How do you approach your tip ups

[crappie_attitude]

Running and screaming "MY FLAG!  I GOT IT!"  Extra points are given for sliding headfirst, removing the trap, and setting the hook on your way past the hole.  Double points are given if you don't spill your beer in the process. 

[MeadowPikeman]

years of dead bait fishing for pike tells me to get there as soon as possible never know how quick they will drop it, or even spool a tip up. so another vote for an all out run.

[TinyTim]

I was wandering how people approach their tip ups when you get a flag.
Do you sit and calmly walk to it to give the target fish time?
 Do you run to it?
Anybody got a system?

Is there a difference on how to approach a tip up in shallow water compared to deeper water?

I get there as fast as possible, but I rarely set till the fish moves the reel.

[farmboy]

I think it really depends on what kind of system you are using to present your bait.  For instance, when I was really young we always used to use norwegian hooks to present our bait.  With those I think you have to get to the hole as quick as possible and set hard.  With the quick strike rigs I make now, I'm never in a big hurry to get there or set the hook.  If they really want it, they will hang on to it for a while and if they are going to spit it right away the chances of hooking them using any method are not good.  Just my opinion after a lot of days learning and experimenting out on the ice.  I've also learned a lot watching other guys out on the ice.  You can learn a lot from other people's mistakes.

[jayswimmer09]

i run like the wind!!!! if i miss the fish because of it i dont care!! if he doesnt come back theres always next year and the next and the next....

[slider]

this is a very good question
I hev no idea how i approach it
i ususllay panic and cant remember a thing
but now that im old and fraile i have to more cautious
if i fall i may not get up

[possumilk]

run as fast as possible, fart a few times while waiting for the reel to stop spinning. set the hook

[adk iceman]

run like a criminal from the cops, then sit there and wait for the fish to stop running, kinda like my job, hurry up and wait.

[Scientist]

Really depends on what type of fish you are after. If you are after walleye or trout and you run to your tip-ups you will definitely scare away any other fish that might be in the area. Sound travels through ice and water so you running on the ice will sound like an elephant stampede. Save the running for pike and pickerel in the sallow water, they could care less.

[putback]

Old Bruce used to tell me "slide an Glide" on walleye. He was 6'4" 275 lb bear of a man. Looked like a fairy hovering over the ice, not a sound, hooked them all. Some guys would snicker but not one ever had the #@^&'s to do it to his face! Hope he got a honey hole in heaven.

[THEFLAGMAN]

i love runing like a wild man and out run my buddies it tends to get physical at times but its fun
  :tipup:FLAG On your mark Get set GO!!!!

[blaster22077]

If i see a flag i can run faster than a sprinter sign me up for the ice shanty bob sled team all we need is a flag on the front of the sled we would push the thing the hole way down the hill.

[marcus]

I run as fast as I can get there, lift the tip-up out of the water and immediatly set the hook.

this is the same method i use    usually when i go in a group its first one there ... I know i f i was a bit more patient my pike hook up ratio would probably go up a bit but even after thousands of flags and 90% of the time knowing what it is going to be i am still very excited.

[deadsmelthead]

Depends on how far away I am and what the surface of the ice is like. Crunchy loud ice, I take it easy when I get in the vicinity of the hole.Soft snow on top I'll run right up till I get within 5' of the tip up then tip toe in trying to peak down in the hole like I'm expecting the fish to shoot the tip up at me. I spread my tipups out all over the ice and I jig all over the place  so sometimes I am in a dead sprint for a 100 yards , anybody who has seen a big Laker or a Pike rip line off a spool knows they can do it pretty quick and getting to a tip up with a big fish on and 10 yards of line left really sucks if you can't get the fish to swim at you.

[MuskyHunter]

I'll run for the first few, after that I let my 13yr old boy run...I mosey along after with the gaff!

[Massfisher]

Run or an all out race to the flag, but if its really cold its time to take the truck!!!

[anderson_dc]

Gotta love all the responses to this one!  I can honestly say ive probably done each of the approaches mentioned prior but as of this past year i have found a better method that works for me.

A lot of time i will run tip ups at varying depths, anywhere from 3 feet all the way down to 25-30 feet, depending on the lake and break lines.  On the shallower tip ups i will walk quickly/run tell i get about 15 yards from the flag and then approach it cautiously and as quiet as possible.  Ive found with it being in that shallow of water that i have sometimes scared off fish when i would run hard to the tip up.  With the slower approach near the hole i can observe the spool and see if the fish is running hard with the bait, slowly pulling line out, or not moving it at all.

In deeper water it doesnt matter quite as much since the fish are generally 20+ feet down and arent affected as much so you can run all the way to the tip up most of the time.

When checking to see if the fish is still on the line or not, i will pull some slack from the spool side to give me some room to work with in the event that the fish runs again.  I will slowly start to pull line back from the fish, wait till i feel tension, and then set the hook.  There has been some instances where ive set the hook and didnt feel the fish on but started to reel up the line and it was still there.  I have also learned to wait for that fish to finish it's run if the spool is spinning really fast and especially if i am in shallow water.  One time i was set up in shallow water (3 feet) and i got to the tip up rather quickly to see the spool going like mad.  I rushed pulling the tip up out of the way and went to set the hook.  Whatever was on the end of the line ripped out line and i didnt have a good hold of it and lost the fish.  I would have loved to have seen what was on the other end of the line...    Although it was probably a carp 

I will admit though, you gotta love those slow runs on the spool when you come up to it.  8 times out of 10 it is usally a decent sized pike!!!

[Pittsfield Pike Preditor]

Depends how far away the flag is and how out of breath i am from the run!! I usually run then walk for the 10 feet. 

[tarbot]

Depends on what time of the day it is....
8am - Run to stay warm
9am - Jog after breakfast
10am - Walk after nap
11am - See if anyone else wants to go get it (Thinking of lunch)
12 noon - The beers have started so I woble for the rest of the day! 

[Imissedem]

Here in RI for Pike I the third run for setting the hook, seems to work pretty well.Cant wait for the ice.Doing a striper tourney this weekend in Point Judith RI this weekend.Great benefit for Fishing Memorial Monument for Fishermen who have lost there lives on the Ocean.

[PACKMAN241982]

Its usually run as fast as you can without spilling your beer. If there isnt a beer in your hand then run and dive to be the first one there. If I scare the fish who cares in out there to have a good time. But I don like to catch fish.
Packman

[big-brother]

RUN LIKE HELL Just for the very first flag of the day.After that just slowly wander over

[1MOFISH]

this is a very good question
I hev no idea how i approach it
i ususllay panic and cant remember a thing
but now that im old and fraile i have to more cautious
if i fall i may not get up

pop the clutch works for me lol    mo

[Big W]

I am a "walker".  My kids usually get there ahead of time...and grab it.  But oh well...they are having fun.

Big W

[icejunky]

I dont know how I missed this one, Im a runner, and a slider....we like to compete to see who can get there first...first man there gets the flag, but to make it fair the first one to see it needs to yell FLAG?

[ChillerThriller]

I usually sit in my eskimo quikflip 2 and have my flags positioned out the front or side windows. when a flag goes i flip it up and come flying out of the tent like a bat out of hell. usually when i get to the tip up all my crazy stomping makes the fish run like mad and then all i have to do is tighten my hand on the line and the fish is on. my dad laughs at me because the first few times i did it it scared teh crap out of him, the first time he thought i was going through the ice and was running from the tent LOL. running keeps me warm too and i do the odd rambo roll, chest slide, or front flip to add style to my fishing.

[ice dawg]

All of the above. 

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

I run but than i walk about the last 5 or 10 feet 

Same here

[elcapitanmas]

I run like a mofo, mainly because im catch and release only, but also I like to make sure they dont have it coming out the back end.  Using circle hooks exclus. Im a runner.

E

[bmilford]

Open another beer, walk over, reset it cause it was the wind anyway, drink beer.