I hate tipups- other options?

[Traxion]

Over the years I have slowly developed a dislike for tipups. I used to have good success with them but it seems like I am catching less fish on them. I'm using Polars and have disassembled, cleaned, and relubed them. They still get too stiff for me in the cold, enough that I think fish are feeling the resistance. I can't get the things to work that well, even new ones. Plus, I hate reeling them up in the cold.

I see more and more folks using rod/reel type set lines. I am curious what you have used that you like and has good strike indicator ability. I like the tipup flag for visibility. Something that is a combo of the two would be great. Thoughts?

 

[Account Deleted]

https://www.tipdown.com/

Similar concept. Think it would combine the features you want and leave out the ones you don't.

 

[svnmag]

Assuming for pike; I've often pondered a light duty saltwater baitcaster filled with tip up line attached to a stout rod. One could buy a cheap one piece light action and cut it down.

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The shortened length would be med hvy. My only gripe would be finding this type reel with the crank on the correct side.

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These reels have a clicker and a good hard brake.

 

[Lou63]

years ago I took the tip off an old rod and glued it into a handle made of dowel rod and attached a bait casting reel I had laying around. I loaded the reel with some 50# test and attached a steel leader.

I drilled a hole in the butt/bottom of the dowel handle and took a 2x6 about 14-16" long and drilled a hole the same diameter as the one in the bottom of the handle to glue a dowel in at an angle. This was board was my pole holder of a sort.

the smaller dowel was near one end and angled towards the other end so that when there was a bite the fish would have to tip the whole 2x6 up in order to pull the rod off,

I used just enough weight to get my bait down and just enough drag to keep the bait where I wanted it and put a bell on the rod. never had a fish move my board when they hit and ran with the drag loose.

bad part is if your limited on space the boards do take up a bit of space. Where I was fishing at back then I didn't have any kind of shelter and it was a small lake so making an extra trip walking out was not a big deal.

I dont really like bait casting reels for summer fishing so it was a way to use a good reel and to use up an old fishing rod that otherwise would have been tossed and actually have a reel instead of hand over hand pulling a fish in.

also at that time I ran a test on smelt, an old timer told me to color my smelt with red food coloring and catch more pike. my test results were that I did catch a lot more pike on the red colored than natural smelt.

 

[Walleye master]

. I use and ifish pro

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. I use an ifish pro

 

[svnmag]

That's exactly what I had in mind for my rig, WM but more cool. The Penn I show above is about as simple as you can get with a bc. It would hold an ample amount of dacron (?...whatever tip up line is) and the thickness of this line would make it easy to untangle etc.

 

[LBrandt]

There was a ice fishing show on tv this morning and they were using long rods held off the ice with two metal stakes and they had a trigger with a little flag mounted about two feet from the end that would flip up when there was a strike.

 

[Pinecone]

well its kinda like a telephone, they design them better, but my olden wood tip ups still catch fish

 

[Tikka280ai]

clam artic warrior

 

[Traxion]

I just can't keep my Polar's spinning freely. Clean the tube, buff the spool/rod completely clean, and lube with HT Blue Lube or the Beaver Dam stuff. I just feel there is too much resistance for a walleye to take it.

I am about to go to the old double bobber on a bottle setup. Schmidt big mouths anyone? LOL

 

[Lycanthrope]

I just can't keep my Polar's spinning freely. Clean the tube, buff the spool/rod completely clean, and lube with HT Blue Lube or the Beaver Dam stuff. I just feel there is too much resistance for a walleye to take it.

I am about to go to the old double bobber on a bottle setup. Schmidt big mouths anyone? LOL

Put a smelt on it and youll do fine

 

[lunkerslayer]

I have used this set up now for two going on three seasons i have brought up this set up a few times it's quite amazing on how easy it is to set up here is a video on how it works.

 

[Twitch]

Jig like a man:;:

 

[Sluggo]

For me the main reason for using a tipup is because the temp is below freezing so you need something that will not freeze up even if the hole freezes over. There are many options here if above freezing but not many if below it would seem.

 

[svnmag]

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Could one fill a ziplock with handwarmers and affix to the side of the hole? Maybe tape them evenly against one side of the bag with a weight at the bottom. You'd turn the bag inside/out, to stack with tape then affix to the ice with thumbtacks or something.

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Provide air with a straw.

 

[cooter00]

Anyone try a jaw jacker I got one for Christmas this year I might give it a try

 

[KDM]

Saw a guy use a line on a home made wheel type thing like a rattle reel where the wheel was about a foot in diameter and painted red on the bottom half of the circle. Only the line went in the water and he put a blocking wall on the windy side of the wheel. When a fish took the bait, the wheel would turn and you could see the red either turning or tipped at an angle. Nothing was in the water to freeze up or push water so the wheel turned smooth and free with almost no resistance. Worked Great!! The only problem was to keep the hole open, but I think if a guy could cover the hole with something similar to the thermal tip ups, it would help that immensely.

 

[deleted member]

How about those first strike flag things that go right on the rod? Or those ones that hold and preload the rod?

 

[Lostlunker]

Anyone try a jaw jacker I got one for Christmas this year I might give it a try

I've been tempted to buy the Jaw Jacker to see how well they work. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Sluggo]

Saw a guy use a line on a home made wheel type thing like a rattle reel where the wheel was about a foot in diameter and painted red on the bottom half of the circle. Only the line went in the water and he put a blocking wall on the windy side of the wheel. When a fish took the bait, the wheel would turn and you could see the red either turning or tipped at an angle. Nothing was in the water to freeze up or push water so the wheel turned smooth and free with almost no resistance. Worked Great!! The only problem was to keep the hole open, but I think if a guy could cover the hole with something similar to the thermal tip ups, it would help that immensely.

Would need to use line that doesn't absorb water, otherwise I think the spool would still freeze up.