Of all the tip up devices the Arctic Warriors are made to fish for any type big or small. The metal bracket that attaches to you ice rod is adjustable and by moving it up or down on your rod you can achieve the balance needed for any type of fish. It does take some getting used to because it is mounted to the handle, but after a while you would get used to it. We fish both baitcasting and spinning set ups with ours and either or works great. With spinning rigs we fish with the bail open and the line set around the flag wire (as stated in the instructions). With our baitcasting rigs we leave the reel in the free spool position (as you would to cast) and adjust the reel for line to come off with just enough tension to tilt the rod upon a strike.
As far as losing your rod down the hole they are designed to tilt forward upon a strike, but will not come out until you lift the rod up and out of the device. These devices are pretty much fool proof and as I stated before the fact that you can adjust the balance you can fish any kind of bait for any kind of fish. If you need to know more about them there are some excellent youtube videos of them being used. My buddy has a couple on there of him catching a couple monster Pike. The famed Babe Winkelman has a great show on catching monster Pike up on Lake of the Woods if you go to his website. If you have any more questions PM me and I will be glad to help you out.
