What new gear impressed you last year?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

i was impressed with the

FLX 28

VMC spoons.

Adam Brick Rods

Some of the new impulse plastics

[pushbutton]

Bigger tungsten with bigger hooks. Brand name did not matter......

[Hawg]

Slush Copter

[anderson_dc]

I was really impressed with my new custom 28" Thorne Bros Deadstick rod w/ recoil guides. It did a great job with smaller spoons and Clam Bomb Spoons.

[JSK76]

My LX-9 and even though I don't own or even seen one in person I really was impressed with the Shappell Bay Runner. It's a concept I would like to see Otter use or at least Shappell offer a insulated version of it.

[Catfish_Nuggets]

I am loving my Motorguide xi5 Pinpoint trolling motor. The spot lock holds really nice and the jog feature is terrific when u dont get the spot lock exactly where intended or the fish start to move. Rockpile crappies are no mstch for the spot lock. It also seems to figure out current and wind direction very quickly and keeps you from swaying too much. I cannot wait for the pinpointconnect feature so I can utilize my Lowrance graph in conjuction with the xi5.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I was really impressed with my new custom 28" Thorne Bros Deadstick rod w/ recoil guides. It did a great job with smaller spoons and Clam Bomb Spoons.

I don't remember if i tried a clam bomb spoon last year. I do remember guys talking about having trouble with the hook getting hung up somehow on the lure so I don't think I bothered to try one. was it fine out of the package or did you have to make any mods to it?

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I am loving my Motorguide xi5 Pinpoint trolling motor. The spot lock holds really nice and the jog feature is terrific when u dont get the spot lock exactly where intended or the fish start to move. Rockpile crappies are no mstch for the spot lock. It also seems to figure out current and wind direction very quickly and keeps you from swaying too much. I cannot wait for the pinpointconnect feature so I can utilize my Lowrance graph in conjuction with the xi5.

I can believe it, bought myself a 20ft boat with a humminbird and a minkota I pilot link. The tech the new stuff has is just plain awesome. Little off the ice fishing vibe, but i know where your coming from. The follow the contour option is my fav. lets a guy fish and never have to worry about driving the boat.

[anderson_dc]

I don't remember if i tried a clam bomb spoon last year. I do remember guys talking about having trouble with the hook getting hung up somehow on the lure so I don't think I bothered to try one. was it fine out of the package or did you have to make any mods to it?

Fine out of the package, but I also modded some with dropper chains. Both ways worked.

[Scott O.]

I was impressed with the Clam Tungsten line-up, specifically the Ant Drop as well as their Maki plastics. I also tried out VMC Tinglers and Tumblers and was impressed with the action, which resulted in some 'eyes on the ice. Though by far, my best impression and investment of last season was the Clam Legend Thermal one man sled. Absolutely loved it! Plenty of room, hauled all my gear, comfy seat, light bar made fishing at dawn and dusk so much easier, and a full thermal covering kept the cold at bay.

[PurpleFloyd]

The Clam Bigfoot 4000T shelter that I bought- Love the thermal fabric, easy setup and roomy interior.

The Cfish underwater panning camera. In shallow water it brings another level of interest to ice fishing

The Lowrance elite 5 Ice Machine. Love the graph feature for fishing with it's history and vertical presentation.

[amateurfishing]

Tungsten jigs

[JSK76]

My LX-9 and even though I don't own or even seen one in person I really was impressed with the Shappell Bay Runner. It's a concept I would like to see Otter use or at least Shappell offer a insulated version of it.

Holy cow time flys, I just realized the lx-9 came out two winters ago now!

[harvey lee]

The Slush Copter, awesome new tool.

[Lawrence Luoma]

FLX-28 proved to be the best flasher on the market with the weed mode and the Clam Drill Plate allowed me to go through the whole winter tourney season without using gas. Best thing that Clam a made since the Fish Trap.

[dan z]

Clam ant drop and the fancy plastics. My 1 man JM house did really well in all conditions too. Used a lot less muscle to move around and a 1/10 of the propane.

[lanningjw]

Bottom bucket stores shiners under the skid house with 95% survival rate. Much easier to keep them alive than having to transport home in a cooler and baby sit.

http://weedersdigest.com/one-shot-skimmer-ice-fishing-scoop/

This scoop worked great in the skid house.

[JSK76]

I've been using that bottom bucket for the past 4 or 5 years and its really slick!

[lanningjw]

I've been using that bottom bucket for the past 4 or 5 years and its really slick!

Have you ever had the ice move and then not able to reach the bucket with the hook?

How are your survival rates of minnows using the bucket?

[JSK76]

It has maybe moved a foot to the side but I have about a foot long, dowel shaped weight so I just figured the weight was upright then fell over. I've had pretty good success rate with the minnows but I do remember one time having about 95% kill rate. I think the key is to make sure it's down far enough because being too close to the ice will kill them . I have a 6' pole with a hook on it that I use to lower them down and pull back up and that seems to be much better.

[IceAddictLyon]

For new electronic products I was really happy with the Vexilar FLX-28. Crisp display on the screen, ton's of settings, very solid machine.

For tackle I would say I was pleasantly surprised with the effectiveness of the Clam Psycho Shad and I also really liked the Clam Dingle Drop and Half Ant Drop. Although Maki has already been on the market I thought with Clam picking them up that I could consider them a "new" product'ish. I was really happy with Maki plastics, particularly the Jamei. It's hard to match how fluid they are in the water to other plastics I also had a little success with the VMC tumbler spoon. It got me some crappies when the bite was a little tougher than usual.

I didn't do much in terms of new poles but I did get a couple St. Croix Legends and can't stress how much I really like the UL & L versions of those rods. Aside from going custom these are the way to go. I wasn't sold in the last couple years on the Black Betty straight line but after my tourney partner used it almost all season I was sold on one and got one after the season ended. The simplicity and weight just make it super fun to use.

On another notes, the new straight line reels that came out last year, Eagle Claw, Frabill, 13 Fishing......I wasn't a fan of any of them but sounds like they are making corrections to them this year that will hopefully win me back.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Wow just seen the new frabrill clam inline reel for this comming season.......might have to get one to see how they work vs a Black betty 6061.

[outkast7222]

Nobody mentioned the Clam Auger plate?!?! By far my favorite piece of equipment for a long time!

[hamms-scooter]

My Tanaka Nils combo was great. I ran the 6" all year chasing panfish. I have yet to see the clam drill plate in action but I believe it would be nice especially fitted with a finbore or lazer. the mora would be good too. My Marcum lx7 has been a great unit as well. All fun stuff to try out.

[outkast7222]

I use a 8" Mora with my plate and a cheaper Dewalt to drill my wheel house holes. I can get 6 in the house plus a few tip up holes outside of the small battery that came with the drill. That is at the end of the season having to use the extension on LOW and Red. Earlier in the season I could get 15-20 holes in the 10-12" ice. My buddy that has a big Milwaukee with the 36 volt can literally ice troll half the day on a single battery.