MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
WAY too much money for a ice fishing trap !!!!!!!!!!!! WB
agree!
They work great for me. The prices are going up I noticed. I was able to piece together 7 all on craigslist for about the price of 2 new ones. Well worth checking frequently on craigslist as they don't come up often.
I'm not sure about catch rates but I will echo the sentiments of the other poster's mentioning craftsmanship. Further, I have fished some extremely windy conditions and have never experienced a false flag resulting from it. If you have a flag with a Jack, you know something hit your bait which is not always the case with other traps.Since I'm a serious angler, I would prefer to buy quality equipment, take care of it and it last me 10+ years (or a lifetime) than to spend less, have equipment issues and/or have to replace it every few years. Lithium grease to the reel spool and some 3 in 1 on the flag arms have worked for me to this point though the arms do have a tendency to rust a bit. I will say I am glad I purchased mine when they were around $32/trap w/ line. The prices have gone up considerably since.
I am going to agree with a couple of points made here:I've fished on some NASTY days where some guys in our group didn't even bother going out. Most that did, were getting wind flags. Mine just sat and when they did go up, there were fish on the line (or had at least taken a bite). In my opinion, on sub-zero windy days - if I am forced to leave the warmth of the shanty, in my opinion the extra few bucks for a Jacks Trap is worth not wasting my time for a wind flag.Sure they are a few extra bucks - but - budget, just like any other quality purchase you need to make. For example, I buy my son a single Jacks Trap for Christmas every year. He uses his cheap leftovers/hand-me-downs to complete his set for the time being. But 5 (well, now 3) years from now he will have a nice set of traps that will last him a lifetime. I did the same thing when I wanted mine. Bought one per season while using the old ones to complete my set.And yes, some 3 in 1 on that flag arm is important. I forgot on one of mine and it ended up being a bear to deal with.
I think longevity is the point with Jacks. They are kiln dried first to weed out the junk wood, and then put together expertly. I will say that I am not a fan of Tim himself, as he has been rude to me on more than one occasion. I think there are other brands doing just as good of work, but none are better from my experience. Worth the money? Hard to say, but my son is going to have a great set of tip ups for the rest of his life that is for sure.
Never had the pleasure of using a Jack trap but have seen and handled them. They are a high end quality product that will last for years. Presentation will get you more fish, but there is a certain satisfaction of having quality equipment. Kind of like having a fine rifle as compared to a plastic stocked all American Ruger. They'll both bring home the bacon.
THIS^I've harvested more game than I can count with my bread and butter Mossberg 500.....rabbit, hare, deer, pheasant, ducks and squirrels. It has taken a pounding and has never failed me.....it is not pretty.....but its functional. I have much "better" shotguns in the safe.......even a browning new model a5 and a pristine 1969 Belgian made original a5. But the mossy comes with me every time in the field.......and I actually find my success rate on certain hunts better because of it........I'm not afraid to go into the ball busting thickets what that mossy 500 for rabbit, hare and pheasant.......when I used to take the brownings out for small game I'd stick to the trails because I was worried about dinging up my furniture!!! The jacks are amazingly beautiful.....but I equate those to the guys that shoot trap and skeet with a kreighoff over under that ran em upwards of $7k........you still have to know how to shoot to have it improve your game!!!! If you like the pretty stuff I get it. But you can't "buy a better game"........you still have to know HOW to hunt......or fish. I'll stick to my old heritage lakers......2 decades of use.....and they ain't pretty......they just work.
Ever need to replace parts on those lakers?
One time in 20 years of ownership.....went through them a couple years ago and changed out the hardware and flags. Never had a failure while actually fishing with them either. The parts I bought were piece of mind because after 18 years on the lakes getting tossed in and out of sleds and buckets the flags were starting to peal off the poles......found it easier to just buy the full parts kit that came with a full flag and all the brass hardware for the spool. That is it.
They sound pretty nice, my 6 jack traps are going on 15 years never replaced a thing, no grease, no tightening bolts, nothin'. But my dad bought me them one at a time when I was a kid, and they were 32 dollars then, so I can see not wanting to spend the cash on a full set, if somebody stole mine, I wouldn't be able to replace all of them.
I just purchased my first 3 Jacks. LLBean carries them and I just took advantage of a 25% off coupon and Free shipping.$39 each.