No more tip ups for me!!!!

[bmc]

A buddy showed me a neat trick last year that has made tip up fishing obsolete for me. Keep in mind this works best on a rod with a bait casting style reel, but would work on a spin casting outfit. I get my bait where I want it to be, then use a small paper clip and hook it onto the line running from your rod tip to the water. The paper clip should move freely up and down the line when it's in your hand. Now take the paper clip and lightly clip it onto the line in between the top 2 guides on your rod. Now the trigger is set. Make sure to have your reel engaged so if a fish hits, the line will play out. I clip an ice buster bobber on the paper clip for added visibility and there you have it! When a fish hits, the paper clip will pull off the line between the guides, the paperclip with bobber attached will fall to the water, and it's fish on. I hope this makes sense, but will post a pic tomorrow to clarify any ?'s. If a person was going to use a spinning reel, I think you'd have to put a rubber band on the rod handle and use it to hold your line so it wouldn't fall off the spool while waiting for a bite. I showed some of the Duluth forum guys this last year on Winnie and it worked great!

Brian

[Northlander]

BMC thats the type set up we use for pier fishing. Man I dont know why I never thought about doing that on the ice. Thanks for turning the light bulb back on.

[RobertELee]

Thats a great idea! I would think that if you used a spinning reel you could just lighten the drag so it is almost in freespool. Then when a fish hits you just have to to tighten the drag. I will have to try it out.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Another method that I have used for years when fishing for lake trout with bait casting reels in the winter is:

Make a small pile of wet snow or slush close to the hole and stick your rod handle into the snow at around a 45 degree angle so that the rod tip is centered above the hole. Be sure to pack the slush tightly around the rod handle! Set the reel tension just heavy enough that your live bait & sinker cannot pull out line when the reel is in free spool. Then simply tie a piece of orange plastic surveyors tape onto your line just below the rod eye. when the flag drops or dissapears down the hole its "fish on"! Then simply reengage the spool and set the hook.

You can use a rod holder instead of the slush pile and as suggested you could also use a paper clip to clip a piece of orange tape to your line just below the rod tip.

This method works best with mono types of line.

I have caught a lot of trout,pike and walleyes this way over the years.

Cliff

[Deitz Dittrich]

Rod Rocker 2!... I like the paperclip idea though..

[augernaut]

The original and still the best - the Rock-n-Reel. If you can find one, there is no better deadstick type system anywhere!

[metrojoe]

Sounds like that would work slick, but it does bring up a good question. What type of a rod holder are you using?

Are the Rock-N-Reels still available?

I know there was quite a bit of buzzing about them a few years ago, but I havn't heard much about them lately.

[chris63]

Still have hole freezing to deal with.c63

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

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Sounds like that would work slick, but it does bring up a good question. What type of a rod holder are you using?

Are the Rock-N-Reels still available?

I know there was quite a bit of buzzing about them a few years ago, but I havn't heard much about them lately.

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no I don't not believe they are around anymore. I know I am glad I have them. However since they aren't available the rod rocker 2's are a close replacement.

[CCAdams]

I'm not sure that I'm following. Could you post pics?/