IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: Ramp 23 on Feb 12, 2019, 05:49 AM
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I enjoy moving , searching structures, etc for fish & catch big numbers doing so. However the majority of my biggest fish , except for crappies, come on tip ups. So it's always a hard choice for me , run & gun & catch a lot of fish , or set up & wait for maybe a really big trophy . Anyone else have this struggle / decision process ?
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I think we all have that struggle. at least the go getters. ;D if im setting up tip ups its usually in a travel area so I tend to wait it out. especially later in the day when you get that feeling they are gona come roam at dusk. if im just searching a flat or running down a break ill tend to shuffle the set around more. I will also jig my sets, where most just let them ice up. 20min on a run n gun break/flat hop.
adding sound scent and sight can speed things up a bit on most days.
one of those questions that can make or break your day for sure.
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Who says you can't do a little of both?
Allot yourself a certain amount of time for each option, or combine the two.
Set out tip ups and do a "run-n-gun" session around the traps.
You could be lucky and succeed in both, or at least use one to produce for the other....
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Use your tip-ups as the main weapon in your "run and gun" arsenal. Most people think of tip-ups like it's a Ronco rotisserie oven where they set it and forget it. They are missing out on a huge advantage they can give you.
I use them to search for fish and eliminate unproductive water by constantly moving them.
In Wisconsin we can use up to three lines (actually baits but let's not break down the technicalities of how that is interpreted...anyway). When searching for perch, crappies, and even bluegills I'll bring out a bunch of tip-ups all set up differently. Different jigs, jig colors, hook orientation, etc. I put my first tip-up in, then the 2nd a considerable distance away. Then the third another good distance away from the 2nd. If the 1st one I put in isn't tripped by the time I'm done putting in the third it gets moved. Then if the 2nd one isn't up by the time I've moved that first one, it gets moved. Rinse and repeat over and over until flags start flying. At that point I'll focus on where the flags are going up, tighten up the distance between the tip-ups, and set up camp removing one of them and working the area with a jig pole.
This approach does require a lot of work but you are essentially hole hopping with three lines instead of one which means you are covering a lot more water. Getting three lines in the water is much more efficient than just one. By having different presentations already rigged up on different tip-ups you can pin down productive patterns faster. If the fish are moving in schools (like perch) you can determine where the school is headed to next and get ahead of it with a jig pole.
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All good points thank you , tight lines !