How to prevent freezing guides

[BigLeagueFishing]

Hey,

I was out this morning fishing for smallies and walleye, temperature was below 20° F. I started off with my spinning rod spooled with 10 lb braid only to find that it froze to the spool after getting wet. I know braid isn't ideal for freezing temps so I switched to my baitcaster that's spooled with mono. The smaller guides seemed more prone to freezing. I've heard that WD40 or Pam spray can help, anyone here use these? However, I had a bigger problem with ice on the reel itself. The eyelet on the levelwind system filled with ice and cut my line when I had a fish on. Later the internals of the reel starting freezing and it became unusable. It's only going to get colder and I intend to fish all winter. How do you deal with fishing in the cold?

[gim]

5 minutes ago, BigLeagueFishing said:

How do you deal with fishing in the cold?

 

Honestly, it's just simple physics.  Water freezes at 32 degrees F, so any water at that air temp or below is going to freeze.

 

Unless you have a way of defying the laws of physics, of course.

[MN Fisher]

^ Like my buddy here said - it's gonna happen when you fish in temps that low. I know when I lived in MA and RI, I never went out if the air temp was below 34...same here in MN.

[MickD]

All above is true, but also, the larger the guides the less prone to water freezing in them.  Can't help with the line on the spool, though.  The reason smaller guides are worse is that surface tension has the greater opportunity to close a guide.  

[ne_dan]

Wax on the guides helps to keep water from freezing for a little bit, but eventually you’ll loose the battle.  

[Susky River Rat]

Burt’s bees wax and lithium wd40. You have to keep reapplying if it stays that cold.

[PaulVE64]

I've used pam on the tip guide (spinning) but never had trouble with the reel.

[FishTank]

No braid. It absorbs water and freezes instantly. Next, chapstick or Burt Bee's Lip Balm.  Both work and are easy to apply. There is also a product from Loon's but I have never used it. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Reel Magic 

[BigLeagueFishing]

I think I have a can of Real Magic somewhere. It's gonna be above freezing all week so I won't be able to try anything yet.

[Bankbeater]

I have a couple of baitcasting rigs that are nearly the same.  I put the iced-up one back in the car and while it is thawing back out, I use the second rig. This will work fishing from the bank, but not from a boat. Also, this works better on sunny days.

[Reel]

I ice fish so I use spinning reels, and rods with large guides sprayed with silicone ( WD 40).  

 

I use special line made for ice fishing and lube my reels with only oil for ice fishing.

[crypt]

live in Florida........or Reel Magic....

[new2BC4bass]

1 hour ago, crypt said:

live in Florida......

Or don't fish in old weather below freezing!  😁

[papajoe222]

-I used to have this problem when fishing (casting) for walleye just after ice-out.  Ardent Rod Kleen leaves a non stick coating on the guides and also works on the reel's line guide. As soon as ice starts to build up, 30-60min., I spray the offending guide with Real Magic and am usually good for a while. Temperature doesn't seem to make a difference in their effectiveness as I've fished in every temp from 32 to minus 5. 

[PhishLI]

On 11/25/2023 at 4:52 PM, BigLeagueFishing said:

However, I had a bigger problem with ice on the reel itself. The eyelet on the levelwind system filled with ice and cut my line when I had a fish on. Later the internals of the reel starting freezing and it became unusable.

That was probably the levelwind worm gear. If it gets to that point, just stop. The gears that drive it are plastic and you could easily chip the teeth at those temps.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Treating guides and exposed reel parts with anything to shed water: WD 40, reel magic, Pam, KVD… you get the idea

[MidwestBassAttack]

Fish in temps above freezing…plain and simple

[keagbassr]

Dunk 'n' shake as needed is how I clear guides of ice

[A-Jay]

Get a Passport ~ 

A-Jay

 

[Kirtley Howe]

I have used RainX windshield washer fluid on my rod guides. It does two things....it helps the guides shed water, and it helps to prevent the guides from freezing. A small spray bottle filled with RainX makes it easy to reapply as needed. While I have never had a problem using it, it is possible it can damage some rods finishes, so spot test it on an inconspicuous area before using it on the guides. I have not found it to hurt  mono or floro lines. I have not used it with braide line. Nowadays I pretty much keep the guides from freezing by just not going fishing in weather that cold. (Sucks to get old)

[desertedgoat]

On 11/25/2023 at 4:52 PM, BigLeagueFishing said:

Hey,

I was out this morning fishing for smallies and walleye, temperature was below 20° F. I started off with my spinning rod spooled with 10 lb braid only to find that it froze to the spool after getting wet. I know braid isn't ideal for freezing temps so I switched to my baitcaster that's spooled with mono. The smaller guides seemed more prone to freezing. I've heard that WD40 or Pam spray can help, anyone here use these? However, I had a bigger problem with ice on the reel itself. The eyelet on the levelwind system filled with ice and cut my line when I had a fish on. Later the internals of the reel starting freezing and it became unusable. It's only going to get colder and I intend to fish all winter. How do you deal with fishing in the cold?

 

Don't listen to the "don't fish in the cold" crowd, fishing in the cold is fun and fantastic way to get chonkers (also real fishermen fish in all weather, not pack it in because you can see your breath). That being said ice build up will happen no matter than type of line (although mono and floro take longer than braid, if you want braid get something with a good coating like power pro v2 super slick), the idea is water plus cold wind, it's less about overall temps and more about wind chill that causes the freezing (0°C with lots of cold wind will freeze me up faster than -15°C on a nice sunny day with no wind), this is why ice braid is awesome if you have a hut or shelter but will still freeze without one.

 

Basically anything that prevents water build up but won't hurt your tackle is a good choice. Burt's Bees, petroleum jelly, etc. are great for applying to your eyelets to prevent the ice build up and PAM (cooking spray), silicone spray (wd-40), any type of line conditioner, rain-X, etc. in a spray bottle are great options for the eyelets and the spooled line. Also recommend using a sealed reel like something used for salt water fishing to prevent water and ice build up on your gears, etc. They also make a waxish de-ice seal for fly fishing line to prevent ice up (same concept as part of the reason to apply wax to your hockey stick blade tape, also another option but you're gonna have to wax your entire line which can be extremely tedious). The problem will never go away so keep applying, if you're using scents good idea if reapply when you do your scent (10-25 casts depending on type of fishing, still vs casting). Another way is using a tip up line at the end of your mainline (useful for braid since the braid doesn't really touch the water but you can still get that sensitivity if you're fishing uber deep and need it) or an extremely long leader kind of idea and give er the old blood knot. Final idea is find a rod or take your current rod and upsize your eyelets, the bigger they are (obviously within reason) the more it takes to cause a freeze up from occurring.

 

Reality is until your line is actually frozen stiff to the point where you're not gonna feel the bite anymore (then a portable heater, your car heater, hot water bottles, etc. to unfreeze your line) than the rest is fishable, remember people ice fish and fly fish for arctic char in the lower arctic December times. If you end up on mono/floro instead of braid and have to use a lighter lb test than you might need to get a longer rod to compensate as well (old guys catching 15+lb chromes on 8lb-10lb test and light rigs, all about that drag and skill). Hope this helps you, tight lines 🤙

 

 

[wvhunt]

I've used Chapstick rubbed on the eyes to help some in the past.  I'm not sure what some of the ingredients may be doing to my line, so the other day I just let them freeze and tried to deal with it the best I could.

[MassYak85]

I don't fish much when it's that cold. This is counterintuitive but the times I have...dip the rod in the water and give it a quick shake. The guides are gonna freeze but you can do that quick for each cast and it works to "reset" them. The real issue is the line guide to your reel. 

[JediAmoeba]

The best thing to do is use a spinning rod and reel - the guides are bigger and the way it slaps on the first few guides keeps them clean. Keep dunking the first few guides in the water to keep those clear and watch for Nicks in your line. 

 

As you notices braid is the worst.

 

And everything I said kills me because I am a braid to leader guy and I hate spinning rods - but it's the best thing to do.