Finicky Foolers - anyone using these?

[matzilla]

https://finickyfooler.com/products/finicky-fooler

Thoughts? Tips? What rods are you guys using with them?

[Tuma]

I use them and like them.  You can use any of the dead stick rods you make or almost any rod.  They work best with a bait feeder reel on your rod.  So far the best rod I have seen used in a finicky fooler is a JT walleye snare.

[jiggalo]

This will be my 4th season with them and I think they work better than tip-downs. Put a small baitfeeder on them as Tuma indicated and they are great for anything

[HWeber]

Didn't wanna pay that much for plastic so built my own, I'll see how they work this season. Best "tipup" trigger design imo. I think a tip down may be more sensitive though

[stinkyfingers]

It looks like someone spent some time and money designing and producing these devices and I'm all about American ingenuity.  From a fishing standpoint, however, it seems to function basically like a tip-up, a flag goes up to signal that a fish gave a little tug on the line while it was taking your bait. The reel is in free spool and your success in hooking up will be a function of how soon you notice the flag and how quickly you can scoot over there to grab the rod, flip the bail and set the hook. If your rod and reel is right there already, an argument could be made to just go ahead and use the energy potential in the rod as a hook setter. There are a couple of styles of those on the market though nothing as good as the ones you can build yourself. There are a lot of different ways to catch fish and a Finicky Fooler may be just the ticket for some guys and some fish though it wouldn't work so well out here in trout country in my opinion.

[matzilla]

I'd be using them with a very light dead stick rod so the flag is merely for telegraphing that there is a fish on. I would be using these for perch with minnows on weed flats. Tip ups are not my cup of tea - I would much rather reel a fish in than hand-over-hand

[kayl]

I have 6 and love them. I am not huge on tip ups; I'd rather fight fish with rod and reel. They work great and can be adjusted to be super sensitive or hold 8-10" suckers with ease. (I haven't fried bigger yet!)

I like them better than the automatic fisherman because they don't keep the rod in a loaded position. That said, I do have two automatic fisherman and a diy Ak fish trap that I'll use at times. The autos for when perch are super touchy and dropping minnows before I can set the hook and the fish trap when I'm out with the family and need a bigger set of lines.

Overall, the Finicky Fooler has been awesome. I only bought one at first to test, but quickly bought more when they were on sale.

[HWeber]

There's a hook set version out there if I remember right

[Bucket Rump]

Their hole covers have worked really well for me - use 'em with my older Beaver Dam tip ups.  Have one one of the FF's that I've tried a few times when fishing deeper water.

[Papa Sly]

I have 5 and love them. I had Jaw Jackers but hated that I didn't get to set the hook. I felt like I was a kid and my dad handed me a rod with the fish already hooked! You leave the bail open and set the hook yourself. I have caught 9" trout to over 5 lb bass and 36" pike and its always a blast on the rods. I also love their hole covers, best on the market.

[Papa Sly]

[holehopper]

I have two and used them last winter.  Love them.  Even used them in a hard sided house instead of a bobber.  This was a rental house and the floor of the house is elevated so it makes seeing a bobber difficult.  With an FF, you just wait for the flag to trip.  The part I like about the design is that the line has no resistance leaving the trigger arm.  I've used others that require you to clip onto the line and am not a fan of those. 

[matzilla]

Thanks for the responses guys! What type of line are you guys using? does it matter much?

[Papa Sly]

lite flouro

[kayl]

Thanks for the responses guys! What type of line are you guys using? does it matter much?

I use braid on my pike rods. If it's really cold I guess I'll switch to mono, but I've been lucky enough to avoid freezing issues.

[matzilla]

Seems to work pretty well....I set mine up with a size 25 Pflueger Trion that has 6lb Berkley Fireline Crystal braid, barrel swivel, 6lb fluoro leader, small split shot and #12 treble hook - ran a live rosie red. I used a bobber stop on the line to set depth. I'm going to add a bell to the flag to have a more audible bite detection

It wasn't as sensitive as my buddies' tip downs but it caught some decent fish none the less. Worked much better than a traditional tip up

[Dsouth883]

Awesome product I have 2 plus there hole covers, best hole covers I've ever used..............

[Ice Surveyor]

Used the finicky fooler last night and into the morning in the wheel house.  Had several minnow trips, must adjust the fooler for a harder trip.  Did catch one walleye on it, good fun reeling in fish on a rod.  The best product Finicky Fooler makes in my opinion, is their hole covers.  It was -2°F last night, and my tip ups never froze in, only a small skim of ice in the hole.  My buddy was using the standard foam hole covers, he had a hard time getting his tip ups out of the hole this morning. 

[ICEHOLE]

I love setting up my indian hill nor' easter whenever I can but i feel like jig rod set ups run into issues when the weather is very cold and/ or slush, the line will freeze in the hole and u no longer can freespool and the fish will feel the tension... if it wasnt for this i would probably have all my sets with jig rods...

[matzilla]

I love setting up my indian hill nor' easter whenever I can but i feel like jig rod set ups run into issues when the weather is very cold and/ or slush, the line will freeze in the hole and u no longer can freespool and the fish will feel the tension... if it wasnt for this i would probably have all my sets with jig rods...

Finicky fooler makes a great ice hole cover to prevent ice up....wax the rod guides and you are all set. On our last day it was 10 degrees outside and we had no problems with home made hole covers

[NateD]

How could it work "much better than a traditional tip up"? It is the same thing but with a rod.

[Seamonkey84]

How could it work "much better than a traditional tip up"? It is the same thing but with a rod.

I don’t have the foolers, but I use HT ice riggers with work similarly. Maybe it’s the hardware hanging down the hole, but I catch more trout in shallow water than my friends most days. The big downfall is if the holes start to freeze, so those hole covers are something I’m going to be looking into or making myself. I have the foam floor mats to cut, but I want to replicate the finicky fooler covers.

[matzilla]

How could it work "much better than a traditional tip up"? It is the same thing but with a rod.

Better adjustability / sensitivity

[jimhaney08]

Has anyone used these and the Clam Arctic Warriors to compare?  I have two of the Arctic Warriors, but the Finicky Foolers look like they're easier to set up.  The Arctic Warriors can be ultra sensitive when set properly, but the Finicky Foolers look easier to adjust.  Wondering if anyone can compare/contrast for me?

[NateD]

Better adjustability / sensitivity

My jack traps go off if a fish sniffs the bait, but they aren't adjustable so big bait will trip them. I've wanted to try these for a couple years but never wanted to mess around with hole covers, I use Ifishpros for bass and pike which work really well and have a hole cover built in but needs some insulation added.

[NateD]

I don’t have the foolers, but I use HT ice riggers with work similarly. Maybe it’s the hardware hanging down the hole, but I catch more trout in shallow water than my friends most days. The big downfall is if the holes start to freeze, so those hole covers are something I’m going to be looking into or making myself. I have the foam floor mats to cut, but I want to replicate the finicky fooler covers.

That is the one you clip the line with a little alligator clip right? I have one of those too but never could get the line in those clips just right, I've had a much better hook-up ratio with ifishpro.

[matzilla]

My jack traps go off if a fish sniffs the bait, but they aren't adjustable so big bait will trip them. I've wanted to try these for a couple years but never wanted to mess around with hole covers, I use Ifishpros for bass and pike which work really well and have a hole cover built in but needs some insulation added.

i used them without my hole covers on the warmer days - it works as well as an ifish pro for almost half the cost

[PikeKing23]

Nate-you should try some downrigger clips on your tip ups. I can't recommend them enough for big bait. Completely adjustable based on how far "in" the clip you put your line. After the initial take it's all free spool. Not tension like traps with built in resistance where you can set it. That resistance stays after the fish takes it. Downrigger clip are much better IMO.

[NateD]

i used them without my hole covers on the warmer days - it works as well as an ifish pro for almost half the cost

Not what I was trying to debate but got my ifish's on sale for 30 a few years ago

[NateD]

Nate-you should try some downrigger clips on your tip ups. I can't recommend them enough for big bait. Completely adjustable based on how far "in" the clip you put your line. After the initial take it's all free spool. Not tension like traps with built in resistance where you can set it. That resistance stays after the fish takes it. Downrigger clip are much better IMO.

That is a really good idea I haven't heard of that, my traps don't even have a drag so that's not even an option. I've done the rubber band thing where you shoved a bit of line under a rubber band but it is a pain. Do you attach the downrigger clip to the bottom of the trap somehow?