Windlass Tipups by Polar

[31King]

         Do any of you guys use Windlass tipups or as I call them wind machines? If so how did they work for you?
                                       31 King

[king_fish#1]

hey 31 king i have a windlass and t works very good for me except that the line and reel are above the water and it need to be put into the slush firmly or it will get pulled over and ive caught most of my fish this year on my windlass that i got for tradeing 5 smokes to a dumd kid that didnt know how to use it.

[bushman-wi]

hey 31 king i have a windlass and t works very good for me except that the line and reel are above the water and it need to be put into the slush firmly or it will get pulled over and ive caught most of my fish this year on my windlass that i got for tradeing 5 smokes to a dumd kid that didnt know how to use it.

hey king fish, it sucks to be you, that you took advantage of a kid that didn't know  how to use them. you could have showed him how they work.how about a little kindness, you were there once. as far as the windlass tipups go, i love  them. i  hang 10 inch smelt on them with a steel leader and have a great time catching pike  bushman

[Van_Cleaver]

I've been fishing them for many years, and like them alot. If it's really windy, or gusty, or just too d--- cold I go with the polars. It's easy to stabalize them;(windlass) just take your ice shavings and pile on the base. Also, if you hang a tiny bobber a couple of in. below the pan you can get right back into action after a fish, or big run-off. Have consistently caught my biggest perch on my Windlass. My brother was complaining yesterday while I outcaught him 2-1. Same bait, same area; he had stardard tip-ups. It was a ilttle too calm, or he would have really been peeved. Tonight he called me and asked if the local bait store carried them.

[Out4Trout]

Anybody tried using a trap called the ice jigging buddy? It' seems to be similar to the Windlass you're talking about but looks a little more stable. Not sure that it has as much jigging action though.

[wisicefishinnut]

For one thing, how old was the kid?  Too youg to smoke? You should hasve shown a little generosity and showed the kid how to use it.  I have wo of them, and am not real impressed.  It seems to me that it's either too windy, or not enough wind.  The line freezes up, not stable, and hard to get working just righ.  I like the old fashioned ones.  Just set them and wait for a bite.

[Van_Cleaver]

No doubt there are days when Windlass are not a good choice, but if you pack some snow or ice shavings on the base they are stable enough. Like all fishing, you just have to go with the conditions. When the temp is near 32, and a nice light wind is blowing, I can almost taste those perch fillets. Also it's fun to watch that reel spinning wildly after a flag.

[Turkeyhunter10ga]

have had one for quite a number of years now, never caught a thing on it , should probably get it out of storage , blow all the dust off of it and give it a try again , haven't used it in a few years now

[swalleyi]

yes i had one to, it worked when it was 34 degress or warmer , but that doesn't happen to many times in wisconsin.Plu do you guys use braided line or mono,if i remember right i think i had to take the braided line off because it would freeze together.

[31King]

 I was fishing a few weeks back and there was a guy fishing close to me who had a wind machine. That was the first I saw one in action. He had three other regular tipups and I had four out. He had a hard time keeping that thing in the water while all the other tipups were dead (including mine). I went to a local shop and got my own wind machine and here is the story. I was going fishing the next day with my son and showed him the wind machine. I dont think he was impressed with it. We hit the ice the next day and I set the wind machine up first. We were fishing for Bass and Pickeral so I baited it with a medium shiner. My son looked at me after setting it up and said "I dont think this thing will work here it is probaly only good for perch and crappies". It was very cold out with a gusty wind and that thing was moving pretty good. By the time I drilled my fifth hole I looked back and the flag was up. My son ran over and caught a Bass. I told him I would rebait the wind machine after I got all the other tip ups out. After all our tipups where out i came back to the wind machine and put a new shiner on it. It went about ten minutes and I looked over and saw the paddle slap the ice and the flag go off. My son ran over and caught a nice smallmouth bass. At this point my son looked at me and said "this wind machine is the ticket"! I need to try this thing at night if I can hit a night with some breeze. Should work for crappie?

                                   31 King

[Van_Cleaver]

There was a lake in southest PA that had(operative word) a legendary crappie bite. Always went in the late afternoon and fished past dark with a lantern. As it got dark all the tip-up were pulled but one, (Windlass) rigged with braided line, a 4# mono leader, and a light wire hook. When the bite turned on, the Windlass always seemed to catch the biggest slab. Usually I had to setle for one, cause after they turned on it was impossible to tend 2 jig poles and a tip-up. Still remember losing a hog crappie on that rig at first ice. 4" of clear, saw the fish come up as I set, and bump the ice under my feet then sort of shrugged swam away..... ..

[trapperdirk]

 I've had one since they first came out . I can't speak highly enough about them when fishing for brookies using worms or if no live baitfish are allowed . They just take a bit to become accustomed too is all . I can set up and run mine just as good or better than any other type of tipup . Now I do pick my days and situations , but they are not a tool I would be without . If the bite is slow this will be the flag that goes .

[Jigmaster]

Pick your days and you can't beat them. I have used them for years with only one problem and that is the drag and I cured that by installing a pen spring in between the wing nut and the spool. If your drag isn't set right and a big one is on then he may pull the line out too fast and cause it to "birdnest" on you.

[GEEMAN]

Been using them for years and at times they are just the ticket when Walleye fishing !

I use nylon coated braid for the main line = 0 freeze ups. FLAG is one brand name that comes to mind. Cortland too make this stuff and I'm sure other companies do too. Fly rod main line ( can't think of the real name for it. duh ! ) works alright as well though I prefer the nylon coated stuff.

Here's a tip for the do it yourself cobbler types out there.
I took a couple corks about an inch and a half long and an inch wide. Take 2 of them and glue them wide end to wide end. Drill a 1/4 " + or - hole through it lengthwise. Get yourself a wide soda straw ( Mc Donalds ones are perfect ) and cut it about 5 - 6' long.Run the straw through the corks till they stick out a little longer at one end. The long end will bo the top. It will look like a funky bobber when your done.
Anyways , thread your main line through the float deal and rig up as usual. On cold days you can add a few drops of RV anti freeze inside the straw which will keep your line from freezing up inside the straw.
Note : Some say RV anti freeze is bad for the enviroment but the stuff I use is biodegradable so I'm not too worried about that part.
Anyways , I have also made special covers for my windlass tip ups. Hard to explain but they cover they hole nicely save in the center where the cork sits. MANY a time I've run my windlasses in temps in the lows 20s and in windy snow blown conditions. These covers also keep my windlass from tipping/sliding over into the hole. I still put shavings on the back of the base too though JIC.

Some say to use vegtable oil inside the straw to help prevent freeze ups. I did that ONCE and HIGHLY recomend against that idea unless you want a slimy mess all over your fishing gear , cloths , shelter , kids etc. LOL
That and it does'nt prevent freeze ups either.

I use a small tip up bobber as a marker ( Below the float a few inches ) on some windlasses but have found that a slip bobber knot works well too.

These Windlass tip ups can be a royal pain for sure at times but once you get the hang of em they can be killer !

Out4Trout , Wind speed does'nt matter except if there is'nt enough of it. The metal paddle ( Notched part at the front ) can be bent up , down or left alone depending on the wind speed or action you want. If the winds blowing a billion miles an hour leave it flat. If it's a mild wind then bend it up or down till you get the action you want.
You can also adjust the spring tension too. The windlass comes with a light and heavy spring. Heavy for dead bait/big minnows light for lighter/smaller baits. You can aslo add tension with that metal slot deal the spring ataches to on the back by twisting it way to the side to if you don't want to mess with changing springs or don't have an extra one.

Hope this helps ! ~~~><>

[waterbeater]

Great post Geeman. I love these things but have problems with line freezing. I'm going to give your ideas a shot. Thanks.
Les

[OU812]

There was a lake in southest PA that had(operative word) a legendary crappie bite. Always went in the late afternoon and fished past dark with a lantern. As it got dark all the tip-up were pulled but one, (Windlass) rigged with braided line, a 4# mono leader, and a light wire hook. When the bite turned on, the Windlass always seemed to catch the biggest slab. Usually I had to setle for one, cause after they turned on it was impossible to tend 2 jig poles and a tip-up. Still remember losing a hog crappie on that rig at first ice. 4" of clear, saw the fish come up as I set, and bump the ice under my feet then sort of shrugged swam away..... ..

Hey Van Cleaver....
Thanks for mentioning the "light" 4# leader. I had fished with regular and windlass tipups for years and started to increase the catch in when I stopped putting 30lb braided line next to the hooks. Good luck on those slab Crappie!!
JG

[31King]

Hey Guys,
                  Thanks for all the feed back and the information. I now own three windmachines and I love them. I had them out over the weekend and once again they worked great. I like the fact that you can sometimes see the movement in the paddle and see the flag before it happens.

                                          31 King

[MT-Ed]

I find they work in theory, but unless the ambient temp is above freezing, the line on the spool freezes solid and it's game over!!!!

[Yukoner]

I use plain vanilla 20# mono for mainline on my wind tipups, and it doesn't freeze.  Maybe it doesn't get cold enough up here.   

Use them for pike, burbot and lake trout while jigging 20-30 ft nearby using artificials, and they always outfish regular traps.

Ted

[fishinnut]

On my windlas I epoxy a small strip of sandpaper to the flag arm. This is on the flag arm portion that rests under the spool when set. Creates some friction which makes for better tripping.

[Velcro]

Anybody tried using a trap called the ice jigging buddy? It' seems to be similar to the Windlass you're talking about but looks a little more stable. Not sure that it has as much jigging action though.

I have 3 of those ( http://www.tipup.net/ ) and keep meaning to buy more. They work pretty good, can give dead baits some action. They're funny looking though, tipups on stilts. So far I haven't met anyone else using them.

[gooseblaster49707]

windlass tip-ups have their place in ice fishing.   above freezing, moderate wind, etc.   when conditions are ''right'', they will outfish any other tip-up 2:1.   minnows, jigs, bait, whatever.    when it's cold, the wind is howling and the hole freezes up before you can walk to the next rig, forget about it.       read the previous posts, do some research and add a pair to your arsonal.   they are killer on last ice for crappie. temps are usually warm and the jigging action can't be beat.   first ice, mild temps and some small minnows are a deadly combination for perch, walleye and panfish. 
.
mid-winter thaw with larger minnows put walleye and pike onto the ice like no other.   perch too.
.
just my input.

[RIVERRAT2]

         Do any of you guys use Windlass tipups or as I call them wind machines? If so how did they work for you?
                                       31 King

I used the polar windlass, worked great,keeps the bait moving
 
RAT

[bigeddydynamite]

I have had good luck with windlass tip-up's with no wind at all....

[RIVERRAT2]

I have had good luck with windlass tip-up's with no wind at all....

IT MAY be the action of minnie,or the water,i just love them,works great,
 
RAT

[PikeSticker]

I have had good luck with windlass tip-up's with no wind at all....

I second that. On days with no wind they become a combo tip down and tip up trap. Sometimes I'll have some small salmon fry or trout pushing the bait around and the sensitivity of these will show that down hole activity when the spring tension is balanced well. Other times it may be a finicky pike or laker mouthing the bait and spitting it out. It gets my attention to watch that one closely. When the wind is blowing they tend to outperform and outproduce my stationary baits. That motion is the magic; even just an inch or two.  I use a hole cover with mine on many days to prevent candlestick icing on the line and keep the hole from filling in with blowing snow which is often present in windy conditions.

Many in this thread have mentioned using ice or snow on the base to anchor it in place. These traps have a bad tendency to "dive down the hole" due to their position on the ice and their narrow designed shape. To remedy that I drilled a hole at the back end of the base and screwed a 5/8" x 2" x 18" piece of varnished hardwood to it. I'll use the ice pieces or snow to anchor it in place if the wind is blowing. When transporting I just rotate the board lengthwise and its compact enough to take up very little extra space in the bucket. Be sure to make your cross board a few inches longer than the widest hole you will be fishing. 

The one significant vulnerability is freezing rain due to the exposed line reel and the exposed pivot points and line guide than will ice up. A condition that almost never occurs here in AK but Lower 48'ers and Canucks (no slang intended, e.g. Vancouver Canucks  ) may find those conditions challenging for this rig.