Tipup Question

[luv2fish]

So I am new to ice fishing. I have been spending the fall getting equipment together (beg, borrow, buy) and reading as much as I can. I have my 4 year old son (who is a good fisherman on the water) fired up for ice fishing. Last night I was in the garage showing him the tipups we bought and explaining how they work. It is his "job" to watch for the flags (With him if you give him a job to do, he seems to be able to last longer). But as I was describing how it worked to him, I thought to my self.... How do I rig these up for northerns??? I have a slight idea in my head, but any tips from the experts out there would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

luv2fish

[Tyler D]

Theres really nothing to it, if I'm fishing less than 10 feet of water all I do is tie a hook on, deeper I'll usually put a split shot a couple feet above it. Many people put a steel leader on before the hook, I used to but now I just use a plain hook.

[Northlander]

Get yourself some good quickstrike rigs and your all set.

[Jim Hudson]

luv2fish

For me, while pike fishing with a tip-up(s), I use a quick strike rig with live or dead bait. You can buy them pre-made or rig them yourself. There is a great article in the new In-Fisherman on this subject.

I have used pre-rigged Thorne Bros quick strikes, and they work really well. One great thing about these rigs, is you can adjust the length between the two trebles to match the size of your bait.

Also, I make my own, using 30lb multistrand wire and #4 or sometimes #6 trebles, where I use shrink wrap on the upper hook to make it adjustable. The total length of the rig is usually two feet long. By tieing your own, you can add beads and or colored blades for added flash and color.

By using quick strikes, you do not have to sit around and wait for the fish to "take it", as 9 times out of 10 when the pike hits, it has one of the two hooks in it's mouth. This immediate setting of the hook(s) on a quick strike decreases gut hooking of the fish. Which is a must, especially when when your are releasing these esox critters.

Tie in the quick strike to your main spool line, be it dacron or coated nylon and your good to go.

[Bobberboy]

I like to use a steel leader, Swedish pimple and a Sucker with a split shot or two.

"Your bobbers dowm!"

[toughguy]

edit

[KidWalleye]

HT makes one that has a little blade that are legal in MN.

[toughguy]

does the blade make it legal or does it have a single hook?? What is HT?

[augernaut]

HT is a tackle company.

I'd echo the other posts - make or buy some steel leader rigs with #8-#6 size trebles (too many guys use much too big of hooks with their rigs - smaller hooks will greatly increase your hooking percentage) Best baits are medium/large shiners, 3-4" suckers, and at times dead smelt or cisco. Typically, don't hang the bait right on the bottom - experiment with different depths - anywhere from 2' off bottom to 2' below the ice can work! If legal in MN - place a small(size 0 or 00) spinner blade on your leader - it will triple your flags. Finally, set the hook quickly to ensure a releasable fish, and have FUN!

[toughguy]

Was out at lunch and saw some HT products. I remebered the gold and black design just never noticed the product name. Thought it might be short for something.

From some other posts it looks like the quickstrikes are leagal in MN as long as you have a spinner on them. I'll give them a try if they are.

[toughguy]

Where can you buy Thorne Bros stuff?? Fleet Farm, Gander?