Dumb tip up question

[onebigtoe]

I know this will probably make some laugh, but here goes the question anyway. (remember, I have only gone ice fishing once and most of the time was spent drinking)

 

Why would the fish not be able to just pull the tip up down the hole once it was hooked? We never caught any on the tip-ups so no experience with this but considering they were those little wooden supplied ones. I just could not imagine anything other than a perch, not dragging the whole thing down the hole.

 

laugh away.... but I am sure it must happen.

Edited November 5, 2009 by onebigtoe

[vinnimon]

Ive never seen it happen.I have to thank you,reading your post gave me an idea.I recalled the icefishing equip ive seen go threw the holes.I think ive got it

[johnnyb]

depends on the tip-up. The ones that have the line wrapped right around them, with no spool...yes..they could conceivably go down the hole. They are really meant to be closely monitored.

The ones that have spools on them are designed to let the fish run...just don't let them run so long they spool you! Usually these have flags on them or something to let you know when the spool starts moving.

[Muskieman]

I've lost more then one tip-up down the drink......... it's gonna happen....

 

Usually you're within running distance from your line and it doesn't happen.......

I think that most people use a jiggin' rod nowadays........I know I do.

But when I do use a tip up ... it's attached to the branch with a nylon wrapped bungee .. that gives me a few

extra seconds to get to my line 'cause I'm outta shape.

 

And it also depends on what kind of " dead line" tip-up you're talking about.

 

 

RFS

[onebigtoe]

The kind I am referring to were the wooden ones we were supplied with at the huts, and are simply an L shaped base with a flat piece of wood as the rod and a nail attached in the middle as pivot point. I had to laugh at the comment they are meant to be closely monitored, because we did the "Set it and forget it" tactic, and drank beer. Live and learn i guess.

 

I think I will go buy a couple more of the good tip ups before we go again in Feb.

 

Hey, another dumb question. How do you guys deal with your lines freezing into the sides of the hole? Or is that just something you deal with? Sometimes it got pretty hard to dig the lines off the sides which made me think we were damaging the line.

[LucG]

Theres not much you can do about your holes freezing over but to clean them. We usually each take a turn, walking the holes and cleaing them out with the ice scoop. You'd be surprised on how many times it was the one cleaning the hole who got the big one!

 

I've also seen people cover their holes with styrofoam. I think Frabill even makes a model of some sort.

 

Good luck!

Edited November 6, 2009 by LucG

[Fisherman]

Well in about 25 years of ice fishing, I've never had the stick of a tip up go down the hole, maybe just sheer luck or paying attention. I made my own and the groove that the pivot nail swivels in is about 1/4" deep, almost impossible for it to kick out. The upright post and base are screwed together so there's no chance of that coming apart. I suppose if it was a big pike, they might snap the line, but the rest stays on top of the ice. I set my tip up base close enough to the hole that the line is far enough away from the sides of the hole, even when the holes frost over, a little smack with the ice scoop opens it up and the line is free.

[Jds63]

yes they could go down the hole, I have never had that happen yet

 

i only use the tip up when targeting whitefish, i suppose a laker could hit it but when using a spreader i watch the tip up very carefully and when it moves up ever so slightly thats the trigger for whitefish, i belive it taks some practice but it works