Tip-up mods?

[SMCSullyMan]

Have you guys made any general modifications that make your lives easier? I've been having trouble with my hooks coming loose and tangling in my gear bag. Tonight I glued small neodymium magnets to the base of my traps so I can keep the hooks stuck where I want them. I'm interested to hear any ideas you have had.

[Papa Sly]

I use a velcro wrap around the reel...works great

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

glue or screw in a clothespin to the tilt right next to the spool then u could peg the button in the to keep big bait from tripping the trap and when a fish hits it will pop out. 

[SMCSullyMan]

glue or screw in a clothespin to the tilt right next to the spool then u could peg the button in the to keep big bait from tripping the trap and when a fish hits it will pop out. 

This is a great tip, thanks.

[derekinhawaii]

I bought a rubber band ball.  i use a rubber band to securer it to my reel.  This is how mine were delivered from Jack Traps.  Not sure if this method will work on other types of traps.

[ICEHOLE]

Picked upsome of these bells:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/230413839769?nav=SEARCH
They also have light on them that pop on and off easily for night fishing if you wanted. the best thing about theses bells is the green clip has a hole right thru it so if you have a round flag mast like an indian hill or heritage laker, you can pop the end cap off the mast and slide the bells on, reglue the cap.
My eyesite sucks so most of my flags i hear them instead of see them. Especially when im in the shanty

[craiger]

My set is the 40-up style.  My uncle gave me a few to get me started that still had tags on them. I found the other five in the trash after a yard sale.

Aside from cleaning them up, so far I have:
- replaced nails with tiny screws to hold the trigger bracket in place
- added washers to the cross stick bolts
- made custom two-tone flags
- zip tied clothes pins to prevent bait flags
- made bands for the spools.  Better than plain elastics because there is a little tag to grab

I am in the midst of upgrading the spool spindles to stainless hardware with adjustable drag.  I'm not sure I'll get the drag to work well enough to trump the clothespins, but if nothing else it's a big upgrade to the plain old nails they came with.  After this season I plan to break them down and oil the wood.  I also might replace the clunky bracket that holds the grease tube, it's always getting hung up when breaking the trap down, even with the washers I added.

[Roccus]

I built my own cross style... a few things I do that help a lot.. 1) wrap the lower half from the cross bar to the spool with black 3M ( use good tape)  electrical tape.. the keeps the ice from freezing around the trap.. the slightest bit of sun UV rays are enough to keep them free... 2) I add blocks of wood to the "high" cross so they cant rock,, some people put ice under the cross.. I prefer mine to be stable.. especially for finicky fish like rainbows... before you could buy it, I cut rounds of cork from gasket material and glued it to my spools along the outside edge.. I sink the hooks into the cork to keep them from tangling... another mod I did is to add a "L" shaped  piece of aluminum up neat the trigger to hang the line on when re baiting... it lets me know where the hook is at all times and prevents searching on the ice for it .. I have other mods but I'll save them for another day

[lenz]

I just put the hook into a button eye, no issues

burp

[knotreelly]

I use a velcro wrap around the reel...works great

x2

[SMCSullyMan]

Some great tips in this thread. I wish I though of the cork idea before going for magnets.

[FullTmeDad]

I attached small bells to the flags with alligator clips so I could hear them trip. Great idea......till the first flag tripped and the bell flew ten feet away into the snow. Good for a laugh but that's about it.

[ICEHOLE]

I attached small bells to the flags with alligator clips so I could hear them trip. Great idea......till the first flag tripped and the bell flew ten feet away into the snow. Good for a laugh but that's about it.

That's y I like the ones in the link I provided, you have the options of clipping, or putting the mast thru it. nice thing about putting the mast thru it, it the slide and swivel, making even more noise!

[Eastciderida]

I had window/door alarms taped to the vertical post and the magnet sensor taped to the flag pole. Works great during night fishing also for when you need to get a nap in. It trips and it's like a burglar alarm or could switch it to a ding song type sound.

[ice warrior]

velcro wraps work great

[HudsonRiverRat]

I glued half of wine cork opposite the reel for the hook and use the Velcro straps for the line.  Greatly reduces the tangles

[craiger]

Here are a couple pics of the new hardware, the big bait wrangler (clothespin), and the elastic spool bands:





The drag isn't smooth enough to regulate bait on its own.  I suspect the spools are a little out of whack and causing tight spots.  The wingnut with a thin locknut isn't ideal either because you need a tool to really lock them together.  Not bad for off the shelf hardware though.

I am happy to be able to easily remove and swap spools since all the traps are the same now.  Altogether the stainless hardware and nylon spacers was about 6 bucks per trap.

[JS]

Lost the stamped tooth on a spool, using a wiretie and cutting it accordingly worked great.

[BaitBucket]

glue or screw in a clothespin to the tilt right next to the spool then u could peg the button in the to keep big bait from tripping the trap and when a fish hits it will pop out. 

Just double up a rubber band on the end of the tilt and tuck a piece of the line under it.Holds big bait and doesnt require any drilling. Carry a couple extra in case one breaks or is lost.

[rdhammah]

Lost the stamped tooth on a spool, using a wiretie and cutting it accordingly worked great.

(Image removed from quote.)
(Image removed from quote.)

ingenieous! I would have just replaced the reel

[Knot there yet]

I hope that wire tie  works Have a bag of those traps like that lent them out came back without tabs and didn't want to replace spools and line.Be great to have two set again for alternate days.ty

[icetilt]

Picked upsome of these bells:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/230413839769?nav=SEARCH
They also have light on them that pop on and off easily for night fishing if you wanted. the best thing about theses bells is the green clip has a hole right thru it so if you have a round flag mast like an indian hill or heritage laker, you can pop the end cap off the mast and slide the bells on, reglue the cap.
My eyesite sucks so most of my flags i hear them instead of see them. Especially when im in the shanty

Just if anyone is looking at these lights I found another seller that offers them in packs of 10 with free shipping for 3.99

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10x-Fishing-Accessory-LED-Light-Rod-Tip-Fish-Bite-Double-Alarm-Alert-Clip-Bells-/171546197674?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27f0f33eaa

[JS]

oh yea. the wire tie works very well. i use that tilt all the regularly
. i bench tested it many times,.  at first i thought a small screw would suffice, but the weight might have thrown the spool off balance.