Jesus wasn't the only man to walk on water! Every winter in the Northern States, thousands of men and women walk on water in search of a meal or a trophy fish. Of course they are walking on ice and they are ice fishing, and there is no way possible they can be as good of a fisherman as Jesus was, but they do it anyway. Even the best fishermen and the most equipped need to re-equip themselves during this season. While some lures can be used in any season, the ice fisherman needs much more and different gear during ice fishing season. Line is no exception.
Other Ice fishing Gear you might want to check out are the Frabill Vinyl-Coated Minnow Trap and the Frabill Sit-N-Fish Bait Container

Berkley Trilene:
Berkley has come up with another great line, really catering to a specific fisherman with the new Cold Weather 110 yard Monofilament Line. This improved formula is as flexible at 32°F as regular mono is at 70°F providing low line memory and tangle free performance. This is important because regular line such as Trilene XT and Trilene XL are designed for warm water fishing with water temperatures over 55 degrees. When ice fishing, the water temperature is close to the freezing point, 32 degrees and the air temperature is much colder. This line is designed with that in mind. It offers the same amount of low stretch and performance in the cold temperatures. Regular monofilament gets brittle and tough when used during very cold temperatures such as ice fishing season. If you are going ice fishing, for $3 and change it is well worth it to buy fishing line that is designed specifically for you.


How Much do you need?:
You might be wondering why it only comes in a 110 yard Pony spool rather than the usual 330 yard common spool or even a 1,000 yard monster spool. The answer is simple, you don't really need much of it. You obviously won't be making any casts on top of the ice for fish so if you are using a jig pole, you are fishing vertically. The deepest I ever fish through the ice is about 60 feet deep when I am fishing for Lake Trout. I most commonly fish within the 8 foot deep to 20 foot deep range when using a jig pole. That is only 3-7 yards of line. Of course you want more on the reel in case you fish deeper or if you hook into a big fish and it takes drag, but you can always put a filler line in the back of the spool, or just use last years line as a filler.
On my Ice Traps I only use about 2 yards or six feet of this monofilament. I fill my spool with an ice fishing line that is similar to open water fishing Braided lines. What I use is a white nylon line. This fills the spool nicely, has zero memory, is very visible to the fisherman for detecting a hit or direction the fish is going under the hole. At the end of the nylon ice fishing line I tie a swivel then the Berkley Cold Weather line. You only need about 6-10 feet of this mono, just enough to be invisible to the fish above your bait.

The nylon line is impossible to break or fray in the sharp edges of the ice fishing hole, but even the best mono is in danger of fraying or breaking as a fish is circling around the hole. That is why I only use just what I feel I need to fool the fish. Never spool up your entire ice traps spool with mono. This is a rookie mistake I have seen many times. I will explain what the ice trap is so you can understand if you have not used one before. Basically it is a wooden cross like a T. Picture at the bottom of the vertical T a spool. At the top of the vertical T is a flag on a thin band of metal. The horizontal part of the T has the function of holding the trap on top of the ice and keeping the vertical T upright.

When the fish hits the line and takes the bait, the reel turns. When the reel turns, it trips the flag and the flag stands upright and alerts the fisherman that there has been a strike. The fisherman runs over and inspects the line. If you can see the line you will be able to tell which side of the hole it is on. If the fish simply tripped the flag the line will be straight down. If the wind tripped the flag, the line will be straight down. If there is a fish on the other end, the line will be to the side and will be visible to the fisherman with the white nylon line. If the fish is swimming away, it is very obvious that it is on the line and what direction it is going. With monofilament, it is very hard to detect just what direction the line is headed below the ice. After the fish is on, the fisherman takes the trap out of the hole, sets the hook on the fish by pulling the line, and pulls the fish in by hand.

Monofilament is very hard to hand line. It will cut your hands if you don't have gloves on and it is very slippery and small in diameter. The nylon line is much softer and larger and is easier to use in this tug-of-war game between fisherman and fish. Make sure that you use Berkley Cold Weather to fool the fish, but don't be a fool, use nylon fishing line above the monofilament to fill the spool.

Color:
It is available in Electric Blue color for maximum visibility against snow and ice. Most lakes when frozen seem to clear up with the algae and micro-organisms slowed to a halt. The electric blue is a great color for ice fishing in clear waters.

Size and Price:
Berkley sells this line in 110 yard spools. This is a small spool compared to other spools of line you probably buy, but keep in mind you only need 2-3 yards per ice fishing trap, and maybe 15 yards of it on your jigging pole. Most states restrict the amount of ice fishing traps to 5, I have fished some states that allow 15. You can expect to equip at least one fisherman's outfit with a spool of Berkley Cold Weather line, if not several.
It retails for $3.19 per spool. You can find it at Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas and at most big retail stores in the Northern States during ice fishing season.

It is offered in 6 different sizes:
2 pound test .005 diameter
3 pound test .007 diameter
4 pound test .008 diameter
6 pound test .009 diameter
8 pound test .010 diameter
10 pound test .011 diameter

Fish I have caught using this line: Yellow Perch, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappy, Brown Trout, Brook Trout

Click on my other Fishing Reviews:
Lures:
Terminator Ball Buster Buzzbait
Strike King Premier Spinnerbaits
Strike King Redeye Spinnerbait
Rebel Pop-R, Pop, Pop, SPLASH
Jitterbug, That Old Classic
Storm Wiggle Warts Lures
Terminator Finesse Jigs
Gary Yamamoto's The Kreature
Zoom Lizards
Zoom Salty Chunk Trailer
Uncle Josh Original Pork Trailers
Reels
Quantum Energy PT Baitcaster
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 4600C3
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 C3
Abu Garcia C4 series Reels
Abu Garcia C3 series Reels
Abu Garcia Cardinal 500 Series Spinning Reel
Quantum Kinetic PTi Spinning Reel
Shimano Curado CU-200B5
Shimano Curado CU-200B

Recommended: Yes