Any ideas for better hook up rates with Tip Downs?

[T-Hawker]

My wife enjoys crappie fishing with tip downs.  I built an ice shack with an old glass patio door turned sideways so she has full view of the typically three tip downs we have 15 to 30' from the ice shack.  We use the sure strike tip downs available at Fleet Farm.  While my wife jumps / runs at the first sign of one bobbing or starting to go down, I would say we miss 60% or more of our hits.  It seems like if the pole tip hits the ice it's about 80% chance of a miss.  I added a 6" spring bobber to a) get a bit more "travel" and b) hopefully have some give instead of the hard stop but they really don't seem to help.  Unless we are literally sitting within arms reach and catch them before they bottom out, it's a crap shoot at best whether or not we get them.  Some bites are gentle and the tip down goes down slowly and other times it's a bob and the pole whips down quickly.

We fish with minnows and a small treble hook (sharp).

A couple of weekends ago on a Saturday I bet we had 25 hits on tip downs but only caught about 10 of them... the next day (doing nothing different) we had about 8 hits and caught every fish so I assume how aggressively the fish are biting is a factor as well.

We have the reel "locked down" so they don't move.  I haven't played around to see if it's possible set the tension the nut just right so there is enough drag to tip the rod down but still allow reel to unspool once rod tip hits the ice. 

I see a lot of people setting up tip downs a lot further away than we set them.

Any ideas or tricks about how to improve our hook up ratio with tip-downs? 

[eyeflyer]

Use an ice buster or venom float with a bit of slack. Better chance for them to get the lure in a bit more.

[Yshack]

It's simple, loosen your reels so the line can free spool when you have a bite. The rod will still tip down, but remember to put your thumb on the reel when stting the hook.

[T-Hawker]

It's simple, loosen your reels so the line can free spool when you have a bite. The rod will still tip down, but remember to put your thumb on the reel when stting the hook.

Have you had success with this approach?  Do you use the white pins that go in the reels as a depth mark when you reset after a fish takes some line?

[slipperybob]

It's simple, loosen your reels so the line can free spool when you have a bite. The rod will still tip down, but remember to put your thumb on the reel when stting the hook.

that's how it's done.

[bart]

Have you had success with this approach?  Do you use the white pins that go in the reels as a depth mark when you reset after a fish takes some line?

I peg my line on my tip downs, many times they set the hooks themselves. If you want a little extra line for the fish to take, peg the line a little deeper then the desired depth. Then reel in to the desire depth counting the turns.  It's easier and quicker to get the tip down back into action.

[hardwater diehard]

I peg my line on my tip downs, many times they set the hooks themselves. If you want a little extra line for the fish to take, peg the line a little deeper then the desired depth. Then reel in to the desire depth counting the turns.  It's easier and quicker to get the tip down back into action.
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Set your tip downs fairly close … I tend to surround my fishing area in a circle...this will also aide you in which direction the fish are moving allowing you to move/keep ahead of the school ...I use string/yarn style bobber stops as line markers and peel off some extra line add the peg and reel back up to the line marker giving some run time with the bait ...sometimes setting the bait a little higher will get the more aggressive/bigger fish as the smaller fish tend to mouth the bait ...I use light wire single hooks ..hooking the minnow a little ahead of the dorsal fin and parallel with the dorsal fin with the hook pointed to the rear/tail fin .

[river_scum]

switched to tiny trebles myself.  tiny glow blade above the minnow sometimes added in too. same rig with the slammer sets too.

[dogfish]

Hardwater Diehard has it right.
With tipdowns you have to get there fast.  I don't sit in a shelter when I fish with mine and I put them close.  I did have some store bought ones (think they were HT's??) but they only had about a foot of up to down movement.  When I finally built some new ones I made the rods larger and got about 2 feet of up to down movement and that also helped to increase my catch rate.

[eriksat1]

#18 treble hooks, yes you need some smaller forceps to take hooks out, but I don't miss many fish. I also hook the minnow in the middle top of the back. Let the reel free spool with little to no tension.

[T-Hawker]

thanks for the input guys... I may try the peg / bobber stop marker / loose reel approach and see how that works.

[hardwater diehard]

thanks for the input guys... I may try the peg / bobber stop marker / loose reel approach and see how that works.

Make sure the line is wound up in the right direction ...I believe the sure strikes come pre wound..but double check .Good luck .

[frostbittin]

In my experience, very small treble hooks make all the difference. Whether or not you leave the spool loose is a matter of preference.

[fishonthebrain]

I got rid of my tip-downs and switched to Finicky Fooler tip-ups which allow you to use a spinning rod and reel with the bail left open. The line is free spooling so you don't have to run to it when the flag pops.