What type of line for tip-ups?

[Kybar]

Just wondering how heavy should I go if I'm targeting big fish...40lb, 50lb, 60+lb test?  Do you guys primarily use Dacron line?  Does the color matter (white, black, etc?).  Also, how much should I have on the spool?  One last thing, is there any trick to keep big bait fish from running off the line and setting the flag off (in PA we're allowed to use legally taken gamefish as bait).  Thanks for the input.

[deadbait dave]

kybar, i use at least 100 lb dacron and at least 75 yds. i like a thicker line in my hands exspecially fighting big northern's. black is good but white can have it's advantage's. if i use white i usually color the first 20' of it with a permenant black maker. bait clips screwed to the bottom of my tilts hold my line with large live bait (i asume you want to use trout) it works well and you don't have to use a tip-up with a drag system, if the drag's are to tight it is a death sentence with big fish!         d. b. d.     

[Kybar]

Deadbait, Thanks for the advice!  I've never used bait clips before, but I'll look into them.  I just recently purchased a "heavy-duty" tip-up so I was going to set it up for big fish.  I will probably use perch, bluegill, or bass for bait.  My tip-up has a drag, but I thought that if I have it set too tight, the flag won't fly when a fish strikes...wasn't sure what you meant about the death sentence comment?  I figured with a drag that's too loose, the large bait will continually set off the flag.

[deadbait dave]

kybar the death sentence is 95% of the time if your drag is to tight and a big pike takes a big bait it will not keep it in it's mouth if the line comes off your tip-up so as to pull it's head in the direction that the line is comming from! if it feels a resistance or the line pressure against it's body it will drop the bait and  might not pick it up again! but there has been times while retrieving the bait slowly to reset the tip-up where the fish will grab it again! personally i dislike drags.a very simple bait clip can be a clothes pin screwed to the bottom of your tip-up. this lets you fish with no drag and set your line in the clip at the desired release strength.the initial strike pulls the line from the clothes pin and your line can flow freely with no resistance.even large bait to 12in. can be set with a bait clip to not pull up flags all day!       d. b. d.         

[brujharr]

20 lb. Dacron! Black!

[fish time]

i will put a pic on in a bit of what i use