Tip ups

[fowldreams]

What is your favorite tip up to use? And what line/baits? I would like to try pike fishing this winter and want to be successful

[Rick G]

Used to use the cheepo plastic tip-ups for years. Once in a while one would fail. I switched over to the Beaver Dam tip-ups, have not had a issue since

[Luke_M]

You can't go wrong with beaver dams. The only time I run into problems is with real big suckers tripping the flag. For those I use some cheep tip ups with the wire loop where the line goes thru and I pinch the line in the wire loop.

[Farley]

Any wood tip up with a steel spool.

[Alagnak]

Any wood tip up with a steel spool.

Beaver Dam is much better than 'any wood tip up w steel spool in my experience. Plus they are easy to relube and rebuild.

http://youtu.be/ukIzdlBOkOU

If you are using a big minnow and worried about tripping put a rubber castration band, rubber washer, or even wrap electrical tape around one of the sides of the 'T' you set your flag on to beef it up so it's not easy to trip. If it's not windy and not going to blow it away- an empty pop can pinched a little bit and placed under the flag end pushing back up to provide more tension works good too.

[20lbSloughShark]

I would have to disagree, beaver dam is one of the hardest to re-lube. On most you just have to unscrew a nut, a beaver dam you need to melt solder. The best thing I've found with big live baits is a planer board clip. Its not the best you can get, but my favorite are the HT polar tip ups. They are incredibly cheap, and you can find them everywhere. If you look, you can even find them for free. They usually last about a decade, but when they break, its easy to make your own. Just use a 1x4 and you can reuse the old tip up parts. If you want the best of the best, and most expensive, beaver dam is it. You can also get the circle kind that covers the hole, some like them, some don't. I only had one before, and it didn't last a season. If it freezes into the hole, you basically have to ruin the tip up to get it out. The standard type with a foam hole cover is the best. The line used has to be large enough to grab, yet soft so it doesn't cut you. Your best options are going to be 20#-50# Dacron, or 15#-30# coated tip up line. The others that I liked are 80#-100# braid, and 15#-30# mono. I would get a 200 yard spool of 30# Dacron from cabela's. They sell their own brand called prestige Dacron, and I think the 200 yard spool is $10.

[TruthWalleyes]

Dont use tip ups anymore. I will use a rattle reel attached to a clamp on a bucket from time to time though while i'm hole hopping.

That same rattle reel clips right onto the cealing of my hub house. I have 2 nice ones and 3 cheepo's. No dinking around with a tip up, just grab the line and set the hook. I use a small bobber to mark the line for a visual as well as the set depth.

Here's my pail set up for the ice. There's two good rattle wheels and the cheepo front and center.

Not a hassle to travel with like tipups tend to be.

+ I just like to hear the jingle!

[fowldreams]

Thanks for the input guys. Now for hooks, are you using circle hooks or large jigs...?

[dirtymike]

I use predator rigs mainly. If I went after anything but slough sharks I'd probably throw on a jig/plain hook and minnow for Eyes or perch.

[Fowlmouth]

Nothing but Beaver Dam's, simply the best.

[Bureaucrat]

I'll vote for the Frabil. Been using them ten years. They have their drawbacks like all do, but they keep a hole open longer than an open tipup.

If I were fishing above 32 degrees, I'd use the HT tipups.

[20lbSloughShark]

I use a mix of circle hooks and quickstrike rigs. Be sure to put some tape and mark each tip up so you give the right hookset for each. Big sweep for quickstrike, and basically just pull them in with a circle. 3/0 circle seems to be the best overall size for me. If you use small suckers or shiners a 1/0 would be better. If I use suckers over 10" I only use quickstrike rigs. For walleye I love a size 4 red octopus hook. I swear by rubbercore weights on all my tip ups. With smaller baits you can run a mono or fluro leader and tie on a jig head. Then just hook the bait through the lips. For all fish, keep the bait a minimum of 2' off the bottom. I'd say walleye 2'-3', panfish, pick a number, they come in anywhere. When fishing pike, think how far down, not how far up. I like to fish the top half of the water unless I'm deeper than 15 feet. Even then I make sure I have at least one bait 2' under the ice.

edit: for pike I use a 20# steel leader, or 50# fluorocarbon leader. Retie fluoro after every fish. My go to bait is always an 8"-10" sucker for pike and don't be afraid to go bigger. If you can find them, frozen smelt work well. For walleye a small sucker or shiner work well. If your going after big walleye, I'd use a 4"-7" sucker.

[Farley]

Beaver Dams are twice the price as the frabill wood tip ups, do they work twice as good? I dont get paid by them or this site (who has BD as a sponsor I believe) so untill then, any wood tip up with a steel spool is a good tip up - the steel spool is for when the hole crusts over so you can just bust it right through the ice. Plastic spools will break here. I like the wood ones over the insulated ones just because I like to see the line go out and when reeling back up you can do it with the tip up in the hole etc....

As for hooks I do use circle hooks but most of my tip up fishing is for walleye.

[Alagnak]

Beaver Dams are twice the price as the frabill wood tip ups, do they work twice as good? I dont get paid by them or this site (who has BD as a sponsor I believe) so untill then, any wood tip up with a steel spool is a good tip up - the steel spool is for when the hole crusts over so you can just bust it right through the ice. Plastic spools will break here. I like the wood ones over the insulated ones just because I like to see the line go out and when reeling back up you can do it with the tip up in the hole etc....

As for hooks I do use circle hooks but most of my tip up fishing is for walleye.

Work twice as good? Probably not. But buy two BD and then two cheapy wood ones and let me know which ones your kids are using in 35 years.

[dirtymike]

For $20 a piece, I'll stick with the frabill insulated ones. I've only had one freeze in. Set the heater by it for a bit and it releases pretty easily.