Slammer Tip ups and SubZero ice shanties

[WalleyeWarrior]

Im wondering if anyone can tell me how to make a slammer tip up, or buy one, or both.  Also if anyone has any information on the subzero ice shanties from canadian tire that they can share that would be great.  IM looking for anyones opinions on the product. thanks.

[billditrite]

fishin musician can tell you how to make one looks pretty cool!!
http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=15011.from1101866203#new

[WalleyeWarrior]

Thanks a lot, any info on the sub zero shanty?

[brian-in-CT]

slammer tip-ups can be purchased either completed or in kit form with blue prints from the following link.

http://members.aol.com/slamcoinc/slammertipups.html

  I have also seen them on ebay a couple of times but don't think there were any takers.

Brian

[wkules]

FM,
Are those kids in bed yet?
Only joking.......... I am interested in this design though. If you have an actual blueprint or something let me know. If not maybe a couple of close ups of the triggering mechanism on yours??

Thanks,
Wayne

[wkules]

Thanks a bunch FM,
You Da Man!!
Doesn't seem like rocket science, I am going to try this myself. Do you know if this could be scaled down to use a jigging rod instead of a spinning rod?
Thanks again,
Wayne

[oakorchardfishking]

i like the idea of how these work and im thinking of making at least one to try out! my question is... do you think its worth it to make one for pike/muskie! i ask this because this set up doesnt look like it offers any run time for the fish and pike/muskie like to run a little. at least i have always given them time to run anyways!
i also would like to devise it for a ice rod instead of a spinning rod! so if someone beats me to any ideas... please share as i wil do the same!

[WalleyeWarrior]

Thanks a lot this your information will provide me with something to do while waiting for more ice.  I remember seeing an actual diagram on how to build them but that was....too many moons ago for me to remember where.

[billditrite]

fishin musician that is a great design . thanks for sharing it and your awesome photography work .thanks for taking the time.i am gonna make one of these with my son.it will be a fun little project!!

[brian-in-CT]

Thanks Fishin, I have been wondering what to use for the elastic to make the arm slam down and now I know.  I am going to be making a few of these with smaller fish in mind, like perch and stocked trout.  I am planning to try one of the HT Ice Blue rods in the 36" length and will post some pics of the contraption in action.  Thanks again for such great details.

Brian

[river_scum]

they work for sure,i made one about 15 years ago. when i first seen them they were called a stealie slammer. this is a very old rig,but it will still work great! yours sure looks better than mine did musician. lol


thats what i love about this site info baby info!!!!!!!!

[P Gottshall]

How hard does the fish need to pull to trip this?  Ice-Crappies barely move my UL most times.

Thx,
Paul

[P Gottshall]

I suspected that, as it looks like the fish needs to pull a bit to trip it.

I have an idea for an ultra-sensitive flip up.  I'll try to build one tonight & will post.

Thx,
Paul

[P Gottshall]

I built the UL whip-up idea I mentioned.  It's posted in the equipment board:

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=16435.0

Good luck,
Paul

[billditrite]

well my slammer is looking good!! it is about the same length as a heritage laker tipup and will fit right in the bucket with them.i used a 4' ultra light rod and will put flourocarbon line on the reel. the reel is small so im considering swapping it too accomodate more line



 it folds flat just for this reason. also i used a large piece of pvc for yhr rodholder so it pulls out easy.i have learned striper fishing that if the holder is too small it is difficult to get the pole out and get a secondary solid hook set!



i used a short fat sort of tie down hook i had kicking around my garage for the trigger it just stubs in the eye enough to make it sensitive. with a 3/4 to 1 oz. sounder to test,and this baby will set off if i drop the sounder 1'' or more.thats not much of a tug 



this was a very easy and fun project for justin and i while i had a day off and hes on school vacation   lol sorry for the blur...shaky hands  this thing really works awesome and we are excited about using it.
 thank you to all who posted there info on slammers. especially FM i know you didnt design it but your detailed pics were certainly enough to go by an my trigger modification is working sweet!!

[P Gottshall]

billditrite,

Thanks for sharing.  The close-up pics are useful.  The rod clip is different than I've seen in other posts, so I added this to my collection of inventions, http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=15334.0

Nice job, &Good luck!!
Paul

[billditrite]

paul you would not believe how sensitive the hook is.i cant wait to try it saturday.i only have six of these hooks and im on the hunt now.ill take another pic to try and get the blur out!i also made the same thing but for a longer rod.my finished product will be oak, and the bottom will slide to adjust for different rods like the one FM posted

[wkules]

Nice design billditrite. Now I'll have to make one of these too. With the warm weather here in Buffalo it looks like I'll have the time.

[billditrite]

fm you are right and i did add the cross piece after i took the pic!i used it for the first time yesterday and was delighted to catch fish with it nothing spectacular but that light action rod made the 18'' pickerel feel like a whale!! cant wait to use it on pike!!!   thanks again man it was your pics that inspired me!!also this was just a model to try it. now thet it works i am gonna make them with oak and brass !i will post pics when complete!!!

[Knife2sharp]

How do you adjust the drag for your slammer and what size line do you use for pike?  I would think if it's too loose you won't get a good hook set and if it's too tight the slammer will move above the hole and possibly get in the way of the line. 

[Slammerman]

Been there ... done that ...

" Most of these home-made contraptions have a plastic tube rod holder that is NOT adjustable, could break in cold weather, and could freeze your rod butt in solid. The open coil-spring design of the Slamco rod-holder (derived from the now defunct Jo-Boy line of rod-holders developed by Joe Calkin) eliminates rod-holder "freeze-up", is adjustable, and absorbs torque applied by big fish cranking on your rod. Whip-Ups, Trippers, Blammers, etc..  are custom built to fit a particular rod - your rod breaks and you're done (little or no adjustability). Other devices copying the old "no-moving-parts" prototype are also appearing using a wire mounted on a vertical arm to hold your rod tip. ALMOST ALL OF THESE "TAKE OFF" DEVICES COMPRESS YOUR ROD UNNATURALLY AND COULD CAUSE BREAKAGE !!! "

"If it's not a Slammer Tip-Up from Slamco ... then it's not a Slammer"

[P Gottshall]

Come on Slammer,

Nobody's criticizing your design.  I think we've been complimentary to you about it, & think you have a good thing for larger fish.

But, I think you may be suffering from the "Not Invented Here" syndrome.  I think bilditrite's design ("contraption") has some nice features, & I'll give him credit too.

His rod butt is not going to freeze in - the holder is twice the diameter of the rod butt.  It could break in cold weather if thin-wall PVC is used, but thicker is pretty robust.  Most of us don't need to worry about our equipment getting thrown across the ice during a snowmobile rollover, so it's probably not an issue.

Rod's are flexible, & will take the torque of a fish pulling.  If too much, the drag will cut loose.

I think it's pretty cool to see guys making their own equipment, & think a lot of the ideas posted here, including this one, will be very effective & cost effective.  In the spirit of this site, I think it's more useful to be supportive, perhaps making recomendations for improvements.  The model-T was a good car, but I'm glad it was continually improved.  Everything can be improved.

I think most guys here appreciate hearing new ideas, even in their infancy.  If we have 1000 sets of eyes looking at it, we can't help but make it better.  I'd encourage everyone to not worry about their ideas being "perfect" before posting.  Heaven knows I don't!

Have fun,
Paul

[billditrite]

for the 10 bux  i paid for the rod and the half hour i got into the thing it works awesome!!ill take my chances. who invented this thig in the first place??

[P Gottshall]

Scott,

Can I have some of that coffee?  I like Hazelnut cream. . .

Paul

[Slammerman]

This is mainly in response to Paul,

Sorry, but I pasted that quote from my website - it's been around for years. It's sometime too easy to copy and paste.

What I criticize is people calling their "contraptions" Slammers. They're not - the name's even trademarked. I'd like to hear of some new names for rod-holder devices - I like the Gott-Trap for one.

Here's a tip ...  use a rubber inline bobber stop for a depth marker.

Now here's some thoughts for improving designs ....

Rods DO break when compressed unnaturally and freeze TO PVC under the right conditions (usually just the bottom of the rod or the foam or cork grips stick to the walls) - I've also seen PVC break (usually at the screw or nail holding it to the board with a fish cranking on it). Rods also change behavior under different temperatures. Those who build and set and rig most of their rod-holder contraptions usually do so indoors at room temperature .... they don't behave the same on the ice. Did you build your device to the rod?? What happens if your rod gets broke somehow?? Can you buy another rod and adjust your device to fit the new rod in seconds?? Most of the designs I've seen have little or no adjustability. This is why I see rods break on the ice in homemade contraptions and why I designed Slammer Tip-Ups.

I give credit where credit is due. I'm sorry but all of the homemade rod-holder contraptions that I've seen on this site are either take-offs of some design of mine, the Slamco design team, or a design we tried and passed up on years ago. We used mousetraps, gun triggers, downrigger releases, wire tip-holders, custom machined tip-holders, hooks, screws, bolts, pins, string, etc.. etc ... "been there .. done that ..." and the Richie Ring Release worked the best under a majority of different conditions. If someone shows me a release design that works better, then maybe we'll use your design and give you all of the credit instead of Richie.

I've seen a number of homemade contraptions "work" and fish caught with them. I've also seen a number of rods broken, frozen in, wind-trips, temp. change trips, vibration trips, tangled lines, missed fish, spooled reels, line blown across the ice, fall-overs, rods yanked into holes, and other mishaps with homemade contraptions. Funny how I haven't seen that with Slammer Tip-Ups.

I'm just waiting to see something that actually impresses me .... like the Ice Master Drill Adapter with the bungee cord that goes around the back of your drill and retaining ring compared to the other auger/drill adapters on the market with discs and bars or nothing on them to prevent the adpater from falling out of the chuck and losing your auger head. Now that actually impressed me.

Billditrite - no one knows who designed the first Whip-Up - they're probably dead by now. In my eyes, it's a poor design due to little or no adjustability, the line tends to get tangled in the release, the rod is compressed, and there's a lot of line hanging from the release to the hole. Same with Trippers except I see more broken rod tips with them.

Sorry guys if I sometimes sound "grumpy". My wife says it's having to deal with traffic living near Detroit now. We plan on eventually moving back to West Michigan.
Maybe I just need to go fishing, eh?

[Slammerman]

This site is great, the slammerman himself gets on board to critique our humble creations. This was originally seen by me in the In-Fisherman magazine, I would love to hear your comments about that Mr. Slammerman? they called it a steelie slammer in the short piece they did on the thing. I truely like to call mine a walleye wacker.

Fm - Mr. Slammerman?? ... LOL ... would you like to see the original drawings I did for that piece in IN-Fisherman?? BTW - the dimensions in the article are wrong and that design never went into production. I can send you a copy of the article if you'd like. IN-Fisherman gave me the rights to use that article and the redrawn graphics for my website as well as the Whip-Up article. We originally sold them through the now defunct Virgil's Steelhead & Salmon Tackle Specialties and called ourselves The Slammer Tip-Up Company which was later incorporated as Slamco. They used both "Slammer Tip-Up" and "Steelie Slammer" in the article.

I guess that since I am one of the foremost experts on "Steelie Slammers" and similar devices, I'm allowed to throw in $.02 here and there, eh?

More tips ...

It's usually not a fish that busts your rod .... it's improper rigging and a sudden change in temperature that does it. Picture this ... Pentwater Lake, West Michigan ... everybody and their brother are out on the ice with contraptions that one guy copied from the rest and so on and so on .... some guys with Slammer Tip-Ups ... some with Trippers .... the sun peaks over the horizon and there's that slight temperature drop of a couple degrees ... SNAP !!! ... flop ..... CRACK ... whack ... there goes two rods in Trippers ... both snapped just below the tip ... no fish in sight .. OUCH!!! .... BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBE EP ... "FISH ON MATT" someone yells as I'm running towards my bouncing rod with the pager going off in my pocket ... a minute or two later and a fresh 8 pound steelie laying on the ice 

Walleye Whacker is a good name too, but not new to me ... so sorry (got too many pro and semi-pro walleye fishin' buddies that like that one). Someone mentioned Pike Popper to me once and I've also heard Laker Ladler.

I'm prototyping an "in shanty" jigging rod-holder for jiggers and think I've got a name, but am always looking for suggestions.

[billditrite]

how about the tougue-tugger! or the lipripper!!slammerman i appreciate your input and advice .i have already fashioned another bracket to my slammer to help support the pvc rodholder which is more than twice the sice of the whole . i was also delighted to see this thing dance in the wind!live bait has no chance of sitting still if theres the slightest of breezes.i caught i 14'' pickerel with mine so its pretty sensitive .

[Slammerman]

how about the tougue-tugger! or the lipripper!!

Tongue-Tugger is a new one .... but I have heard Lip-Ripper before. Fish-Flinger is an old one also and is the nickname for a buddy's "left-handed" Slammer Tip-Up ... this Slammer's rod-holder and flag storage holes are on opposite sides than a regular Slammer .... his brother who did most of the wood-working on the first production Slammers got a set for him for Christmas and wanted one "left-handed" so his brother could tell them apart ... it got the nickname after it went off one day ... the rod tip was twitching so he knew he had a fish on .... instead of running AROUND the 20 yd pool of slush we'd been avoiding all day ... he ran straight through it grabbed his rod and yanked up ... the 6 inch perch ended up hitting him in the back of the head ... my dad and I almost fell off our buckets from laughing so hard

[billditrite]

    that must have been hilarious

[wolverine-iceman]

Slammerman, I have bought 2 of your kits that were already put together . Matt , you know John from another site(msf) he didnt fish that way so I got his pair. Like using the slammer in shallow for `bows on higgins lake. Thanks...Maybe see you out near betsie bay for some steel slamm`n.