Looking for tip up help

[pleasureseeker]

I'm hoping somebody can help get me going in the right direction. I have a Frabill 10" tip up... the orange thermal one. I'd like to target pike. What kind of line should I spool up with? How much? What kind and how much leader? Also, any advice on lures or hooks? Bait? I'm in western Colorado, so I can't use live minnows. In other words, I have no idea what I'm doing and could use some help. Thank you in advance!

[Superpole]

Spool up with braided tip-up line (45lb?).  If you put a button on the line(through 2 holes) you can keep track of the line depth.  You will need a leader, I usually use wire leaders but recently have been trying 50lb flourocarbon, about 18inches.  All that followed by a nice big, sharp trebel hook.  We usually use live bait in NY, but some swear by dead bait right on the bottom.  Pike can be very agressive so jigging something shiny might bring them in towards your less than lively bait (salted minnows??).  Good luck!

[big-brother]

Make sure to use the Seagar Flourocarbon leader material.............. .NOT the regular Flouro.

[michianafisherman]

Can you use supermarket smelt? If so, I would start there. I fish with a camera so when large pick are spotted in an area I break out the tip ups. It is best to put them on the zone and not the lets try over there approach. Buy some tip up rigs that have little flashers on them. Or make your own. Don't be afraid to use the dead bait, those Pike are eating machines!

[FRESHBAIT]

You can spool the tip up with a 30-45lb dacron/braided line,  then you could put on a snap swivel on to your leader material.   I usually set mine up with a quick strike rig done with coated wire.  my quick strike rigs  are about 3' long,  I've also done  a 6' leader of Flourocarbon 50lb test with a 2/0 hook.   
For bait just about anything will work, I've taken store bought smelts and stepped on them then stuck them on my hook and set the bait just up off bottom and done very well.  Suckers seem to work good for me to on quick strike rigs with their tails cut off,  large golden shiners on a quick strike rig also. 

[esox_xtm]

Hmmmm.... Pike, my favorite. My standard tip up spooling is 36# Dacron or equivalent diameter. Smaller and it can be hard to handle in the cold, larger and you lose line capacity. Most of my rigs are home made quick strikes fashioned from uncoated, stranded wire in 18 - 30# test; plenty for any fish on the planet if you don't get too excited. Don't need giant hooks either(#6 max), just strong.

No live bait, bummer.... but not the end of the world. Get the biggest dead stuff you can get your hands on..... well 8-10 inches is not too big. I've hung 14" herring and caught fish.... Rig it and hang it. Pike are shameless creatures and scavenge relentlessly.

 Last year we did good on hot dogs. Yup, you know it. Dirt cheap "Bar S" weenies, not only that, but marinated in their own juice with fresh garlic. Caught the snot out of pike......and nice ones too!

Don't get too hung up on rigging "finesse". As I said, pike are shameless creatures. They don't care about too much but eating when they want.

If you feel you must use a plastic leader, go fluorocarbon. Get the leader material, not the stuff you spool your reel with. And go no less than 50#, even then you risk a bite off.

Good luck!

Just my opinion based on my experiences......user mileage may vary.

/m

[SPADED]

X2 on the hot dogs.. round here we can get a pack for 88c and i get two, one to munch on cooked over the sunflower heater and the other pack for pike 

[pleasureseeker]

Thanks a ton you guys. Your advice wil be a big help. Now, all we need is a little ice. Thanks, again!

[DaveW731]

Something I do is to cut one more hole than I have tip-ups (In Michigan we can have 3 lines in the water at once, so I cut 4 holes: a triangle with one in the middle) and in the middle hole jig with a hookless spoon or lipless crankbait with rattles (silver is my favorite color) to attract pike in.  I can then repeat the pattern across the lake by cutting two holes at a time.
I will also cut a hole, jig for a minute with a spoon with cutbait, then put a tip up in that hole, cut another hole, jig, move the tip up if no flags, cut another hole, jig, etc.

[esox_xtm]

I like the way you think Dave.........

I played around last year jigging a lipless crank for pike. My son thought I was nuts until I smoked two fish in about 20 minutes in the same hole. I've often set my tippys in "The Magic Triangle" and moved around accordingly, but never thought about doing something "attractive" in the middle............. That'll be an ace up my sleeve at some point this season.

THIS is why I hang out @ IS............. I'm almost 60 and I still get fresh ideas! Prost!

/m

[icyveins]

Hmmmm.... Pike, my favorite. My standard tip up spooling is 36# Dacron or equivalent diameter. Smaller and it can be hard to handle in the cold, larger and you lose line capacity. Most of my rigs are home made quick strikes fashioned from uncoated, stranded wire in 18 - 30# test; plenty for any fish on the planet if you don't get too excited. Don't need giant hooks either(#6 max), just strong.

No live bait, bummer.... but not the end of the world. Get the biggest dead stuff you can get your hands on..... well 8-10 inches is not too big. I've hung 14" herring and caught fish.... Rig it and hang it. Pike are shameless creatures and scavenge relentlessly.

 Last year we did good on hot dogs. Yup, you know it. Dirt cheap "Bar S" weenies, not only that, but marinated in their own juice with fresh garlic. Caught the snot out of pike......and nice ones too!

Don't get too hung up on rigging "finesse". As I said, pike are shameless creatures. They don't care about too much but eating when they want.

If you feel you must use a plastic leader, go fluorocarbon. Get the leader material, not the stuff you spool your reel with. And go no less than 50#, even then you risk a bite off.

Good luck!

Just my opinion based on my experiences......user mileage may vary.

/m

I greatly appreciate all your help last year with the rigs you sent me! I had alot of luck with them! Thanks again!

[esox_xtm]

Hey icy.....

Glad to hear you had some good fortune with the rigs. They've been good to me over the years......

I only got out once last season. Wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer for Christmas 2010  and things just haven't been normal since. I'll get back to it eventually............ ..

/m

[poorfisherman]

We can't use live bait either.  I buy frozen smelts at the local  CO-OP.  Hang off a quick strike rig.  In the past I have used trebels but have moved over to circle hooks.

[jimyoumook]

x2 on the circle hooks they have worked great for me the past 2 years

[johnsaredneck]

superpole; I formerly used a button but found out a bead with agood size hole works better. I just loop the line through the hole twice, then hold on to the bead and a depthfinder pulls the line right through. I always had to feed the line through a button.

[DaveW731]

X3 on circle hooks.  I will never go back to trebles.  2/3 of the time I don't need pliers to unhook the fish.