do you use a button on your tip up line?

[Ironeagle]

I use the small bobbers. And sometimes little larger ones. And here why.. When fishing tip ups for perch and crappie, u know how you get flag Nd they drop the bait and all it does is slowly sink to bottom. Well if u use little bobber it makes ur line buoyant and just hangs there. If u give it a bit alot of times they will come back and grab it again. But if it sinks to bottom that rarely happenes.  That's why I use bobbers

[jbscrazies]

I tie on a small peice of a colored rubber band.  Slides easy, visible from the hole, comes off easily if you need to take it off.

[Hando]

i use those real tiny mini bobbers, i have also seen matches used

Ditto...

[coldsteel]

I use the small bobbers. And sometimes little larger ones. And here why.. When fishing tip ups for perch and crappie, u know how you get flag Nd they drop the bait and all it does is slowly sink to bottom. Well if u use little bobber it makes ur line buoyant and just hangs there. If u give it a bit alot of times they will come back and grab it again. But if it sinks to bottom that rarely happenes.  That's why I use bobbers

never thought of it that way but that is a pretty good point

[chez]

I use the small bobbers. And sometimes little larger ones. And here why.. When fishing tip ups for perch and crappie, u know how you get flag Nd they drop the bait and all it does is slowly sink to bottom. Well if u use little bobber it makes ur line buoyant and just hangs there. If u give it a bit alot of times they will come back and grab it again. But if it sinks to bottom that rarely happenes.  That's why I use bobbers.....GOOD IDEA BUDDY.

[caddy084]

I USE A TWO HOLE BUTTON .SLIDES EASY.EVEN ON THE COLDEST DAY.NEVER HAD A PROBLEM IN 40 PLUS YEARS.

Good tip chez, just might have to try that...

[JIGEMUP]

Piece of rubber band looped in line or waxed dental floss looped in line, easy to remove when done and cold and very easy to see on spool .

[PDubs/NH]

Ive always used buttons... I dont find the issue with moving them from shallow to deep or back any bigger than issues with any other method. Lots of good suggestions here.

Does anyone using even small bobbers worry about the resistance they will offer to a fish, esp. as they are brought deeper as the fish runs??


How about just a plain old paper clip? Seems it would work as well as a twist tie or an aligator clip....?


I dont know... buttons for me..

[Ironeagle]

Those boobers I'm referring to are made by ht. they are very small. The larger ones I'm referring to are about 1 inch across. Like old school clip on bobbers. I only clip one side too, not top and bottom. The reason being if it would happen to catch your line will slip through and not hang up. I almost never have that happen.

Also the question referring to the drag of bobber going through water an fish feeling resistance.. I think it has less resistance cause it helps neutralize the weight of the split shot on your rig. Just my redneck scientific guess lol

[caddy084]

Those boobers I'm referring to are made by ht. they are very small. The larger ones I'm referring to are about 1 inch across. Like old school clip on bobbers. I only clip one side too, not top and bottom. The reason being if it would happen to catch your line will slip through and not hang up. I almost never have that happen.

Also the question referring to the drag of bobber going through water an fish feeling resistance.. I think it has less resistance cause it helps neutralize the weight of the split shot on your rig. Just my redneck scientific guess lol

I do use those small bobbers on a set of old magnetic tip-ups, where the spool dosen't allow for the use of a button. You have to clip the bobbers on below the spool. I've always found that the small bobbers always seems to pick up weeds when fishing around them. Often wondered if the fish felt that resistance and dropped the bait. Anyone else encounter that when using them?

[walleyeken]

How about just a plain old paper clip? Seems it would work as well as a twist tie or an aligator clip....?

That is actually what i was thinking when i started this conversation - something like a small plastic clip that could be slid on and off with ease - instead of threading the line through the button. 

[JiggerMan]

what about the styrofoam pinch on flights that you use for strike indicators fly fishing.    they come in sheets of 20 or so and you get two sheets per pack.    All you do is peel off of sheet and put line in the middle and press the sides together.  to take off of line all you would need to do is pull it off. 

Only drawback would be they would be one depth mark use only. 

[Bailbuster]

Shallow water I have buttons  on my tipups, on the tipups I use for  lake trout deep water I use small alligator clips..

[gallitzinice]

Been using buttons since I started ice fishing 30 years ago.  Probably still using some of the same buttons.  Have the changed the line a few times though. 

[beeverfishing]

I have tried small split shot and they work.. But what I have found that works really well is hair spring clips.  You can get them really small, they are easy to remove / replace on the line,  come in various colors, but they don't grip tight enough that you would need to worry about them catching the ice.  Been using them for a couple years and they work great. 

[icebum]

buttons work and are the cheap way to go. the problem often comes when retrieving fish and the button catches the bottom of the ice, slips a couple of feet, and you don't notice. Now you are fishing a different depth. Small plastic bobbers wont slip and are worth the extra time they take to set up.

[richinpa]

We use small plastic beads. You can get 500 for a couple bucks and they are fast to set up !

[The Ricks]

I use twistons ...small lead strips that come in a matchbook style holder

[Fishingjg]

I don't know why you would want extra stuff in you pockets, bucket or whatever. I have been using buttons for years and really don't have a problem with them. You do have to watch because they can get caught on the ice, but you just have to use some care. I have polar tip ups now but I also used them with my wood tip ups.

[Notar]

I used a small rubber strip. one half inch square with the thickness consistent to that of a bike inner tube. The line is thread thru two small holes.  Slides easily and wraps flat on the spool at the end of the day!

[stripernut]

I used a small rubber strip. one half inch square with the thickness consistent to that of a bike inner tube. The line is thread thru two small holes.  Slides easily and wraps flat on the spool at the end of the day!

One of the best ideas I have heard on this thread, they sound much easier to use then buttons and nothing the catch on... For now I will stick with the "Clips" that I am using, I just don't want to be sliding anything up and down a wet line, when all I have to do is move my clip. It stays on the spool when not in use, so I have nothing to keep in my pockets...

[firefreak014]

you can buy tip up line markers, just look like small bobbers, made by H/T I think. I just attatch the bottom clip and they always stay put just fine, and are easy to clip on and off even with gloves.

[ice hammer]

I use either removable split shot or buttons, but prefer buttons.

[ldd]

Great idea