Heritage Laker Tip Up Drag System.........A drag?

[baginwal]

I own a variety of tip ups (10 heritage lakers, 10 Frabill Pro-Thermals and a bunch of the cheaper tip ups made years ago).

My go to tip ups for pike have always been the Heritage lakers (HL's).  

Now the question:  One of the things that attracted me to these over the others was the drag system.  I could tighten it up when i fish with large suckers and would not get false flags.  This has worked GREAT over the years (many pike caught....some "nobody home" flags).

 Based on this I never gave it a second thought as to maybe (because the drag does not lighten up after the sucker is taken), the pike might drop it due to the resistance.  As mentioned earlier, I have not seen a problem and I have fished the HL's for alot of years.  

What do you guys think?  Have any of you experienced a problem with drops when using HL's?  I thought about setting up my off-shore releases on my Frabill's, just to see if this makes a difference.

[Gamalot]

I agree and do not use the drag at all. If I fish with big baits I use an alligator clip with surgical tubing over the teeth as a release and screw it to the bottom of the down leg.

What bugged me was when you set the drag at first it is fine. After the wood gets to swelling in the water the drag tightens up. Check yours after a few hours and make sure they are still spinning at the same resistance when you set them.

I replaced all the pressed in shafts with bolts of the same thread size. Just drilled the hole all the way through and put a nut on the reel side and then installed the reels and drag. Now when the wood swells it does not tighten the drag.

Gary

[baginwal]

Gary:  Thanks for the info.

I noticed the same thing.  Every time i would get a flag, the drag would be tighter.  Fortunately, I realized this early on and readjusted accordingly

My shafts loosened up as well.  I used gorilla glue and have not had a problem since (with a loose shaft).  However,  I'm thinking it probably would have been better for me to do what you did (drill it through, etc).  Doing it the way i did still allows the wood to swell, thus tightening the drag.  I'm planning on staining and sealing the Laker's this spring.  Maybe this will minimize the swelling? 

[bart]

I agree and do not use the drag at all. If I fish with big baits I use an alligator clip with surgical tubing over the teeth as a release and screw it to the bottom of the down leg.

What bugged me was when you set the drag at first it is fine. After the wood gets to swelling in the water the drag tightens up. Check yours after a few hours and make sure they are still spinning at the same resistance when you set them.

I replaced all the pressed in shafts with bolts of the same thread size. Just drilled the hole all the way through and put a nut on the reel side and then installed the reels and drag. Now when the wood swells it does not tighten the drag.

Gary

Did a little search on Heritages and found some great advice, thanks!

[Chris Raymond]

I am not a fan of drag systems specifically due to what you mention.  I add slightly modified planer board clips to my tip-ups when using big baits for pike or extra weight to get down deep and/or counter current for lakers.  The resistance needed to hold the bait in place up until the time of the bite is there while it's resistance free once the fish runs.  Constant drag just does not seem to be the answer in my opinion. 

[Gamalot]

I am not a fan of drag systems specifically due to what you mention.  I add slightly modified planer board clips to my tip-ups when using big baits for pike or extra weight to get down deep and/or counter current for lakers.  The resistance needed to hold the bait in place up until the time of the bite is there while it's resistance free once the fish runs.  Constant drag just does not seem to be the answer in my opinion.

Weather you use a constant drag or not is up to you. The point of my post here is that the Heritage tip ups have a press fittied reel shaft that is subject to loosening and possibly falling right off. They are great tip ups but by changing the shafts with nuts on both sides of the wood you alleviate any possibility of failure at the crucial moment.

I used releases just like you in the beginning but had a big fish slam my bait and cause a backlash with a completely free spinning spool. The line jumped the reel and got tangled inside on the shaft. I use just enough resistance so the spool does not spin free enough to allow a backlash.

After fishing all day I bring my tip ups in and dry them by the coal stove. The wood swells from being saturated and then when it dries I was able to pull the shafts right out. If you have a drill press you could pin the shafts or glue if you trust that or do what I did and nut the shafts on both sides.

[Chris Raymond]

Hadn't ever thought about the backlash issue to be honest when I made those mods.  Thankfully I haven't experienced it yet.  Regarding the pressed in bolt issue, it's one of the reasons why I went with an other than HL brand of tip-up.  I too bring my tip-ups in the house to warm at night but it's more to do with simple de-icing than anything else. 

[Gamalot]

Yes Chris, the big pickerel are famous for slamming the bait causing the entire tip up to rock in the hole but they stop dead while they swallow before they make a run.

I have a set of Jack traps that I like much better but I still want just enough resistance so there is no free spinning.

[bart]

I had adjusted my spools to free- spool, never thought of backlash? I'm also considering Downrigger Releases if I graduate to the LARGE baits...

[delawareriver]

I dont use drag or release clips, might have one false flag a day even using 8" live trout or suckers. All I do is drop them down and hold the tip up line for a min to let the bait get settled then set the tip up. Ill haveto modify my lakers with the bolt trick, some good advice right there