- Consider what type of line you are going to use before you start. If you target small fish such as crappie and bluegill, use lightweight monofilament in the 2-lb. test range, but only if you fish in shallow water. Panfish in deeper lakes bite very lightly, meaning that a 2- to 4-lb. test braided line will detect those nibbles. It has less stretch than monofilament. Go after fish like bass, walleye and pike with an ice-fishing rod spooled with up to 20-lb. test braided lines. Braided line is much more resistant to the abrasion the ice can precipitate and will hold up in a fight with a bigger fish.
- Take any old line off your reel. Open the bail on the reel and flip the knob on it so that the reel spins as you pull the line off. Wrap the line around your hand as it comes though the rod guides and cut it off the reel once you have unspooled all of it. Never try to bite through line to break it, especially braided lines, which are strong enough to chip a tooth. Invest in a pair of line clippers. Dispose of the old line in a plastic bag and throw it in the garbage. Look into whether your local tackle shop recycles old fishing line and bring it there if it does.
- Take the new line and thread the loose end down through the rod guides. You must contend with only two or three on a normal ice fishing rod. Open the bail on the reel and tie the line around the arbor. The arbor is the part of the reel that holds the line and spins as the handle turns. Remember that if the bail is not open, the reel will not gather the line when you turn the handle. Snip any excess line from the knot and flip the bail closed. Put the spool of new line on the ground at your feet so you can control it as it spins while line comes off it. Sit in a chair with the line between your feet and begin to reel in line. With your free hand, hold both the rod and the line that is coming off the spool on the ground, keeping tension on the line so it wraps tightly. Wear a work glove on this hand to avoid the line cutting into your palm or fingers. After you spool the line to within an eighth of an inch of the lip of the arbor, stop and cut the line off where it attaches to the new spool. Tie on a hook or lure and secure it to one of the rod guides to avoid it snagging on anything before you get out on the ice.
