Slick Tip Up

[chunkytrout]

Fish Brothers Tip-ups

Here's one I'm excited to try out. The TipUp two pack from Fish Brothers Tackle. The first thing that struck me was how compact these are. Both tip-ups and their bases all packed into one unit leaving lots of room in your bucket or packing system. The second thing is they're lightweight yet seem very durable. The plastic is thick and well molded.

So we open it up and wala, two rigs ready to snap into their bases and fish!

Yes, the reel is above the water so we'll be using mono on these rigs. The reels are spring tensioned for freespool adjustment. Seeing how I'm a bit near sighted, I like the big red dot on the reel to indicate runs and pauses. So, put the unit on it's base, pull the line through the base, tie your rig, and set it over the hole. Hmmmm a hole cover. The spring flag hooks on the handle.

All in all pretty slick. When you walk into lakes like I do, weight becomes the issue as well as space. These fit the bill nicely and I can't wait to try them out. COME ON FREEZE!

[say_der]

Those look pretty slick. I'll have to order some soon. I was in central MN yesterday and there was ice on every pond we drove by, it won't be long now.

Seeing that makes me wish that we could use more than 2 lines here in MN.

[fishtank]

Hey Chunkytrout, were can I find/order these? Do you have a ballpark cost?

They look pretty nice.

[Here ya go Fish Tank: Fish Brother Tip -up order here or get more info. CLICK HERE ]

[packattack]

I found them by clicking on the FM sponsers link at the bottom of the first post. You can then click on Fish brother tip ups.

[chunkytrout]

Yep you can order online. Tackle city has them for 28.99 on sale right now. Retail I'm not sure of yet but I'll get a list together where you can see them. Hold tight.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I just got my 2-pack of Fish Brothers tip-ups this morning!

A very compact and functional looking tip-up.

I know that they suggest that you use mono. on the reels, but I am going to try the plastic coated tip-up line on at least one of them.

I love that line as it is very easy to handle and almost tangle proof under most conditions!

Can't freeze over too soon now!!!

See ya on the water, er' ice I mean.

Cliff

[chunkytrout]

Hey Cliff, I haven't tried the plastic coated stuff yet. Sounds like a winner with these rigs. Let us know how it goes.

[Northlander]

Im with Cliff on this one. Im going to run the coated tip up line with a 4' mono leader. Im thinking with the black plastic sitting over the hole these may keep holes open longer. I may even put some thin ridged foam insulation in the bases to increase the protection. Also thinking of a taller flag spring. They sure are compact. Im anxious to try mine out. Come on ice!

[chunkytrout]

Fish Tank, only available online through Tackle city. Just a click away.

Fish Brother Tip -up order here or get more info. CLICK HERE

[Surface Tension]

I replaced my broken tipup with a set of Fish Brothers too. I can see I'll have to put my name on mine.

Heres a couple tips.

In the pic you can see a red dot on the spool, when you set the tipup out place the red dot toward you, you'll be able to see if the fish is taking out line.

When you set your depth use a bobber stop to mark it. Keep the knot just below the water so it can't get hung up.

Steve you can't lengthen the spring because its part of the trigger but you can do this. Take a one of those clamp on fishing bells (I like the type with two jingle bells on springs) and attach it to the flag spring.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling fish on!

The higher profile and bright color will help them from getting run over too.

[irvingdog]

Will these be at the Ice show?

[Walleye Guy]

Unless I don't understand the concept I am not a big fan of tip-ups where the spool of line is not below water. Wet line freezes when its really cold even if its coated tip-up line.

Can anyone confirm that the spool is above water?

[Northlander]

Oh yes the jingle bells have treated me right in the past ST. Also I like to put some of 3m's reflective tape on my flags.

[Surface Tension]

Walleye Guy, I've used other types of tipups when the spool is above water and haven't had a problem with the line freezing when using mono. I do pinch the line between my fingers when I reel in though. This keeps some tension on the line so it lays nice on the spool and strips most the water off the line. With the Brothers tipup if you tip it back a bit when you reel in the hole in the base that the line goes through will help clear the water off just like the guides on a rod do.

Northlander the reflective tape works great on tipup flags. I was surprised how bright my LED headlamp lights them up at a very long distance.

[tucciproshop]

will they still work if it is snowing out and snow covers the spool of line and the little hole the line feeds threw? where does the flag hook and how do you keep the minnow from tripping the flag, is there some kind of tensioner on it?

James Tucci

[Cliff Wagenbach]

The spring & flag are simply hooked under the handle on the spool.

There is a tension adjustment nut & spring on the spool so you can adjust how much tension you want for different bait size.

Have not used my tip-ups yet under actual snow conditions, but do not expect to have much of a problem under most conditions.

Fish Brother Tip-up - Click Here

[Good Time Ranger]

ChunkyTrout,

I have used this tip up for approx. 5-6 years now. I originally bought mine right from Fish Brothers. The darkness of the plastic keeps the hole pretty much ice free especially when the sun is out. I have used them with a 10 inch hole. Better with a nine inch hole tho. I know I really like them.

[Matt Johnson]

Yep, I spent the weekend in Madison at the Ice Fishing Sports Show and we sold and demoed these tip-ups there. A very organized and productive tip-up. At first glance you question the usefullness and effectiveness of the tip-up, but after you take a closer look and try it out you will see how effective they can be. You can cover the ice hole so blowing snow doesn't get in, and you also almost completely eliminate light penetration from getting into the hole. These tip-ups can also double as deadstick rigs for panfish too. As far as snow blowing up and filling the hole, I have a hard time believing that the little hole in the tip-up will freeze all the way, not to mention that the platform that the hole is on is raised off the ice/snow about 2-3 inches and a straight line wind shouldn't effect it a whole lot. You can also adjust the tension that the flag will go off by positioning the reel so the knob that stops the flag is towards to the tip or towards the back.

Another pieces of equipment to make things easier and more effecient out on the ice.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Bob_D]

Boy...I must be missing something. I don't think they would work very well for where I am. I'd never see them in the snow we get, and I'd probably never find them again if the snow blows. That and the mono on a spool above water combo sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. 100' of mono on the ice and I think I'd just ball it up in and put it in a bucket. JMO...I'll stick with my Heritage Lakers.

[Blaine]

Snow was the first thing I thought of too, Bob. Kinda hard to put an Omni Strike light on it too

[Buck44]

I have actually used these tip ups for the last couple years and am very fond of them. I use 30 pound mono on them and have never had a problem with them tangling or freezing up. The black base realy does a great job of keeping the hole open.

[chunkytrout]

Hey guys. Guess I'm not following you on the snow issue as these have a higher profile then most tip-ups. Guess there's just one way to find out. COME ON DEEP FREEZE!

[StCroix_Cat]

This is great that you guys are selling these. The concept is very simple, and provieds a compact easy to use tip up. Being that the line is not submerged you won't have problems with ice. The unit fits inside a standard 5-6 gallon pail. The adjustable drage allows the fisher to use a variety of bait sizes.

The Fish Brothers Tip-up work much better than you think and they are tough to.

[Rick]

Fish Brothers sponsor this site to keep it free for all of you to use. So.....

For those who would like to see more info or even get their own:

Fish Brother Tip -up order here or get more info. CLICK HERE

[Surface Tension]

Used my Fish Brother TipUp last weekend and they worked great, just as they should. The eyes didn't want anything moving so the tipups got most of the action. As you can see in the pic I put a bell on the flag. Ding Dong walleyes calling. Watching the spool as fish took line was easily seen. It also made giving the fish some slack before lifting the tipup off the ice as to not detect any resistance, nice. I'll be taking my Brother fishing from now on.