![]() ![]() ![]() Through all my years of ice fishing, my friends and I have a lot of days on the ice chasing pike, and there is no better way to catch a big pike than by hanging a dead cisco or sucker minnow on a quick-strike rig beneath a tip-up. If you want to consistently put large pike on the ice you need to add a couple of tip-ups to your arsenal. I’m going to keep it short and simple here. For lighter presentations, I’ll just attach a lighter leader of mono or fluorocarbon line to the heavier tip-up line. I like 30 or 40-pound test designed for use on tip-ups. When it comes to spooling up your tip-up, I like to use a heavy line, which is easier to handle and resists tangles. I carry only the disc-style tip-ups with me and the best one I have found so far is the Frabill Pro Thermal Round Tip-up. Rail-style tip-ups also don’t store as easily as the disc-style, which fits perfectly into a five-gallon bucket. Rail style works fine, but when it’s chilly out they require anglers to make the rounds every so often to keep the holes open. Disc tip-ups cover the hole and help insulate it to slow the formation of ice. There are a couple of different designs of tip-ups: disc style and rail style. They handle heavier lines very well and are better suited for larger predators like lake trout, larger walleye, and especially pike. Tip-ups are not the best for light line, finesse presentation that we typically use for panfish or smaller trout and walleye. While using a traditional rod and reel remains the most popular tactic for many anglers, tip-ups-which hold a presentation stationary beneath a hole-have their time and place as well. When it comes to ice fishing, it's surprising how many different techniques there are to catch fish, considering the only way to get a lure in front of the fish is to drop a line through a hole.
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