What the best brand/model of tip ups to buy?

[IceBalls]

Jopes has given you some first-class advice there!  Here are a few extra details.........

You're going to need a "bottom finder" weight to initially locate your bottom depth.  The best i've found are the ones with the small spring at the top which allows you to insert your hook in a slot and prevents the weight from slipping off when you hit bottom.  Most bait shops sell them in the Winter.  If you want something really special and unique, go to www.sink-it.com  and check out their custom weights.....really cool.

After you locate your correct bottom depth, and set your bobber, pull the entire rig back up and remove the heavy weight and hook up your bait....then send the rig back down to the bobber depth.  Then set your flag.

Line can get expensive.  The last time I re-lined my tipups, I bought a spool of line IN BULK from a KITE SUPPLY COMPANY.  I got 20 lb. kite line, in Black, on a 2000 foot spool for about $17.00.... and I've got plenty left over for next time.

I would not suggest spooling up with mono......that stuff has a terrible "memory" and comes off the spool all "curly"making it hard to find and maintain bottom.  Just use a 2 or 3 foot Flourocarbon leader...... don't forget a couple of small split shot about a foot or two above the hook.

Tip-up fishing is a real "Blast".... especially when two or three go off at the same time....you don't know where to run first!!!

Good Luck out there in Wyoming.....you'll be fishing long before us here in NY.

[Fishboy]

If your up for it, once pathfinder gets some ice on it and if you want to drive there and meet me I would show you a lot about tipups.  And catch trout doing it.
[/quote

thanks jopes. I'll have to take you up on that one of these days

[jethro]

If santa is good to me this year should he get me a fish finder(Marcum,vexlar,etc) a hut, or a gas auger? Thank you for your help.

If I had to sit outside on a bucket in my bathing suit and chisel holes with a dull spoon, as long as I had a flasher I would still be fishing.

I ice fished for 12 years without a flasher and now, if I forgot it at home I would either turn around and go get it or just find something else to do for the day. It's that important to me. I can't believe what I was missing.

[Tmuskie]

Black Majic tip-ups. I've been using them for over 5yrs with no problems. Yes they are wind proof.

[Whopper Stopper]

Buy what you can afford and have fun. Good luck on the ice! 

       WS

[seedman76]

There are a lot of tip ups on the market and the price varies widely.  I'm wondering what brand I should buy?  If you have an idea on price that's great too.  If it matters I'd mainly be after northern pike with my tip ups.   I searched the forums and couldn't find specific info.   Thanks in advance.

[Iceboy89]

That's like asking which flasher/rod/reel is best...it varies on individual preference, tip up style, etc.



This year I'm trying out the Arctic Warrior tip ups, I like the idea of being able to use my own rod/reel combo on the ice rather than my hands when fishing a second line.


Thermals are always nice as well, as they keep your hole open longer.


Where I fish the Simcoe Tip Up is really effective, and can be homemade easily for less than $10.

A lot of options, but you have to see which one is best for you.

[musky_slayer6668]

Beaver dam! Best tip ups that there are!

[BaitBucket]

Indian Hills

[jchunter]

I've used Beaver Dam tip ups for years and they have never let me down.

[blasterfan]

I have been using ice master tip ups for a few years and have been happy with them. Just a basic plastic tip up. Only cost about 14 bucks each.. Also the Ice rigger that uses a rod, works well for me

[Redneck Fishfinder]

The arctic warrior tip up looks awesome! At least on fair weather days. Freezing temperatures and snow drifts might cause problems for that one, but I also really like the idea of fighting the fish with a rod/reel as opposed to by hand.

Right now Cabelas has the Frabill Igloo pro thermal tip up kit on sale for $25, I just got 6 with a carrying case. I think that might be the best deal because it's a great tip up, especially for rough conditions, and the stuff it comes with make it a really good deal. It comes with a depth finder, flag extension and a flag light for night fishing. Each tip up also has a storage compartment. Also, it comes pre-spooled with a 30lb braid that is perfect for pike fishing. Overall, a couple of those could work very well for you if you're looking for a deal.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Indian Hills right here....they are awesome

[thewyler]

Beaver dam is the best mostly because of their big heavy metal reels. But at 40 bucks per they ain't cheap the only thing I care about when buying tip ups is a metal reel and don't buy poles instead spend the extra money on a hole cover that way you can pull off the cover and chip at the hole easier to get it free when the tip up inevitably freezes

[Hard_H2O]

Frabil Arctic Fire and Dawg Bone for me

[dcso3009]

Another vote for the Beaver Dam as the best.  They are steep on price.  Quality items usually are.  Mine are the Large round ones. 

Before I dropped the money on the BD, I used the Frabill Thermals.  They where fine for a year or 2.  Then they did not spin free, and as anything plastic in the cold, would break. 

[Icephishwyo]

Frabil arctic fire is a great tip-up around 15$ steel spool relube easy resin type plastic that i have hit lots of times with ice chisel
and has not broken they will last you a long long time best bang for your buck!!

[michiganpolarbear]

these are made like the beaver damns but at half the price $19.99 instead of $39.99 all you need is a hole cover and you should be good to go. i think the hole covers run 6.99 at link they call them hole insulators at mills fleet farm. they work the same as a thermal but are a lot stronger when set up this way. compared to the ht and the frabil thermals  tip ups  if you you like the beaver damn that much then get them cause they are a great tip up i prefer these at link below. i like  the frabil cause people like collecting my tip ups. and at half price i can have about 2 for the price of one.   


  http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/frabill-classic-wood-tip-up/0000000006280



 

[Derik]

It's all preference really, I use Jacks and some old green wooden ones that were my dads when he was a kid.  I pretty much use just the jacks and keep some old traps as spares.  But I have to say I have yet to get a wind flag on my jack traps, but mine are cross style jacks.  I have seen wind flags on the rectangle base trap, my buddies trap was old parts get a little loose and the wind tips the trap a bit it reel hits the edge of the ice and it can set the trap off.  I'm considering building my own traps at some point just have to get the motivation to sit down and do it.  A friend of mine made a trap that was almost entirely wooden parts except for the tripper and flag spring that was pretty neat, had a bell attached to the flag and it was on a hair trigger, pretty neat called it the "jingle bell".  Thing caught a ton of brookies, many days out fished the other traps.

[spikes]

I have been using tip ups for 2 years now for walleye.    I'm think about going after crappie and perch.    Do I need to go to a smaller line or just change my flouro leader to a smaller line?   I use 20 - 25 tipup line with a 3' flouro 14 lb leader. 

[vtmopar]

I switched over to heritage lakers last year, great tip up never have wind flags or false flags.
Adjustable drag.
I just swapped out the plastic reels for steel I just don't like the plastic ones.
Also make sure you store them with the flag up or the springs will not go up straight.
I used 40 ups for 20 years but I thought it was time to move up.

[Chris Raymond]

It's all preference really, I use Jacks and some old green wooden ones that were my dads when he was a kid.  I pretty much use just the jacks and keep some old traps as spares.  But I have to say I have yet to get a wind flag on my jack traps, but mine are cross style jacks.  I have seen wind flags on the rectangle base trap, my buddies trap was old parts get a little loose and the wind tips the trap a bit it reel hits the edge of the ice and it can set the trap off.  I'm considering building my own traps at some point just have to get the motivation to sit down and do it.  A friend of mine made a trap that was almost entirely wooden parts except for the tripper and flag spring that was pretty neat, had a bell attached to the flag and it was on a hair trigger, pretty neat called it the "jingle bell".  Thing caught a ton of brookies, many days out fished the other traps.

Derik--For what it's worth, I have the ladder style Jacks and do not experience wind flags at all either.   Bait flags yes if I don't set the flag tension tight enough for an active minnow or skip bait clips for larger bait.  Maybe that comment was related to something unique to Big Bobs???

[Eyes R Bitin]

Has anyone used the Bite Me Boxt tip ups?  I know they are expensive but sometimes you get what you pay for.  http://www.boxtipups.com/

[hot tuna]

Your all quite right its preference..
I started out with the old cheap-o traps with a nail holding the spool on and a clothspin for a drag.. Hey they worked and caught many fish over the years..
As things evolved I went with the Heritage Lakers and thought they were the best thing since sliced bread..
Heavy duty trap with "heavy" being the word to describe carrying them around..
The thing I DISLIKE about a trap style tip up is when a fish strikes you have no idea whats happening until you look down the hole (if you can) to see the spool turning..

The last 2 years I got a set of frabill Arctic fire tip ups that I like very much.. I can see the top of the shaft turning - or not as I approach the tip-up.. They seem very sturdy and WAY lighter then any wooden trap..
I ordered a set of 5 from Glens (thank you) for my son as a Christmas gift..
I also made hole covers out of kids puzzle mat thanks to the ideas given here..

Now unless there is very deep snow my lakers will be sitting home.. Yes you need to remove the spring-flag for storage or they will become memory bent..

[thomasthepikehunter]

I don't have a huge experience with many traps, but I have tried nearly all of them at least once. One thing I noticed is tip ups are in the stone age compared to other fishing gear. A $40 rod is considered a throw away rod for some, but a $40 tip up is like fishing with gold. There are only 3 types of tip ups I know, and many variations of each. I have ideas on how to improve the design, but I can't get anyone to build it. That said, the best I have is one I made myself. I can get the old HT thermals for like $5 for 10 at a garage sale. I just use 1x4 wood and make my own. I then customize them a bit, but the end up about as good as you get. Things include a metal spool I made myself, a bait clip, and a 20" flag. Trust me you don't need more than a 20" flag. If I worry about someone running it over, I put a stick in the snow next to it.

[Derik]

Derik--For what it's worth, I have the ladder style Jacks and do not experience wind flags at all either.   Bait flags yes if I don't set the flag tension tight enough for an active minnow or skip bait clips for larger bait.  Maybe that comment was related to something unique to Big Bobs???

No my buddies trap was just an older jack (ladder style i'm guessing is the rectangle base).  The wind was just swirling all day and a big gust would make the trap tip over at an angle and when the reel hit the ice it'd set it off, just a loose trigger.  Would of been an interesting bait flag that day on dead bait.

[Chris Raymond]

No my buddies trap was just an older jack (ladder style i'm guessing is the rectangle base).  The wind was just swirling all day and a big gust would make the trap tip over at an angle and when the reel hit the ice it'd set it off, just a loose trigger.  Would of been an interesting bait flag that day on dead bait.

Gotcha...especially on the bait flag.  ;-)

[jaw jack]

JACK TRAPS

[Martian]

I have a few, and like them all for different reasons, the round ones pack good, and the rest are polar type. Now I must say this, against the argguement for you get what you pay for. A tip -up, by it's design, is a strike indicator, nothing more, so is a bobber . Do any of you guys by $30 dollar bobbers?. A buddy, uses a couple of sticks, the spool the tip up line comes on for a reel, and a rake tine for  the flag. I wouldn't, cause you can get TU's for $6, that are functional , and will catch fish I works like just like the ones NASA, designed with the custom hardwood, and titanium hardware. so, it comes down to how much did you want to spend ,x's how many you need. I have had my polar type, (also pack well), for 8-10 years. i only have changed the line, and put my own camo flags on. We pike fish with about six guys, so there is no question, which is mine. good luck this year, any one will work.

[Quickfish]

Easy!! Quickfish Tip Up