use sizes 2 thru 5 tungsten jigs and 2 pound, or less, test and 13 fishing tickle stick 25 ul rods for ice fishing. Target fish are pan fish.I own 6 of these free falls in various options including their trickshop option.The drop speed adjustment control is not wanted on such lite tackle, if anything, a faster drop speed would be welcomed. That being said, this version of the freefalls drop speed does not work at all, but paying far less under retail, I have no complaints about that issue.And because we target the fish by picking them from the top of a school, the drop speed issue doesn't matter since we don't fish bottom much where you might get backlash from a sudden stop at the spool. Feathering the spool like you do with spinning reels is a better choice if you need to control the speed. Just like you would if casting softwater.On other freefalls I have, the drop speed mechanism seems to use a friction point that rubs behind the spool, and the slightest warbling from the spool causes an Inconsistent drop speed.This model looks like it uses the same friction point that supposed to rub on the spool, but does not make contact at all. Their are no magnets to be seen anywhere.After using 13 fishing early models of this reel and current version (the added window helps keep line from falling off the spool), they perform well, until bitter cold starts freezing the line (braid is wirse by holding more water) and you have to use time to mess with stuck line and frozen guides on the rods. A Heated shanty is great for those days. Spinning reels are more forgiving in this area and I keep plenty of both styles with me on lakes.After trying cheaper brands, and having to wash out the junk grease (Vaseline?) they used that would freeze in cold temps, inconsistent drag systems, this is not a problem at all with any of the inline 13 fishing reels I own and I own other varieties of their inline reels. That being said, I see no grease used at all inside of them.We still get line twist from tackle desending/ascending. Centering your plastic or live bait on the jig hooks can help a lot.I always start my fishing trips with 13 fishing inline reels and now my spinning reel rigs are with me just in case.

K

Looks like a nice build. Though I bought this for my elderly dad, so he doesn't use it much. Third time out the drop speed adjustment stoped working so the spool spins freely. You end up with your line in a tangled mess.

Absolutely love this reel. Very smooth operation. It is slightly heavier than the more plastic model and after pulling fish from the ice for hours my arm does get a little sore - I can live with that!

Very smooth operation. Line free falls with minimal weight. Ive seen it spool off the reel in the wind with no jig or lure on. Ive caught many slot fish 19-1/2 inches or bigger. (Walleyes) without a glitch.

Awesome reel

Smoothest reel that I have ever owned, exactly as advertised.

I have another freefall reel so I was excited to get what I thought would be an upgrade. The first one I received would not reel in the line due to a gear alignment issue. The second one I received as a replacement had issues with the drop speed control. The magnet would not engage. I was very disappointed in this reel as my past experiences with the cheaper Maverick edition were good.