Gear talk

[Roccus]

Since it's almost time, and most of us are getting ready, I'd  like to start a thread about gear, this can be anything from the winter beater you use to the beautiful hand craftedb chisel that your grand father made from a leaf spring, this is not  meant to be a Ford vrs. CHEVY vrs. DODGE TYPE  debate,, it's not meant to be a " I spent more money so my devise is better" thread, its not about what we/any of us think is best, its about what works for us as individuals, how we've come to use this item, our likes and dis like, what if any modifications we are working g on for it, or are we  thinking of moving on..once  the tread runs its coarse, hopefully there is a good discussion with our personalities revealed..and we all learn a little something.

I'll start with tip ups  or tilts.. around these parts we call them traps.
I build my own, I've owned most brands and have incorporated what I believe is the best attribute of each one in my builds..
My first trap was an actual tip up my dad made me from a design he saw in popular mechanics, it featured a sliding weight on the flag arm to alert me to a flag., he poured vegetable oil in the holes to keep them working when the temps were freezing, my first catch was a brown bull head on a sliver of hot dog..I wish I still had them but they were lost during a house fire when I was in high school.

I'm a fan of large spools, the added line capacity gives weight which IMHO allows a slow rolling fish to feel less resistance.in the same manner a fly wheel aids an engine.. i rarely get dropped baits, in my mind the weight of the spools is the reason, and when you believe, you try harder.the 4" spool trips easier due to mechanical advantage..I grew up using the cross arm design,  and for no particular reason I've fallen in favor with a wider than most comercial made H style..

Let's have some fun with this and kill time until we can walk on water

HAPPY THANKS GIVING

[Dickbakers]

  Not much time for this.  North country ponds are all skimmed with light snow covering.  Safe ice might be here before Christmas.
I love the H tipups because they stow so well in my pack basket and sled.  I have replaced all spools with 4" and filled to top.
On SS my flasher will be my last and the battery is charged.Used my dremil  to sharpen my chisel after I did my toenails.
Ice cleats are still on my Mucks and look fine
Big investment will be my winter purchase of maggots and wax worms. 
I don't want to think about expensive line and leaders. I have spools of high quality mono that has served me well.
My hand drill batteries (20 volt)  are charged and my Nils 4 and 6" drills will be fine.
Dick

[Roccus]

Not much time for this.  North country ponds are all skimmed with light snow covering.  Safe ice might be here before Christmas.
I love the H tulips because they stow so well in my pack basket and sled.  I have replaced all spools with 4" and filled to top.
On SS my flasher will be my last and the battery is charged.Used my dremil  to sharpen my chisel after I did my toenails.
Ice cleats are still on my Mucks and look fine
Big investment will be my winter purchase of maggots and wax worms. 
I don't want to think about expensive line and leaders. I have spools of high quality mono that has served me well.
My hand drill batteries (20 volt)  are charged and my Nils 4 and 6" drills will be fine.
Dick

Nice, a actually put in my order forc1000 European night crawlers today.

[Arctic Addict]

Joe and Dick,

Don't mean to hijack the thread but wanted to wish you both a great Thanksgiving.  It's been a number of years we've been contributing on this forum and you fellas consistently put out a lot of good intel for the rest of us.  Thank you.

[PoolGuy]

Happy Thanksgiving guys/gals

I started prepping last week, after a long summer I’m looking forward to my down time which started last week....I filled the freezer with some venison from Maine now working on my NH tag, plugged the vexialr in, that’s charged... Got the Ranger registered and will change the oil and make sure it’s ready to roll....
I picked up some seaguar ice line for the jig rods... I’ll replace all the leaders on my traps, looking forward to a second season with my Jack Traps I bought last season.... 

[Hottuna5150]

A very happy thanksgiving to all you folks. I hope everybody has a happy and healthy holiday season.

This season my plan is to try my hand again with tying my own lake trout jigs. Never had much luck with buck tails in the past, usually do my damage with spoons or plastics, but after seeing how effective flies were in open water I figure tying similar patterns might do well in hardwater.

[Dickbakers]

 ???Joe,  Used crawlers one for tidal white perch but you will have to tell me about ice fishing advantage. 
Dick

[Digs]

A very happy thanksgiving to all you folks. I hope everybody has a happy and healthy holiday season.

This season my plan is to try my hand again with tying my own lake trout jigs. Never had much luck with buck tails in the past, usually do my damage with spoons or plastics, but after seeing how effective flies were in open water I figure tying similar patterns might do well in hardwater.

This will be my second season of tying jigs. I started last fall and used all my own bucktails and did well. Don't give up on the bucktails it took me awhile to change over from spoons due to a lack of confidence in them. If you have any questions on tying them up feel free to ask away. I also tie small tungsten jig heads with some bucktail fur and did really well on brookies and pan fish too!

[Roccus]

???Joe,  Used crawlers one for tidal white perch but you will have to tell me about ice fishing advantage. 
Dick

These European crawlers are a cousin to the red worm, and are about half the size of a Canadian crawler,they are extremely hardy and can withstand temps right down just short of freezing,they also are very durable on the hook..I use them to tip my swedish pimples,  but they are good for those days the perch just want to play with their food and knock off the shiners but dont eat them , they are also a great trout bait, because they are very active even after soaking for an hour..

Thet are easy to keep,I put about 2" of leaf litter in one of those plastic bins that. Have the interlocking folding tops, to that I add shredded paper and commercially prepared worm bedding,I use a spray bottle to keep them moist, I feed them lettuce, apple cores, pear cores and any un cooked vegetable scraps, leave right on top so it doesnt get moldy,feed only once they consume the last feeding, they multiply quickly so you will have plenty of size range.in the spring, I dump them in the compost heap and start a new colony in the late summer, I buy mine from speedy worm, i buy 1000 for like 40 bucks and. Change, i order after the heat of the summer and before it gets cold so i dont have to pay for expedited shipping, i screwed up this year and lost track of time, damn shipping cost almost as much as the worms... I think I am going to make an outdoor worm bed next to the garden then I won't need to buy any next year, I'll put them out in the spring and dig em up in the fall, I tried keeping them in the basement  one summer, but it's too much work and the dampness of the bed attracts silverfish.

[Roccus]

A very happy thanksgiving to all you folks. I hope everybody has a happy and healthy holiday season.

This season my plan is to try my hand again with tying my own lake trout jigs. Never had much luck with buck tails in the past, usually do my damage with spoons or plastics, but after seeing how effective flies were in open water I figure tying similar patterns might do well in hardwater.

Like Diggs said, bucktails are awesome lures, most fisherman, myself included dont use them enough, I use them a ton in salt water but really should use them more often on the hard water.ive said it before, if I could only have one lure it would be a bucktail.

[800stealth]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Good thread idea Roc. Not much for new gear for me this year, just the basic restocking type stuff. Though I did pick up a vintage Artic Cat for getting around this year, so much lighter and simpler than my modern sled and wheeler. Not much I couldn't repair on the old girl trail side with vise grips, duct tape and a matchbook (some of you older fellas will get the matchbook) and it has a pull start which is huge to me for not getting stranded. Picked up a new Otter Lodge flip last year that I intend to give the full mod treatment to like I did the Bayrunner but it just hasn't happened yet. So it's turkey and family today then the next few days will be getting ice gear in order, getting the Denali all stocked and loaded up so it's ready at a moments notice then the wait begins. Good luck out there everybody, be safe.

[Hottuna5150]

This will be my second season of tying jigs. I started last fall and used all my own bucktails and did well. Don't give up on the bucktails it took me awhile to change over from spoons due to a lack of confidence in them. If you have any questions on tying them up feel free to ask away. I also tie small tungsten jig heads with some bucktail fur and did really well on brookies and pan fish too!

Appreciate that Digs. Being a converted bass guy I definitely favor jigs with plastics as my fall back confidence lures. To be fair my first attempt at buck tails was years ago when I first started tying flies and though I’d get lookers I couldn’t ever seem to connect. I’m no pro but I’d like to think I’ve gotten a bit better since (at least my summer flies work better). Once I actually get my behind in gear I’d love to bounce ideas off you.

Roccus you’re not the first I’ve heard that about buck tails from. I’ve been right next to guys crushing lake trout with them and I can’t get a bite (had a friend growing up that would do the same to me striper fishing). I switch to a paddle tail/swim bait and can hold my own (most days). Takes time to build that confidence with anything I guess and it’s so hard not to jump back to old favorites.

[Roccus]

Appreciate that Digs. Being a converted bass guy I definitely favor jigs with plastics as my fall back confidence lures. To be fair my first attempt at buck tails was years ago when I first started tying flies and though I’d get lookers I couldn’t ever seem to connect. I’m no pro but I’d like to think I’ve gotten a bit better since (at least my summer flies work better). Once I actually get my behind in gear I’d love to bounce ideas off you.

Roccus you’re not the first I’ve heard that about buck tails from. I’ve been right next to guys crushing lake trout with them and I can’t get a bite (had a friend growing up that would do the same to me striper fishing). I switch to a paddle tail/swim bait and can hold my own (most days). Takes time to build that confidence with anything I guess and it’s so hard not to jump back to old favorites.

Funny all this jig talk, inward setting up bait tank this morning,  I has to move this stuff out of the way





I laid some green flashaboo on top of the box, I like a few strands along the outside to imitate a lateral line.

I still use them alot for strioers.

[Dipstick]

I've been known to tie a buck or three for lakers. Don't forget to match the hatch for your panfish in winter no new gear for me this year, just sticking to what works, but always got some weird stuff in the box for those "off days". Good luck to all and please stay safe

[DrummerManDrew]

One tool I have been after was a solid battery pack system that I could either downsize or increase due to the application I choose to power. I was turned on to LiFePo4 style batteries as the latest and greatest in the battery tech world. Cost of these units can get pretty high when looking at a 50ah to 100ah source. I met someone on a different site that was providing feed back on a sled mod I was working and this gentlemen turned me on to Miady batteries. 12V 16Ah Deep Cycle LiFePO4 Battery, 2000 Cycles Miady LFP16AH Rechargeable Battery specifically is what I got for reference.  At close to 50 dollars a unit I found running a parallel configuration would allow me to get close to the desrired amp hour without coming close to the 50ah-100ah cost... My question about this gear to everyone here is, has anyone experimented with the Miady brand compared to other LiFePo4 brands and has anyone notice a difference in performance over the cost difference? I guess more so... some companies can get higher cost for brand names and this seems to be a unit providing the same power source at a more reasonable cost.

[Guinea]

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

On the subject of bucktails, I still need to update my old lead ones. I went without them last year. What material are you guys using?

A friend of mine borrowed my campstove and tank adapter, and, well, I ordered those items last night for this season. His son is living off grid and needs it more than I do, so I cut ties with $60 lol.

The thing I really need to do is practice setting up the Quickfish I bought last year. I only had it out when friend and off-grid kid came with me, and they set up/tore down. I want to have it down pat when I'm doing it alone in a breeze.

[Roccus]

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

On the subject of bucktails, I still need to update my old lead ones. I went without them last year. What material are you guys using?

A friend of mine borrowed my campstove and tank adapter, and, well, I ordered those items last night for this season. His son is living off grid and needs it more than I do, so I cut ties with $60 lol.

The thing I really need to do is practice setting up the Quickfish I bought last year. I only had it out when friend and off-grid kid came with me, and they set up/tore down. I want to have it down pat when I'm doing it alone in a breeze.

Definitely a learned science, I have one of the eskimo hubs,  a 3 man..I've had it a few years and it still gives me fits.it seels if you anchor the side in the wind it cooperates little better.I also have the one man wide one, its heavy but is pretty easy to set up..but packing it up can be a pain..if the sun comes put tomorrow I'm going to set up in the back yard and air them out.

[Roccus]

Got my bait tank up and running today,
In the past it was kept in a lean too outside, running power and keeping it from freezing and clearing a path through the snow was alot of work, 2 years ago I brought it into the shop, air temp is around 65 down there,I lost alot of bait that year, last year I made a "red neck chiller" which basically is a cooling tower and required an extra pump and hoses running outside..it worked well but still left water temps in the low 50's most of the time, I had a few but not many issues on the coldest days..so I've gone the extra mile this season.
This year, I've gone to a 1/10 hp chiller that I took off my sea horse tank when I broke it down..

I plumbed water for changes and top off with pex, now I just open a ball valve to add water, I added a bulkhead fitting with a screen on the bottom that feeds another pump so I can. Fill my bait bucket and pump water for water changes to a drain in the slop sink in the shop.
Filtration comes in the form of a Fluval 300gph.filter that exists through the chiller,  I'll keep the water at 40..the pick up for the filter is a 1",pvc pipe centered in the tank and drilled full of 1/8" holes.
I had everything I needed laying around because of my fish keeping hobby, I am going to spend  a few bucks on a roll of insulation, the scraps are ugly!

[Coffin Dodger]

New bait tank looks good, Joe.
Round and blue are good.
Nice that you had that chiller on hand.

[DrummerManDrew]

That’s a very impressive set up!

[jethro]

On the subject of bucktails, I still need to update my old lead ones. I went without them last year. What material are you guys using?

I'm almost always using big 1oz bucktails that we can still have in lead. If I'm fishing for trout and I want anything smaller I'll go to a swedish pimple or something else. I have some small jigs for perch and crappie and they are all tungsten.

[Roccus]

New bait tank looks good, Joe.
Round and blue are good.
Nice that you had that chiller on hand.

Yup, chiller  brings it down to 42, I set it at 40 but it has a  built in 2 degree variance.. I can live with that.
Now we need ice.

[Hottuna5150]

Roccus that’s awesome. I’ll admit I’m a little bummed to hear your redneck chiller didn’t quite do the job. Was going to try something similar this year but I’ll have to figure something else out. (Was hoping not to have to spring for a real chiller).

Anyhow, I built a system a lot like your current set up for work and it works great. I think you’ll be very happy with your results this year.

[800stealth]

Helluva bait setup Roc, I'm sure you'll keep em happy and healthy in there. No tank for me this year, just gonna roll the dice with local shops this season. I'll get something setup again for next year though.

[Roccus]

Roccus that’s awesome. I’ll admit I’m a little bummed to hear your redneck chiller didn’t quite do the job. Was going to try something similar this year but I’ll have to figure something else out. (Was hoping not to have to spring for a real chiller).

Anyhow, I built a system a lot like your current set up for work and it works great. I think you’ll be very happy with your results this year.

The biggest issue with the red. Neck chiller was lack of real cold weather in my neck of the woods.. when it was teens during the day it worked great.. global warming got the best of me.

[Roccus]

Helluva bait setup Roc, I'm sure you'll keep em happy and healthy in there. No tank for me this year, just gonna roll the dice with local shops this season. I'll get something setup again for next year though.

Definitely more convenient to get bait on the way, When Nutes  opened early it worked good for me, but last season they went open, The traffic circle, didn't have a good variety and didn't open until 6, days half over by the time I got my traps set up.

[Guinea]

Yup, chiller  brings it down to 42, I set it at 40 but it has a  built in 2 degree variance.. I can live with that.
Now we need ice.

Show off. I wasn't able to take pictures of mine set up in the yard today because I was tangled up in it lol.

I finally set up/tore down twice and have a slight clue, but now it's in the middle of my livingroom half in the travel bag. I think I'll stick with the windbreak when I go solo!

[Coffin Dodger]

I'm almost always using big 1oz bucktails that we can still have in lead. If I'm fishing for trout and I want anything smaller I'll go to a swedish pimple or something else. I have some small jigs for perch and crappie and they are all tungsten.

Jethro, for clarification for all. "Please take note: The laws prohibiting the use and sale of certain lead sinkers and jigs have changed to include all sinkers and jigs with a total weight of one ounce or less."

Cool pic of your gear, Joe.  That's a lot of trips to air out your gear. 
Steph, a lot of those provided bags are a challenge. I liked to take the time to roll them up as tight as I could. Better yet, try to scrounge up an oversized bag. Good luck

[Roccus]

Show off. I wasn't able to take pictures of mine set up in the yard today because I was tangled up in it lol.

I finally set up/tore down twice and have a slight clue, but now it's in the middle of my livingroom half in the travel bag. I think I'll stick with the windbreak when I go solo!

I'm just lucky no one had a vidio camera, I had quite a dance with the quick fish..once was enough!..puttimg it back in the bag wasn't half bad.the pop up is eady, but very heavy, it barely fits out of the basement door.. I dragged it over and put it under the tarp with my lobster pots.
I'm short a slammer, no idea where it is..
Fired up the jiffy, startedn3rd pull, has t rin since the derby.

[800stealth]

Definitely more convenient to get bait on the way, When Nutes  opened early it worked good for me, but last season they went open, The traffic circle, didn't have a good variety and didn't open until 6, days half over by the time I got my traps set up.

I usually do ok picking them up the night before and just keeping them nice and cold... I'd rather have them at the ready in my utility room but when i started filling the tank (a blue plastic 55 gallon drum with the top cut off)  a few weeks ago and realized that I some how cracked the bottom of it over the summer. Not really enough time to start over now so store bought it is this year...