I'd like to try ice fishing. There's a lake only 3 miles from my house that has TONS of yellow perch, which I understand are pretty good table fare. I was on ebay last night looking at tip-ups, and as I feared, there were about 85 different kinds. Prices ranged from about $5 each to about $30 each.

Any features that I definitely need (or don't need) in my tip-ups? I'm only looking to go a couple of times each season, probably limited to perch fishing at the lake near my house. So I don't need anything super heavy-duty.

Thanks,

Jamie

The cheap ones are fine for perch, and most of your typical pickerel, bass, trout. I have been using the same wooden cheapos for thirty years. No extra features necessary. I'd get a little jig stick too.

If you have any big pike or if the stock any big breeder trout or salmon around then you need the good ones.

I use the cheap ones too and have never had a problem . definately get a jigging rod it helps to have something to do besides cook , eat and watch tip ups . I have a stout and a light one . and pilsner is my favorite just in front of bock .

Cheaper the better. Even railroad salvage types would work.

I use the polar tip ups, yes more $, but they have grease filled tubes that dont freeze up, and 2 sensitivity positions for the release.

I have about fifty tilts in my possesion. Some are very old and locally made in the Worcester area. Names on the brass spools such as "Neverfail" and "Worcester". The ones I have used regularly are the green "tall boys". They are available at most shops, hold about 100 yards of 18 pound squidding line each and have a great release mechanism. I have six rigged for bass/pickeral and Pike and six for trout/salmon. On the bpp ones I use twelve pound fluro for bass'perch and when occasionally going north for pike I rig the clothes pin on the bottom and change the leader to 20 pound mono with a short wire to the hook. The clothespin holds the button like an outrigger clip as the one pound suckers we use for bait can easily trip the regular release. On the trout salmon rigs it's six pound fluoro (8 feet) to a size 8 Gamakatzu Octopus hook. Either red or gray. A tiny split shot up 18 inches from the shiner and hook. I never ever fish deeper than six feet under the ice for salmon no matter how deep the water. Trout I go six to twelve feet under same deal. I got three salmon last year and dropped a couple, I dropped one yesterday and average a couple each year though it's slow fishing so I fish regular ( non salmon stocked) trout ponds mostly. I think the trout in the cape ponds that are caught ice fishing are the most beautiful colored you can find. And the perch ponds of Harwich, Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet contain fish up to 15 inches. I once saw a guy named Ray Hultgren of Holden catch a 17 incher at Long Pond in Brewster. I luv to ice fish. And like EdB says get a jiggin stick.

The tension on the Polar tip ups is actually adjustable. Besides the two sides the flag can go under, the tube length (or depth) can be adjusted with the screw that holds it. It adjusts for ice thickness and can be raised to add even more tension for very large pike shiners and suckers.

Saying you are targting just perch while ice fishing is next to impossible. You can catch practically everything that swims in that particular pond while targeting one species.
set up different rigs and see what's biting in different areas and depths. At least you'll know what method to use for consistent action for the species you're targeting.
Now all we need is another cold spell to increase the ice thickness for a longer icefishing season.
It's either that or a couple of roadtrips.

I also use the Polar tip ups. Very easy to use and are nice and light. A great feature is that you can see the T spinning if the line is coming off the spool. You know wether to run or walk.

Today I couldnt even get my tip up in the hole before I caught a nice bass, I was saying man this shiner is strong then the reel really started spinning and set the hook. Only problem was it was the last fish for the next hour.

I had numerous times last year when ice fishing when I would get a hit right as the shiner cleared the ice. All I saw was the green torpedo (pickerel) fly by the hole as line starts screaming off the spool.
I've also had fish follow the shiner right up to the hole, turn at the last minute, then slam it when I put it back in the water. I've had that happen and have the fish yank the line right out of my hand. Thank goodness I wasn't using spiderwire braid.

I fished at Long Sought for Pond in Westford this weekend and spent the first hour or so racing from trap to trap. Lots of flags, plenty of fish.

Yellow perch caught through the ice is among the best fish I ever tasted. Too bad they aren't bigger. It takes about 6 to get a good meal out of it.

I would never use a thin braid on a tilt. Use a nice fat braid thats easy to grab with your hands. Be sure to use a leader to reduce the line visibility.

I always found I could get perch , bass , pickeral better with shiners but for trout , grub worms with some powerbait worked better.

Ice fished all day yesterday with my bud Eric Lafleur on a mid cape trout pond. I had 8 browns to 18 inches, one small rainbow and a twenty inch Tiger that a half hour before he hit my shiner hit Lafleurs and as Eric was hauling it up onto the ice broke off as the hook was in the chin not the mouth. Sure enough when I hauled it up there was the size 8 Gamakatzu in it's chin. Eric got a beautiful brown of just under 20 inches, a nice brookie, several more browns and a couple huge yellow perch one of which was 14-3/8 inches long and had a girth of just over ten inches. Huge. Ice was junk 6 to 12 mostly snow ice with a couple inches of black underneath. With the upcoming weather it won't be safe by Saturday on most of the bigger ponds which really sucks cause we were just getting started.

Thanks for the tips guys! I'll try to get out there next weekend!

dad gumit flap,
i couldnt catch that many round here in a month o sundays:laughs: :D

Rob-S, first ice ( safe ice) and these ponds are totally under fished when it comes to ice fishing. All the ponds having Salmon ( brood stock) stocked get the pressure. There are a bunch that hardly get touched and that's where we go. 2O Trout days are not uncommon on Cape and any pond with a herring run to boot is a bonus and the perch just gorge themselves on Herring fry so do the trout. The Browns especially. The Cape has 365 ponds and lakes, 80% are under fished. The Harwich/Brewster areas have some of the best perch jigging through the ice one can find in New England. I have fished VT. and NH and excpet for the Pike/walleye thing the ponds on the Cape have them beat, it's just that we never can be sure if we are going to get safe ice and a good year is from Jan. 13/15th to Presidents Day in Feb. Anything before or after is a real bonus.:)

Carefull out on the ice as Flaptail said!
Todays paper said that Webster lake was unsafe, and I was told someone went under the ice on Lake Quinsig in Worcester last sat.

Vb

I hear yah Flap! I always head to the Cape when it has ice. The salmon turned on this week but I missed that bite.:( I'm heading back on saturday hopefully the ice stays. The Cape also has one of the best pike ponds in the state everyone else fishes west and north.;)

I checked a couple we fished on this past week on my way in to work this morning. Looks like we have had it for this year. Open spots and lots of water on the ice. The ice was junk to start with with so much snow on top of the little black ice we had. If you go out tomorrow be very careful as I think it could be the last day unless we go into a hard freze for a another week or so. Dang this sucks.

We had about 10+ in Cen Mass. on wed. in Leicster.