just wondering chaps how do you cope with this problem ?

i use loon outdoors stanleys ice-off paste and it has kept me fishing lowest recorded temp is -6 avon at fernegair buggin for grayling nov 08

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lets fish the clydeGuide

That's pretty cold to still be fishing.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

There is very little, if anything, you can do that will keep the ice off for very long. I've read and tried over a dozen homemade and commercial concoctions and some kinda-sorta work better than others, but none work for very long or very well, especially once the temp is below -3 or so.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that a dark-colored, matte finished rods seem to be more ice-resistant if the sun is shining. I assume this is because the dark color attracts some measure of heat from the sun and even warming the rod up 1 degree can give the water time to drop off the guides rather than freeze.

Die hard winter steelhead anglers over here have gone so far as to build up "ice rods" that use oversized guides in an attempt to thwart the ice-up problem. I'm not sure if this works any better, I'd guess it probably just extends the time between picking ice out of the guides.

Grouse

glycarin as used in baking is supposed to work might be worth a look down the baking isle at the supermarket

Like Grouse I've tried various solutions and finally gave up as I suspect I was doing more damage to my line than anything else. Nowdays I just watch the guides and periodically pick the ice out although I've discovered that cursing helps, it doesn't melt the ice but it does make me feel better.

Take care

Terry

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"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all!"

Hi there,
I'm using an Oil normally for guns and rifles called Ballistol and is pretty good for Temperatures down to -5° Celsius

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Tight Lines
Jens

Bourbon also is a reasonably effective solution. If you want, you could even try some on the rod guides.

As an additional benefit, Bourbon doesn't freeze like beer does. This is a real plus for winter fishing. On one river that requires a long hike to reach, I maintain a hidden stock some beer and liquor in a cache that we refer to as "the fridge". Either a friend and fishing buddy stocks the fridge in the winter by cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in, or we pack in a case or two of beer and a bottle on opening day, then we have a fully stocked liquor cabinet that lasts until spring.

This has backfired once, two years ago there was a very fast spring melt after 2 big March snowfalls dumped more than 2 feet on that particular river. The river flooded and we lost over a case of beer, 4 cans of Beamish, and an new bottle of Bourbon. We have since moved the fridge to higher ground, but it wasn't a pretty sight, three grown men crying when we discovered the terrible loss. They were so young. . .

Grouse

Try basic vaseline....

Tried it. Same results as most others, possibly has some small effect, but certainly does not eliminate ice buildup.

A few of the the "remedies" I've tried:

Stanley's Ice Off
Loon anti ice
At least 2 other "commercial" formulas, I can't remember the names.
Car wax
Vaseline
Chapstick
Armor-all
Furniture wax

I'm sure there are others. If there's a clear winner, it's not evident to me. None of them eliminated ice buildup to any significant extent.

Grouse

Grouse, you are such a BAD BOY. Even us 'older than dirt' guys know better than that ... or is that how we got to be 'older than dirt?'

DON'T GO THERE YOU GUYS, don't' go there.

fae