Wind powered jigging trap?

[FishTrapr]

A few years ago I saw an ad for a wind-powered tipup that had a horizontal arm with an aluminum fin on the back.  It worked like a regular tipup but jigged the bait as the wind blew.  Does anybody own one or know where I can find info on them?

[gillsagain]

Hi FishTrapr,
I have a couple at home (of course I'm at work ). I'll post the info for ya tonight. I'm pretty sure I have a web address for them. I haven't used mine much lately because I seem to catch more Bass than Pike on them.
-gills

[LoneWolf]

I believe the one you're talking about is made by HT and it's called the Windlass. 

[Basshuntah]

E-Bay My good man, they have it all, I seen em' for real cheap too.

[archbishop]

they have them on sportsmansguide.com

[FishTrapr]

Thanks guys!  Do they work very well?

[archbishop]

i dont own 1 but know people who do they work fine up to about 5-10 mph winds then its not jigging its flipping but i hear on a calm day there great

[TroutFishingBear]

archbishop, even on days with 20 mph winds it jigs fine because you can control how aggressively it jigs. We own one, its called the HT Windlass tipup and it works great! It is my very favorite tipup. I definitely suggest to buy one!

[archbishop]

like i said i dont own one i was just going on hearsay so you would be a better judge than me

[Gambler]

I have several and they are the cats a$$ for trout when the temps are above freezing. They consistantly catch 2 to 3 times the trout and gills as my standard tip-ups.

[reelcharacter]

I have some of the HT Polar and HT Windlass Tip Ups. The Windlass Tip Ups may take a little getting used to, but once the settings are figured out, they work great! Look under the Equipment section of this forum for more info. I even have a link to the HT site with a video illustrating their use under one of the topics there.

-Reelcharacter

[FishTrapr]

OK, you guys talked me into it, (not that it took too much convincing!)
I'm going to order one (maybe two) today.  HT Enterprises has a QuickTime video on their wesbite that shows the operation of them.   http://www.htent.com/Tip-UpPages/tip-up.htm
  I confess that I'm a gadget junkie, and when it comes to fishing I'll consider anything that doesn't sound to outlandish and will increase my odds!

Thanks for the input, it sure is nice to find a whole bunch of guys who also like ice fishing, and don't mind sharing their knowledge and experiences.    I can't find one single person here at work that doesn't think I'm crazy for enjoying this sport! :-p

[JigAwhopper]

Like it was said before,  they're pretty good when air temps are above freezing.  Once it gets below freezing, you better have some standard tiups because the hole gets iced up and they stop working fast.  Even when you keep the hole open with the Windlass,  they build up a lot of ice on the line and  they stop jigging.  You can really kill 'em when the weather is nice with that tip up though. 

[Michiganmallard]

Ah, another gadget junkie.  It's a beautiful thing.  My buddies all laughed when I bought $150 worth of "beepers" (Strike Sensors) for my tip ups this year.  Now they're all jealous when I'm sitting in my fish trap and know right away when a flag pops. 

If you're interested in a jigging tip up, check this one out.  http://www.tipup.net
I own both the windlass and this jigging tip up.  The windlass works ok but is hard to get adjusted for the varying wind conditions.  This one works a little more consistantly but you need to keep the mechanism lubricated with graphite or it has trouble, it also takes a little more time to set up.  All in all, I like it better.

[numbtoes]

I have 5 windlass types and like already said, they work well if conditions are right which means some wind (obviously) and above freezing temperatures. Below freezing and the line going up and down develops a thick coating of ice that stops the action or the hole freezes and only the line above the ice moves. Also a change in wind direction tips them over easily unless held in place. So by all means get them but carry a more traditional type also.