Tip-Ups

[Roccus]

Having owned, used and crushed bass on your plugs Joe I can only imagine what your traps look like!  Any pics of the customs?

I have pictures ..but not on photo bucket...the frames are all maple.. the upright is 30" tall.. the cross pieces have   with stabilizer blocks so the trap doesn't rock... the spools are reconstructed aluminum spools from the original large spool 40 ups... I split the spool and drilled the center to fit a bass threaded( hollow inside) arbor... the were then bolted together and hold over 300yards of line ( 100 yards of 40lb Dacron 200yards Ande pink mono)...  a 1/4 20 bolt is bolted to the upright for the spool to ride on... the shaft has a plastic bushing that the spool rides on.. it keeps the spool quiet and smooth.. the weight of the spool and the line acts to make the spool easy to trip and takes little effort to keep it moving.. but rarely does it over run or have a fish drop the bait... a self locking nut allows me to adjust the tension  and how easy line pays out.. I have spare spools bolted underneath   the rocket launcher I keep the tip ups in and also have others with different leader configurations... changing the spool only takes a minute should there be a tangle or frozen spool... every spool has cork glued to the side so I can put the hook in it rather than fuss with rubber bands, assorted keepers or destroying expensive Dacron line.... as stated I use the jack trap triggers... I have an aluminum hook saver ( to hang the hook on during baiting) the flag steel came from some old scrapped fish crafter traps.. a hole was drilled in the end to accept a split ring so I could accommodate the jack trap trigger... the flags I used were bought from polar.. those bright florescent orange flags can be seen from a long way away... each trap has an aluminum plate with my name and address on them.. the uprights have alternate bands of white and red reflective tape.. ..this makes it easy for snow mobiles to see and my old eyes can see them in the dim light as I pick up to go home..

[ice warrior]

indianhills are awesome just got some and mikes a great guy 

[sangell]

I have tried a few and my clear favorite is the HT Polar Therm Extreme. It's orange and covers the hole which is nice since it is almost always windy. On very cold days it does a very respectable job of diminishing the hole from freezing. The flag is on an antenna and telescopes. Everything folds up into the unit and you can get 5-6 in a 5 gallon bucket. Will be getting more, very easy to handle and catch fish with.

[knotreelly]

still have my original heritage traps bought years ago (metal spool) and love them, never had a problem with them.   

[pickle1982]

I have a few by flat ones I have been using for almost 10 years and I love EM they have the T on the top has a deep notch and small one on either side for soft or Harvey trip the flag pole on mine has a wind proof setting I don't even use it most of the time  but what I like best is when that flag goes up and from 75  - 100 yards away I can see that shiny stainless steel T  spinning like a top as a monsters on the run with your bait I will keep mine forever and I am pretty sure I got 6 of them on sale at bass pro or cabales for about 55$$$$  for six not 1 and a half. There the same as anything if you fill the tube with proper grease every year and regularly check to make sure everything is snugg your good to. I just saw the bog bone ones I think ht at cabelas same set-up different base on sale for 7.99 and there is a promo code to get free shipping

[big scott]

I've got sets from 40-up, black magic, heritage and Indian Hill.... besides the I.H.'s, all sets are 15 yrs. old and have performed flawlessly for me. just take care of them.

I've only had my indian hills (26" and 30") for two seasons but I can honestly say...i'll never use anything else again.

[mjcjr1]

I've been ice fishing for 40 years and bought 10 of the IH traps 2 years ago. I will never buy anything else...simply amazing! I did make one modification that some may be interested  in. I found the felt flags absorbed water and got a bit heavy on the spring, to solve this issue I trimmed my flag to a triangle shape and sprayed them all with a boot silicone water proofing...issue solved.

MC

[fishinfool]

good idea with the water proof spray!

[Knot there yet]

Round bucket type are good but they have limits. Storage is ther best feature.insulation is second best feature not having to chip your holes all day is great.limits are they get run over a lot low profile. They don't work well in blowing snow can make trap fail  snow builds up in top preventing trap to operate properly.i use them in my first team of traps they are easy and fast to setup and rap up. Watch out there not all the same I started with four tried to get a fith but now have 3 different kinds(7) total .

[sangell]

You are right Knot There.... I bought three from another company, reputable as well since I was late to order and the HT's I wanted were already on back order. I have been very disappointed, but figuring to make the best of it I now put out my heavys on the two orange ones and smaller baits on the others so have a bit of a color coding system going on, and I do really like seeing one the orange ones just screaming.

Last weekend was nasty with the wind, and I had no issues with the HT's flags staying down. Granted the guy fishing them was not all that quick getting there that day 

Going to wait till end of season and try to find a deal on this. I am sold, or should say hooked.

[mccabedoug]

I have the magnetic pop ups: http://htent.com/catalog/inventory.php?fam=110&cat=7&new=

Mine are from the 1990s and were made in the USA. Not sure if the ones made now are as well made. They have worked flawlessly for 2+ decades. No wind flags or snow worries. You can adjust the trip (e.g., pike bait vs. salmon bait) and the drag.

That said, I take good care of them. A buddy of mine had a bunch of them that he left in the back of his open pickup every winter. The tops broke off banging around in his snow-filled truck bed which allowed snow into the tubes resulting in frozen tip ups.

[Knot there yet]

Worth traps if they are grey. Are excellent ht are crap .i miss mine they are the best in snowy condition never a wind flag. Called wrote even spoke to Ht but they still send crap.worst is they know it. Assembled in China good products turned to crap.Worth only makes spinner bait blades now no more ice traps or I'd have an army of them. I know HT is a sponsor but they have ruined that trap NEVER buy any they are a disappointment. Spools aren't glued on flag poles snap if you look at them wrong.rivets aren't peened over . I could go on and on poorest quality on market they sould be ashamed to sell. In Vermont they have had huge issues because you can have 15 traps . My buddy bought 21 and only 5 function after one season. Bring back Worth Co.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!