Inline reels

Can someone tell me the application for using inline reels. Under what fishing conditions are they an advantage over spinning reels? Water depth? Species?

I've always used spinning reels but I normally fish shallower Mississippi back waters. I now will be fishing crappie and walleye in deeper (16-20ft) of water.

Are they good for jigging? Dead sticking? Tip downs?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Keep a tight line!

Ordered the inline Piscifun almost a week ago, and no shipping so far. Has anyone else had to wait a while for an order from them? No ice right now so not a big deal. Just wanted to get it set up and be ready when we do get ice.

I haven't used it on the hardwater yet, but I have it set up on my rod ready to rip! I like the feel of it, size is nice. Doesn't have a line guide which was the issue with the BB ghost with the line getting caught in the spool. Hopefully this doesn't have the same issue. I'd put it above the BB ghost in regards to initial feel though. Seems to be worth the price. 

Has anyone tried the Piscifun ICX Precision Ice Fishing Reel? I just ordered one which will be my first inline reel. Got it for $50. Reviews look pretty good so far.

Skip the in line reel thing.....  put the smallest swivel on and tie on a leader..  Gets rid of line twist and gives the advantage of a spinning reel..

The 13 freefall reels have the trigger to let loose the spool and you can let your lure down with one hand allowing you to hold a nice cold beer in the other until you get bit. The ghost free fall is a cheaper plastic version of the original that has an aluminum  body. The other ones are the 6061 and black betty classic. The classic is one of the fly type reels. I have a fly style reel on my shallow water noodle rod and I like it for finesse fishing bluegills in 10' or less because it is annoying to fish with in deeper water as you have to manually pull line off of the reel to drop down to the fish. It will also have a slow retrieve speed. The 6061 is  very similar (but higher quality) to my frabill 371. It has a button sticking out of the handle shaft that will put the reel into free spool that you push with your reeling hand. IMO yeah your lure spinning from line twist on a spinning rod will keep you from getting bit sometimes, but the only time i think this is a problem is when you are fishing for finicky fish with microplastics. If you have the cash the freefall and the 6061 are extremely versitile but my favorite ice combo that I find myself using most often has a 20 size pflueger president on it.

Can someone please explain the 13 fishing reels.. Like the "Ghost" has a button so the line drops until you release it... I think that's pretty easy to grasp but how does the "FreeFall" and "Black Betty" work? I see no button so do you have to backcrank or what to get the line to drop? If its easier to look at a youtube video a link would be great.. Sorry if this is discussed somewhere already

Edit: So the Freefall has a button as well? I meant the Ice Reel.. That has to be backcranked or pulled by hand??

Jigging Rap spins because the lures action goes in a circle causing line twist if you don't use a barrel swivel in-line.

Nothing to do with your reel choice.

I would agree with that. That's my main issue with the original blackbetty too. I rarely wear gloves so it doesn't affect me much, but if you like to have gloves on it probably won't work out well for you.

I think the handle on a fly reel may be tough to work with, especially with gloves on.

Check out the Piscifun Sword and Sword II. One of those are my next purchase. I know a couple people that started using them and swear by them. Downfall is a 1:1 retrieval rate, but I started using the original Blackbetty earlier this year just for fun, and I barely use my freefall anymore. I love the 1:1 retrieval rate, especially mid season catching those deep basin crappies...

I'm thinking of trying a fly reel instead. Watched on my camera how my jigging rap spun for about 15 minutes the other day, so I can see the advantages of the "in line" reels. Most of my spinning gear doubles up as all season gear. If I'm dropping big bucks I feel like buying a fly reel instead, and taping it to my ice stick.

Interesting - I didn't know that! Didn't even realize some items only have the 13 and some say 13 fishing. I'll have to pay closer attention to that!

13 fishing changed the name from no.8 to one three. Anytime you see the branding on a rod/ reel as just 13 that's the new budget no.8 stuff. Anything with the actual 13 fishing logo is 13 fishing.

The No. 8 CGI and the 13 fishing descent reels are not the same. Similar, but not the same. The CGI, descent and 371 are all actually very similar in design. You can't even find the No. 8 CGI reels on their website anymore and only a select few online realtors still carry them (I assume selling off old stock). Can't seem to find their snitch rod either, I wonder if they partnered or sold their rights to 13 fishing because their snitch combo sure looks a lot like the CGI stuff.

It is a good idea to break down and re-lube any ice fishing reel prior to using it. It doesn't seem to matter much when it is comfortable fishing temps, but when hole hopping in single digits and below, it really makes a difference. Once you do one reel and figure out how to do it, the rest go real quick.

TR thanks for info. I have not shopped reels since got a bunch of CGI from Scheels close out 17  year. 12 a pop was too good to not stock up!