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They are allowed. You can also buy 2 tickets and fish 2 holes. i would not run a tip-up but I would run one jigging pole and one bobber rig with a live minnow.https://www.icefishing.org/about/faqs/https://www.icefishing.org/about/official-rules/
Just curious...Why wouldn't you recommend a tip-up? Just flying in from Atlanta, if fairly limited in my equipment. I wouldn't have a sled to pull a lot of gear out on the ice. I may be just working out of a 5 gallon bucket.With a tournament of this magnitude I'm assuming live bait my be hard to come by and "keep" till I'm ready to fish.Im still researching all of this. Really appreciate the help.
If you are targeting pike or walleye, get ahold of some tipups if the tournament allows these to be used. I am nearly exclusively a tipup fisherman, for all species that can be caught in NY.Not only do they allow you down time from active angling so that you can eat and drink and socialize while still fishing, the sight of a flag going up still gets us guys in their 4th decade of doing this excited.
I'm from Maine so not exactly an expert on the area you are going to but one thing no one mentioned so far is surgical gloves. If you use them when handling wet stuff, it makes a big difference. Don't keep them on all the time or your hands will sweat but when handling wet stuff, they are lifesavers. Get a box of them at a drug store and don't be afraid to change them out often. Ice makes a lot of noise and creaks and groans. I've taken southerners fishing and noisy ice freaks them out. It's normal and unless you see a local running for the shore screaming don't panic. If you do see a local running like that try to get in front of them and beat them in. Depending on conditions ice cleats might be a wise investment. If there is snow cover, you won't need them but glare ice without cover is impossible to walk on without a big danger of falling and potentially breaking something, you will regret. Good luck.
The Brainerd contest is very, very crowded. Think like Taylor Swift concert crowded. You aren't going to want your stuff more than a few feet away from you, and at that point a tip up doesn't make much sense. For whatever stupid reason, hook setting tip ups and rods are not legal in MN. For that reason, I agree, I would just run two rods. Tip ups have advantages, but they do have a learning curve. If you catch any fish at all in the Brainerd contest, you have a real good chance of winning something. Missing a hookset or missing a fish really sucks there.Also the Brainerd contest has a reputation for somehow always being during a storm, or really cold. There's not much you can do about that, but it isn't like you have to be out there all day. I think the fishing itself is only 3 hours. The rest you can spend inside a fish house or walking around.
For sure, cleats are great.Nitrile gloves is not a bad idea, it does work, but I always found nitrile gloves to be a pain for not enough benefit. It might be because they don't make any big enough for me, but they are hard enough to put on indoors. Taking them on and off in the cold is not easy. There are ice fishing specific gloves that are ok. The neoprene ones are ok, but they too are kind of tough to get on and off, plus they really get a stink before long. They tear easy. What I found works really good is insulated crabbers gloves. Mine are Atlas 460. They slip right on and off, last years, don't smell. They even hold up to pike teeth, no need for jaw spreaders.
insulated crabbers gloves?? Is that a typo? crabber?
Insulated, waterproof PVC gloves:https://www.amazon.com/460-Vinylove-Resistant-Insulated-Gloves/dp/B00KY6JUYWI use something similar, but in mitten form. Gloves never keep my fingers warm enough. I picked up a pair of these guys and absolutely love them. Completely waterproof so I can dip my hands in the water with them with no concern, and they're roomy enough that I keep small handwarmers in them when it's really cold. Super easy on and off, and the liners come out to dry them. They're usually pretty damp inside by the end of the day from putting my wet hands into them, so overnight I pull out the liners, turn the rubber shells inside out and they dry easily overnight.https://www.amazon.com/JokaTherm-Mittens-Size-10-XL/dp/B009IYMBDI