Tip Ups- Are Mono Leaders/Quick Strikes Necesary??

[FLAG!!]

Waiting for a buddy to pick me up to get out in this blizzard with time to kill. What better to do than spark conversation on HSO.

I have always kept it very simple and run various tip-up line down to a single treble (with bead and blade), favorite larger eye jig or sometimes even just a bare hook with smaller minnows. I seem to have always caught as much as buddies playing around with mono leaders, quick strikes, etc etc.

Now it seems nearly everyone is running their favorite tip-line down to a swivel and then running a 4 or 5 foot 12-30lb mono down to a quick strike rig/leader set up.

Would love to get some insight on this. Does it really matter?

Thanks.

[Jaspernuts]

I have never used mono. I run black braided tip up line to a thin steel leader. Hook on a red gamagatsu large hook and thats it. Our group caught 7 pike our first trip out. We don't target walleyes and pike are just not that finicky on setup. We do use some quick strikes, but regular hooks work just as good. Seems like we get more hits on plain hooks, but obviously the hookup ratio is better on quick strikes.

[jjjohnson]

If you use Bigtooth quickstrike rigs you WILL catch more fish. These things work AWESOME!

And I just use a good braided line tied right to the rig.

[FLAG!!]

jasper- thanks for the quick response, I tend to agree with you

jjj- does gander or fleet farm carry the bigtooth? those look pretty cool...

others?

[jjjohnson]

Gander and Joes both got em along with some other bait shops around the state.

I like to get all three sizes. Ive used small suckers and even medium sized shiners on the smaller rigs and up to 14" suckers on the bigger rigs. I also like the brighter blades. But that might change dedending on where im fishing, they also have a gold blade.

[Steve Foss]

Steel wire leader material for me. Not the plastic coated, but 50# stranded wire on rigs I make myself. Barrel swivel, leader, spinner/bead, treble. Tied right to the braided tip-up line. Easy-peasy.

I used quick-strike rigs for several years before abandoning them for my current setup. My catch rate did not go down at all, and my simplicity rate went up. Only gut-hooked one pike in the last three years with these rigs, and generally hook more than 3/4 of the flags that pop.