Author Topic: JACK TRAPS  (Read 10951 times)

Offline burt reynolds

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 26
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #30 on: Dec 10, 2017, 06:32 PM »
The old adage you get what you pay for....great quality and craftsmanship, will last a lifetime.

Offline dkfry

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,905
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #31 on: Dec 10, 2017, 06:53 PM »
Just the same as with Ice Rods. There is a low end and high end, say an HT Ice Blues rod vs a Thrones Bros custom rod. You can get some no name plastic tipup or go with Jack Traps. Both will work but the higher end usually does at least one or two things better or people would not pay the money for them.

Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #32 on: Dec 11, 2017, 06:51 AM »
What a good quality tip up does better comes from the design and materials they are made with. I have never once had a false wind flag while using the Jacks. Heritage Lakers also have a fail safe trip. The Jacks use all stainless steel for the shaft and tube and it is easily lubed at the start of each season. The seal coat finish on the Jacks keep water out so the wood does not get soaked and swell. I have had the spool shaft work it's way lose on the Lakers because it is just a pressed in fit. As the wood swells the free spin of the spool tightens up. If you typically use large bait such as suckers you just reduce the flag height on the Jacks which puts more pressure on the trigger mechanism but does not affect the spool spinning free at all.

After a day of fishing I stand all of my tip ups on the mantel to dry by the stove. The Jacks wood does not get soaked so they dry pretty quick. It is pretty easy once you get your first Jack to see that the man who made them was an ice man and put a great deal of thought into the design to overcome all of the typical shortfalls found on most other traps. There are a few very good quality tip ups out there but my natural progression was going from the cheap ones as a kid and then to Beaver Dams and the Heritage Lakers as an adult and finally to the Jacks when finances allowed. I will never need to buy another tip up unless some yahoo on a sled runs one of my Jacks down the hole. I also like the HT Polar therm extreme discs for when I fish shallow ponds and keep them rigged for the slime darts with wire leaders. On the cold and windy days they do attempt to keep the hole from freezing up or filling with blown snow but they can also get covered over and are very hard for the sleds to even see them because of their low profile.

We all like our fishing styles. Some love jigging with electronics and some just like to set out traps and wait for flags. Some like small pan fish while others go after much larger game fish in deep water. I started ice fishing back in the early 1960s and hope I can still get out for the next 10 years. It sure is getting much harder and less enjoyable as I age and dragging all the gear is tough on these old bones. Cold never really bothered me much when I was younger but these days I need my pop up clam, heater, power auger and other creature comforts and a freaking mule to drag it all once we get more than a few inches of snow on the ice. I avoid bitter cold days and real windy ones and have chased my shanty across the lake once or twice before learning to anchor it. Being retired I often have great days for fishing during the week when most of my fishing buddies are working but going by myself is never a good plan with all that can go wrong out there.

Gam
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

Offline Capt. j-rod

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 45
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #33 on: Dec 12, 2017, 03:40 PM »
I'm with Gamalot. I run Jack Traps, beavers, and I have a few Indian Hills. ALL*** are top notch. (beavers are older, not uncle josh). I reach for the Jacks first. The Indian is always out there too. Beavers are filling in the gaps. I see all the new rigs that use a rod and reel... I like the primal hand lining and the old school way. It keeps us in touch with the traditions. I like made in USA by guys in their garage build a better mouse trap gear. The pride and quality in a Jack or Indian Hill is awesome. I did cut and put some D.O.T. tape on ask of my traps and flags for the sled heads. Yes I've got some $$$ in my traps, but I bought them once and my kids will use them someday. Tight Lines and stay safe guys!

Offline George_B

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 148
  • Always looking for new tip-up variations !!
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #34 on: Dec 13, 2017, 02:33 AM »
Well said Gamalot on your post, my progression also over the many years.

Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #35 on: Dec 13, 2017, 06:41 AM »
I like and agree with how Capt.J said it. Even after 50 years fishing on hard water I still get a tingle up my leg when I am fighting a large fish by a hand line from a tip up and knowing I have a 6 pound test leader with a 6+ pound fish who does not want to meet me. Where others tend to get real upset if the line brakes or the fish spits the hook I just say congratulations to the fish for winning the battle. Just seeing a big fish on my line under the hole as he flashes by is thrill enough because I would probably throw him back any way. If I do catch a nice trout around 18 inches or a 20 inch walleye that could be dinner that very night but the rest get to fight again. No offence intended but I never did get the concept of catching fresh fish only to take them home and freeze them for a later meal. Buying frozen fish at the market is way cheaper IMO but then I only fish to get me off my rear and out doing something besides work.

Gam
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

Offline jiml

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 866
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #36 on: Jan 06, 2018, 12:51 PM »
You won't catch more fish using jack traps over other tip ups. Jacks are more of a pride in ownership thing.

If you have the $ and want to spend it go for it.....but heritage Lakers get the job done for alot less money and will also last a lifetime with some basic maintenance.
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."
Ronald Reagan

Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #37 on: Mar 06, 2018, 07:03 AM »
IF, A fish had any idea what brand or quality of tip up you were using it would not hit at all. Presentation at the bottom end has nothing to do with what trap the line is attached to. I love my Jack Traps and need only to dry them after each use and have never needed to do any other maintenance on them. I check them before each season to make sure the spool spins free and the trip rod turns free. With the Jacks I don't get wind or false flags and I think most fish don't feel the trip at all because they work so smoothly.

Jack traps are just a matter of pride and respect for quality and craftsmanship. If Jacks are the very first tip ups you buy when you are just starting out they will be the last ones you ever have to buy unless they get run down by some hot rod or seriously mistreated.

Gam
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

Offline Moosekill

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 222
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #38 on: Mar 15, 2018, 08:28 AM »
I currently use Indian Hill traps but have used Jack traps when I was a kid. I fish with guys that use heritage traps.  The guys that fish the heritage get more wind flags and also have more occasions of a fish hitting and not setting off the flag.  It may be because they don't adjust their traps correctly, but they seem to be much more affected when it is really bad out.

I love my Indian Hills, but I don't believe he is making them anymore and would buy jacks if I ever buy another set for the kids.


Offline Gamalot

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 2,775
Re: JACK TRAPS
« Reply #39 on: Mar 16, 2018, 10:55 AM »
I have never seen up close an Indian Hills tip up but there really is not all that much science involved with most of these mechanisms. It is more about fit, finish and function over the long run. If Indian Hills makes a high quality tip up then good to hear and hopefully they last a couple life times as family Heirlooms.

NY just upped our line counts and now we can use a total of 7 lines when it used to be 5. It can be a combination of traps and jig rods or all traps so I had to go buy 2 more Jack Traps to complete my set. I highly prefer watching flags over jigging but that's just my preference. I was highly satisfied to get two new traps exactly the same as my other 5 that are now over 10 years old. I was also pretty lucky because my set is made of red oak and they don't offer them in that wood any more but did have a few left over.

I was also pretty impressed to here that Jack Traps business has expanded a bit and they are now a dealer for the Snowdog track sleds that I just bought this year. I can't say I would have driven from southern NY up to Maine to buy a Snowdog but based on the customer service at Jack Traps that I have received I would highly recommend them if you are near by and looking for a great ice gear towing machine.

We vacation in Maine fairly regular and one of our stops while there is always the LL Bean store but next trip I'll have to add a stop at Jack Traps just to get a thrill and maybe even see how and where they are made. They actually have a couple Snowdog machines in stock now and ready for delivery and what is even worse IMO, they still have solid ice to fish on while we have none. Man if this doesn't suck. I have feet of snow in the yard and all around me and more coming but the ice is gone. Snowing again right now with another Nor Easter possible early next week.

Some guys have all the fun but as much as I love vacationing in Maine in July I think ice fishing well into April might be just a bit too much winter for me at this old age.

Gam
If I agreed with you we would both be wrong!

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.