I live in the South so I didn't buy this for ice fishing. I bought it to use for vertical jigging for crappie and sand bass which we generally do during the day in cooler months and at night under lights in the Summer. The technique generally pays off very well. After using small spinning reels for this over the past few years I decided I wanted an inline reel for less spool memory on the line and less line twist from the spinning reels. I am easily able to solve the line twist issue with a baitcast reel but these have small diameter spools and you do get some issues with the line keeping spool memory more so than with the bigger spools of an inline reel. I also wanted the push button free spool feature and star drag features as well as a geared reel other than just 1 to 1. This reel is much smaller than I thought it would be but the spool is of adequate diameter to almost eliminate the spool memory issues with the line. The free spool has plenty of adjustment for any weight lures I use jigging and the drag is also quite adequate for the size fish we generally catch. I only have one con for this little reel and that is the anti-reverse is not instant by any means. I have $20 spinning reels that have absolutely instant anti-reverse and I expected an $80 reel made by such a prestigious company as 13 Fishing to have an instant or at least close to instant anti-reverse but that is simply not the case. If this issue were solved it would get 5 stars from me but as it is 3 stars is all I can give it considering the cost. I will keep it and I will use it but I am disappointed in the anti-reverse compared to almost any other reel I own. 13 Fishing FIX THIS and you have a 5 star reel.UPDATE 1-17-18: After using it a bit the anti-reverse bearing is acting as it should so I am bumping it up to five stars. I have no idea why it didn't perform as it should have right out of the box unless it just needed some use to loosen it up or possibly it was over greased or something. Whatever it's cause, it is now working as it should. That said I offer my apologies to 13 Fishing. You don't need to "fix" anything on it. Unless you feel like you must have the trigger release offered by the Free Fall model I believe this is the best inline reel out there. I considered the trigger release model but started thinking about what could happen if it got pulled by accident while fighting a fish. That could cause a serious overrun problem if it did happen. With this design it would be almost impossible to accidentally engage the free fall button so this is my reel of choice. I guess everyone has their own thoughts on aesthetics but when your think about build quality this reel is miles ahead of the competition.UPDATE 2/23/18: This probably wont have any noticeable effect on usage but it has a bit of in / out play on the handle shaft side. It doesn't wobble or move side to side or anything that negative. It's just something I noticed worth mentioning. I compared this play to all the inline reels I own which is several brands and types. The only reel I have that doesn't have any play at all at this point is the cheapest inline reel I own which is a LEO ordered from China for $15. Virtually all others have some play but out of all of them the 6061 has the most. This probably means nothing as to how well it works. Another thing worth mentioning is the free fall rate adjustment knob is all but useless as it has about 1/4 turn between totally free and dead stop with a 1/16th ounce jig. This is not a negative thing for me as I just leave it loose and use my finger on the spool to slow or stop it. If you have only fished with a spinning reel in the past it may take some getting used to but if you fish a baitcast reel you should get the idea and technique down instantly. In short. DON'T depend on the spool speed drop control stopping the spool if your lure hits bottom or you are asking for trouble. This is true with just about all inline reels of similar design. Some very nice inline reels don't even have the adjustment knob at all and they work fine for me.