Tip-up Newbie ? - Frabill Arctic Fire Settings

[Zugunruhe]

Heading to North Dakota in a week for Spring Break going after jumbo perch, pike and maybe a bonus walleye or three 

I picked up some Frabill Arctic Fire tip-ups from Fleet Farm and plan to try them out on this trip, but need some advice on how to set the flags for perch vs. pike vs. walleyes.  The "T" the flag hooks on has a straight shaft and deep groove on one side, and a tapered shaft and narrow groove on the other.  When targeting perch and eyes, I'm guessing use either the narrow groove or place the flag somewhere on the tapered shaft depending upon how sensitive things need to be.  Am I in the ballpark here?

Appreciate any thoughts or advice you might have!

[WarBonnett]

Heading to North Dakota in a week for Spring Break going after jumbo perch, pike and maybe a bonus walleye or three 

I picked up some Frabill Arctic Fire tip-ups from Fleet Farm and plan to try them out on this trip, but need some advice on how to set the flags for perch vs. pike vs. walleyes.  The "T" the flag hooks on has a straight shaft and deep groove on one side, and a tapered shaft and narrow groove on the other.  When targeting perch and eyes, I'm guessing use either the narrow groove or place the flag somewhere on the tapered shaft depending upon how sensitive things need to be.  Am I in the ballpark here?

Appreciate any thoughts or advice you might have!

  Yes, you're in the park. For the lightest set, use the shallowest grove and the "T" turn away or up the flag, this is done by witch side you set the flag under the "T".  This all depends on how the line is wound on the spool. For heavy set go deep grove and "T" turning back to the flag base. practise setting and tripping before you get on the ice, Good Luck !

                                Warbonnett

[Zugunruhe]

So I watched a brief Youtube video yesterday about using HT Polar tipups which are quite similar and the guy talked about moving the line guide up and down the shaft and hooking the line partially into the pigtail of the guide so the fish had to actually pull hard enough to get it to spool freely (he referred to it as setting the drag).  Do any of you do this or does your line simply go through the guide so the fish feels no resistance?

[surflizard]

Depending on which direction the fish runs when taking the bait, pinching the line in the line guide can  cause the line to roll over itself and knot up on the line guide, Not a good idea in my opinion !
  I run the Arctic fire traps and they have worked well on all the panfish species and Trout and Salmon. If you are targeting pike with big bait, there is a safer way to add drag, slide the line guide coil down the spool shaft till it is tight against the top of the spool and then slide the plastic sleeve on the shaft down tight on the line guide coil and it acts like a drag to control big bait ! Try it at home and experiment with the force of the sleeve and see how much resistance it creates ! Good luck and stay safe out there !

[paperboy05]

Heading to North Dakota in a week for Spring Break going after jumbo perch, pike and maybe a bonus walleye or three 

Be careful if you're still planning on going. The ice is starting to disappear quite quickly and will only get worse.

[Zugunruhe]

Thanks for the replies guys.  Unfortunately we had to pull the plug on the trip due to the ridiculous warm week we have ahead of us.  NOAA actually issued a "Hydrologic Warning" which I had never seen before, for North Dakota.  Basically, the rapidly melting snow and resulting runoff would compromise even 25-30" of ice in a matter of days.  It sucks, but after the season we've had (or the lack thereof) I shouldn't be surprised.  We will try again next year!

Good advice on the "drag", I hadn't thought about friction between the guide and spool, I'll give that a try.

Happy Spring