Author Topic: favorite tipup (Read 54333 times)

bearME · « **Reply #60 on:** Feb 07, 2005, 04:29 PM »

Put me down for Jack Traps 31" std. These are some well built traps. I know allot think they are way over priced , maybe they are ? I look at it this way , HT Laker's are in the 20$ range give or take. I paid 30$ for my jacks. I get stainless hardwear , Polly coated wood , cloth flag , Aluminum reel. These in my opinion are well worth the 10$ or so cost over the HT. Just my opinion.. Is anyone familiar with Allagash traps? I saw these at a store once and they looked like a quality trap . I'm not sure where to find them , the store I saw them in has sold out.

Mad_Ital · « **Reply #61 on:** Feb 15, 2005, 11:53 AM »

My favorite are the green tip-ups. Flags fly about 3 ft in the air.

icefishmaine · « **Reply #62 on:** Mar 09, 2005, 06:13 PM »

31" standard jack trap

CT Ice Dawg · « **Reply #63 on:** Mar 09, 2005, 11:55 PM »

Mine when their done

Ahhh the sweet smell of Mahogany

racase122 · « **Reply #64 on:** Mar 27, 2005, 09:23 PM »

HT, orange frames.
Added reflective tape to flag.

Never had a problem yet....

Gamalot · « **Reply #65 on:** Mar 28, 2005, 11:03 PM »

I fished for many years with Artic fisherman Beaver dams and liked them!
I bought 5 Heritage Laker 31 " cross braces last year and love these alot.
I just received an order of 5 new 31" Cross jack traps in Oak and I like the way they look and feel so far.
Will post next season if I am able to determine a winner between the three top rated rigs.
They each have their good and not so good points but all three are nothing but quality.
You will not go wrong with either so I guess you need to try them out for the type of fishing you do and see what works and feels best to you.
The Beaver Dams are too short and tough to see when there is snow and they are a pain to wind up at the end of the day and not great for deep water because of the tiny spool.
The Heritage lakers have issues with the pressed reel shaft and other parts getting loose, the drags don't work properly if the wood swells up and you have not made the shaft repair. They do work great, have big reels for deep water and are easy to pick up at the end of the day.
The Jack Traps are gorgeous, well made, have a great finish and large spool for deep water and appear to be easy to pick up however, I have not yet had them wet and it seems like the flags could be hard to set with freezing wet hands and there is no easily adjustable drag system to keep large bait from tripping the flag.
I don't yet know if this will be a problem because the flag, when set appears to be set very well.
There is alot to deciding which is the favorite and one thing I will be looking for is if the ice forms around the upright and makes the folding a chore.
More to come next season on this ever present thread.

IceHouse · « **Reply #66 on:** Mar 29, 2005, 10:38 AM »

I was looking into some new traps for the upcomming season and found everybody likes the Jacks and HL's...to my understanding the HL's do not come with a finish like the Jacks do....is it possible to remove all the parts from a HL and finish it yourself or will this hinder performance.

Gamalot · « **Reply #67 on:** Mar 29, 2005, 11:16 AM »

Ice house, In my opinion removing the parts from the HLs is the only way to go.
Finish the wood, screw the parts back in place and thru bolt the shafts in the process.
If there is one negative about these traps other then the lack of finish, it would be the press fit shafts on the reels.
Doing this would certainly be a BIG improvment and they can be a super nice looking tip up.
The Shafts are 10/32 thread, I replaced mine with stainless and a nut on both sides of the wood which stops the drag tightening when the wood swells. Use white lithium grease between the reel and shafts.
Have fun and it is a shame we have to buy new tip ups and immediately rebuild them to make them right.
Jack traps cost more but have most of this done already and if you feel the need for a drag when using big bait fish, it is an easy fix. From what is posted and my limited time with the Jacks, I don't see a real need for any upgrading out of the box.
My HLs will get a complete going over this summer.

Gamalot · « **Reply #68 on:** Nov 14, 2005, 09:16 PM »

Pin the shafts like you did MD or use threaded stainless rod and nuts on each side.
Either way solves the only "REEL" problem I can find with HLs.
Great tip ups and the drags work much better now the way I did it because I took the swelling of the wood out of the equasion.
Thought about pinning them but would still have the drags tightening as the wood swells.

Just a thought you might want to look into.

Gary

Adrock · « **Reply #69 on:** Nov 15, 2005, 11:32 AM »

I put together my own set last year. They are similar to the jack trap style of tip up. Been pretty happy with them so far. Already getting the itch to make a new set to improve some of the flaws.

Water Wolf · « **Reply #70 on:** Nov 16, 2005, 08:28 PM »

My favorite tipup is actually a regular rod or ice rod in a holder and used as a setline.
I loosen my drag a bit so the fish can slowly take line, with the flex of the rod the hooks are kept taught.
Plus fighting fish is a wee bit easier.

WW

madporider · « **Reply #71 on:** Nov 21, 2005, 02:25 PM »

being from wisconsin i ofcourse love the beaver dam tip up but i can remember when you could buy 3 for $30 not so anymore frabill makes a very close replica of the beaver dam at least you can get 2 for $30

Mad_Ital · « **Reply #72 on:** Nov 29, 2005, 07:50 AM »

I found this on the ARCTIC FISHERMAN WEBSITE. Anyone have any input? Looks like it may burn out a battery powered drill.
http://www.beaverdamtipup.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=27

OTIS · « **Reply #73 on:** Nov 29, 2005, 02:16 PM »

Just bought my first tip-ups, two 31" Jack-Traps. Hope they work as good as they look.

Gamalot · « **Reply #74 on:** Nov 29, 2005, 04:03 PM »

Congrats Otis, For just starting out and these being your first tip ups, you certainly started at the top!
Jacks are a fine tip up, better then most and I know of none that can claim absolute superiority over them.
There are those of us who have a never dieing need to invent a better trap and will always be comming up with what we think are improvments. Some are great while others are strictly personal additions or tweeks.

I think a Jack will catch fish either way if you fish where the fish are.
Like the rest of us, I suspect you are just itchng to here our favorite words

Flag UP!!!!!!!

suckerbait · « **Reply #75 on:** Nov 29, 2005, 07:20 PM »

I have fished polars for years and could not be happier. Just picked up a 31 inch jack trap with 4 inch spool. Wanted to check one out before buying a complete set. I was looking for a tip-up for deep snow or on lakes where motorized vehicles our a problem. I have to say I am not impressed with the tip-up. The trip wire hits on the spool every revolution and the spool itself makes a racket when turned. You know how sound travels through water! I don't want my tip-up making noise and spooking fish.Also I can see the split ring being a pain during cold conditions. I have tried to modify the trip wire and spool with no success. A lot will probably disagree with me, but in my opinion not worth the money.

OTIS · « **Reply #76 on:** Nov 29, 2005, 08:46 PM »

Thanks Gamalot, it was a tough decision. I looked at heritage laker's but I figured I'd have to do a lot of work to them to get them ready to fish. For the price they're cheaper than beaver damns, and ready for the ice. Let the games begin.

Gamalot · « **Reply #77 on:** Nov 30, 2005, 08:26 AM »

Otis, There is not much wrong with the HL's either. I used a teak oil to penetrate the wood as protection and I changed the reel shafts from the pressed in style to a threaded rod with nuts on each side of the wood. This upgrade keeps the reel from tightening up when the wood swells. Some guys here have mentioned that the drag mechenism either fails when the wood swells or the shaft actually loosens up and falls right off the tip up. Mine won't do either now.

Sorry to hear about your Jack Suckerbait. I don't have any with the larger reels and must honestly admit mine have not yet seen the water- bought them last year at the very end of fishing. I did do some tweeking on the reels as well because I noticed the loose and noisy fit. Again, mine are much better now. I am not yet sold on the split ring deal and will have to report back later on how that works.

I will admit Beavers have the smothest action of them all, just wish they made a stand up X model and kept the price in line with other good quality traps.

I must admit I have never found a tip up yet that did not require some sort of tweek or upgrade right out of the box but this is purely a personal and somewhat Anal approach.

I have made my own from scratch and purchased almost every style out there, that looked good to me, in search of the very best. They all have their good and bad points and they can all be made to function properly with a little thought.

I believe more then anything that manufacturing cost is what determines the final product and how well it functions. Some day a company will do it completely right in every aspect and have a victory or was it "Victor" who made the perfect mouse trap?

Gary

triple threat · « **Reply #78 on:** Feb 09, 2006, 06:58 PM »

My favorite tip up is the Jack Trap made in Maine, excellent quality, smooth, easy to trip. In my opinion it's the finest trap made.

Gamalot · « **Reply #79 on:** Feb 09, 2006, 10:28 PM »

After useing my Jacks now from the beginning of this season I have to agree with you Trip Threat. The modifications I have made on mine put them well above stock performance and as fine a trap as one can buy.
I do not like the split ring at all but found that a dab of PC 7 on the ring and spring steel keeps them in place just fine and makes setting a breeze with wet, frozen fingers.
My drag system and bushing on the reel shaft has these spinning silent and with what ever degree of tension I want or need.
I was out today and fishing with very large bait in very stiff winds. Only flags I had came from fish.
Mine are Oak with a dark Burgandy flag and I had my doubts about the flag color. With snow on the ice the flags are easier to see then any other tip up I own.
Think I am set for life in the tip up department and I do own five each of the HLs, Jacks, Beaver Dams, HT Polar therm Extremes and a nice set I made myself.
The Jacks will always have a place in my sled.

Gary

Roncarr · « **Reply #80 on:** Feb 10, 2006, 09:10 AM »

artic warior here in MASS you get a lot of days over 32 degrees when ice fishing so your holes dont freze up plus fightin em on rod reel ;Drules

Muskie Nut · « **Reply #81 on:** Dec 03, 2006, 02:15 AM »

Sure, Beaver Dams are great tip ups. But I prefer the Frabill Classics. To relube the shaft on a Beaver Dam, you have to heat the solder to remove it, then reheat it to reseal it....or send it in. With the Frabills, you remove the rubber tip, the trip mechanism and a nut. They work just as good as a Beaver Dam. Another example of where you pay for the name.

blazen36 · « **Reply #82 on:** Dec 15, 2006, 07:50 PM »

Beaver Dams all the way!

Tommyboy18769 · « **Reply #83 on:** Dec 15, 2006, 08:02 PM »

i havent had any trouble with my frabill hole insulated tipup...

MikeMunn · « **Reply #84 on:** Dec 15, 2006, 09:59 PM »

You'd have to pry my Jack Traps from my cold, dead fingers! LOL The split ring has never been a problem for me as it does seem to bug others though. I've never had a wind flag with them though, and after 6 years of use, they're as good as new. As long as no one runs them over with a sled or wheeler, I expect them to last for as long as I ice fish.

Smeltecca · « **Reply #85 on:** Dec 16, 2006, 12:21 PM »

I own a set of 31" cross style jack traps, they are the best of the best. On thin ice if I had to choose between saving my auger or my traps I'd be chipping holes for the rest of the season. I've never had a problem with the split rings like some guys. If they were the same price as everything else everyone would have them. They're not but you can't put a price on fun?

thor94 · « **Reply #86 on:** Dec 18, 2006, 07:15 PM »

I have several heritage lakers..like them alot. Bought five jacktraps last year, nice quality, but didn't like some of the features and sent them back. Bought some ancient tip-ups on ebay last year and like them better than any new ones. I'll use the 30+ year tip-ups before i reach for any others.

Bring on the cold!

Kyle_ · « **Reply #87 on:** Dec 18, 2006, 07:18 PM »

frabill thermal tipups..hands down THE BEST out there.

fish_finder · « **Reply #88 on:** Dec 19, 2006, 01:39 PM »

I use the polars mostly, i also have a whole whack of homemade ones that work quite well. I had the pleasure of fishing with a guy last year who used the fabrill thermals....think ill be investing in a few of those this year for sure.

Upgrade · « **Reply #89 on:** Dec 24, 2006, 10:27 AM »

My wife bought me a set of Heritage Lakers a couple of years ago and I love them. They work great and she got them for a steal. Heres a pick of one of them complete with my modified flag.

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Author Topic: favorite tipup (Read 54333 times)

bearME

CT Ice Dawg

IceHouse