Beaver Dam Tip-up

[tipup29]

Has anyone used these?

[berfish]

I have two for myself. I let my reckless friends use the other HT and Frabil ones. Beaver Dams are the smoothest and toughest out there. I have had 3 inches of ice in the hole and the thing still spins perfectly. My uncle tip-up fishes all the time and he swears by them as well. I think he owns about 20 of the things. They are expensive but Gander has them on clearence at the end of the year usually for about $10 off.

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[Cooter]

They work great, I have 9 of them.

[BigDaddy]

I have 2 and like them a lot. However, I bought 2 Frabill Igloo tip ups today because of ice-up/blow-over.

I can compare them this year.

[tucciproshop]

I have had the same 3 artic tip ups for 20 years, which i believe beaver dam makes. I recieved them as a x-mas present when I was 8 years old and the first time my dad took me ice fishing i caught a 6 1/2 lb. walleye that was 28 inches long, and i have been ice fishing ever since. He helped me hook it and pull it in of coarse. You won't find a better tip-up than a wooden one such as artic, in my opinion.

[Bobberboy]

I have 4 of the Artic tip-ups made by Beaver Dam I purchased them in 78. There the red ones. I have replaced all the flags because they fell off but the work flawlessly. I also have 2 Polars but they are too light and move in windy conditions.

"Your bobbers down!"

[tucciproshop]

I agree the polars are to light and if you ever had to kick them out of the ice i believe they would break. I have kicked my artic's free many times and they are still in one piece.

[nolte]

In WI we do a lot of tipup fishing since you can have 3 lines and everyone I know uses Beaver Dams. I think I have 9 of them and dad has another 9. Can set them up for different species. You can use the plastic ones like the frabill type but be ready to buy another one to replace it since with hard use it will break.

The beaver dams are darn near bomb proof. When we spend the night in the ice house and leave the tip ups out and check them periodically some of them won't get moved all night. Most of the time you have to chisel them out to get at them. I know from experience those frabills won't take a hit from a chisel. Many of my beaver dams have taken a chip out and still work great.

If you want to keep the hole covered just make a cover out of plywood, sytrofoam, or carpet and you'll get the same effect as those round ones.

[gvg_uwec]

well said nolte! same thing used here in eau claire wi area and NEVER a problem with them. my dad has had some of his for 30 years and still work flawlessly

[ICEKING-2003]

I will only use arctic tip-ups. They are awesome. I caught a 30" walleye in January on Mille Lacs. The best thing to do is get a piece of 2" styrofoam and put a slit in it. You can slide this right under your tip-up and then cover with snow. Your arctic tip-up probably won't freeze in and if it does it will only be a small amount of ice to chisel through. That's what I don't like about the Frabill's, if you leave them out at night you will never get them out. The arctic leaves plenty of room for chiseling.

[augernaut]

I've never seen a Polar break. I've kicked them, seen them driven over by snowmobiles, left them to get iced in, and then chiseled them back out. Never seen one break. They are every bit as reliable as a Beaver Dam. Both are great tipups, I'm happy fishing with either.

[tucciproshop]

artic tip-ups rule but winding any tip-up in when done ice fishing is a chore. That is how i came up with my invention.

[Ed Carlson]

Beavers are a solid Tip-up and work well.

My preference is the Frabill Pro-Thermal Tip-up #1660. You gain a lot of time saving features with this model over a conventional slat tip-up design. The thermal cover resists freezing of the hole and the components. The SUB-ZERO lubrication Incorporated into the moving components allows the system to work flawlessly even in deep-deep cold (-60).

A list of features on the Frabill #1660 Pro-Thermal.

1. Flag Lock – Locks flag down when stored.

2. Spinner Marker, Reel Handle, Trip Bar – Offers two trip settings, light or heavy. Revolves to show fish movement. Serves as a reel handle to retrieve line.

3. Patented Hook Holder – Keeps hooks and terminal tackle from tangling when stored.

4. Large Bait Clip – Press the line into the bait clip to hold oversized baits from creating false trips.

5. Built-in Tackle Box – Handy for extra hooks and accessories.

6. Ice Breaker Feature – Automatically removes any accumulated ice around spool shaft when folded.

7. Insulted foam backing uses water's natural energy to keep your ice holes from freezing over!

7a. Removable spool shaft permits easy cleaning and re-lubrication

8. E-Z Stow-Design allows you to stack tip-ups in a 5-6 gallon pail.

For you LED fans, Frabill also has a Kewl new strike indicator, the #1679 Arctic Fire Tip-Up Light. It is about the size of a Bic lighter and can be seen a long way off...handy deal.

I mentioned the Frabill Sub-Zero lube, this is great stuff. I use this for most of my reel lubrication needs these days. It is formulated to resist stiffening of components in cold conditions while allowing for maximum protection from wear and moisture. I use it on spinning reels, casting reels, tip-ups, Ice auger linkages, door locks, and most anything mechanical I use on the ice and water.

You will quickly notice the improvement in your reels in cold conditions. Very handy stuff! I highly recommend having some in the shack or glove box.

Just a few new handy dandy cool things we see for the ice ranger this season. When the cold works against you, these items will work for you.

[nolte]

Ed

I do like a lot of the ideas on frabill but for me they just don't hold up in cold when they freeze in. At night walleye fishing it gets brutally cold sometimes and the tipups stay in for long periods of time. If there is any amount of water on the ice when you put them in they freeze down tight. If you try to kick them to break them loose or use a chisel its only a matter of time till they break. They're only plastic.

I got 3 when they came out and so did a buddy. We've got one that still works and its reserved for when people come along. They do keep the snow out nice though.

[augernaut]

I have some of the round frabills, and I like them alot - I think that if you do a good job of removing the slush and ice chips from the hole area before you set your tipup, it solves that problem. Also, try packing some snow against the base of the tipup after it's set - that helps insulate even more, and prevent freeze in. I just don't feel that the round frabills are quite as smooth as a polar or BD. Anyone have any good tips for making your tipups smooooother?

[Ed Carlson]

I have never had mine freeze in to that extent. But YA...I can imagine kicking the snot out of anything froze in just might damage something, and/or your foot in the process.

Don't pack them with slush, that is asking to get froze in tight on any tip-up, use snow or nothing at all. Another tip is coat the bottom with Vaseline in very sloppy weather so they do not collect slush and develop ice over time. Also checking your rigs more often, this will limit them freezing in to that extent.

I am going on 4 seasons on one set and they are more or less like new.

On smoothness, most tip-ups can be adjusted to lessen or increase the resistance on the spool. Beware not to set them too light or your going to get FUBARS from hard hitting fish like pike, or bogus trips due to lively bait or wind.

[buzbunni]

I only have one tip-up and it's the Frabiil Pro-Thermal. I like it well enough. My only recommendation would be that they make a telescoping flag like some other models have. The flag on the Pro-Thermal is kinda short if there is mucho snow out there.

[Ed Carlson]

I agree, a Tele flag would be handy.

There are add on tele flags around but I have not tried to retrofit one on any of my units..yet.

[tipup29]

I got a chance to check out the Beaver Dams at the Winter Sports Show in Madison. What a nice looking tip-up. I didn't know that they were all hand tooled and assembled. The guy said that they also service them, because they last so long. Pretty interesting stuff!

[frozenfisherman]

My younger brother just took my grampa's old tip-ups in. He said that he walked in. They asked him if he wanted a soda, and they ended up showing him around the shop. He said that he was blown away by how these are put together.

Grampa's tip-ups were all repacked and ready for another 20 years. The owner told me that they will be at the St. Paul Show. Hope we get some ice soon!