Gear Review – Vicious Panfish ICE
Line is an important factor no matter how you choose to fish. However, the winter presents even more challenges for your fishing and it’s important to have a line you can rely on in even the toughest conditions.
Last year I was looking for some new line to spool some ice fishing reels and the tackle shop was sold out of the brand I normally used. My eye was then drawn to the Vicious Panfish ICE line and the price – less than $2 a spool at that time. I really could not go wrong. At that price, even if this line only lasted me a month, I could spool my reels again and still be saving money. Plus, it was easy to find very light line and I went home with 2lb test and 4lb test spools to put on my crappie and perch rigs.
On the first outing Darrell and I made with this line we were both very impressed. Maybe the low price had lowered our expectations, but we spent much of our time, between landing crappie after crappie, talking about how great this new line was.
Vicious Fishing has done an excellent job with this copolymer line. There was very little memory, something that becomes even more important when you’re fishing with tiny, light-weight jigs. In fact, it had less memory than any of the other lines we used. And the line seemed to have little stretch, making it easier to detect those subtle crappie bites. No matter how cold the weather, and no matter how much ice it rubbed against, this line performed perfectly.
The line served us well for the remainder of the ice fishing season. We did replace all of the line to start this season as some of it was getting brittle, and we prefer to start the season with new line anyway.
The Vicious Panfish ICE line comes in HiVis Color and LoVis Clear. I opt for the HiVis as it makes it easier to see the line move when a fish picks up the lure. On the Vicious Fishing website you can find the line ranging from 2lb test to 12lb test. I was able to find the 1lb test at Bass Pro Shops in Vaughan.
I have had difficulty finding this line in my local tackle shops, but if more anglers begin to use it and demand it, that problem can be rectified. After having such a positive experience with this line, I am reluctant to switch over to other brands. I was given a spool of ice line from another brand for Christmas, and have had nothing but headaches with it so far. That line will be replaced with the Vicious Panfish ICE line very soon.
argosgirl
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I’ve totally given up on all co-po line because of the problem with twisting, especially on small ice fishing reels. The only problem now is that some braids absorb tiny amounts of water and on cold days it’s like dipping candles.
The freezing factor with braid is what keeps me from using it. I spend most of my time outside of the hut and braid always seems to freeze up. What brand do you use? I’d love to find one that would work fairly well.
I usually use 4lb Fireline with 18″ of fluorocarbon tippet. Out of the box it’s fairly limp and waterproof but doesn’t age that well. For toothys I’m using my openwater reel with 12lb powepro. It might be better in smaller tests but it gets really expensive experimenting.