Ice Fishing Gear Up
 

OK, I want to re-line some tip-ups. What do people recommend for line? And what do people typically use for leader material?

Also - recommended hooks for shiners?

Thanks,

John

Use dacron and a 3 or 4 foot mono leader I used 8 pound test

I can't remember what size hooks I think 6's

I use Woodstock ice fishing line... They had some at Red Top and KTP, was cheap and works well.

Leader I use flouro... 8-12 lb test. Ice line-Swivel-Flouro. Don't forget to put a button on your ice line before you tie on the swivel so you have a depth marker!

Hooks I think I use a size 4... Not sure... A few packs of Gami's (octopus or circle) in sizes 8-6-4 should have you covered for pretty much anything. Maybe grab some wire as well if you think you might be targeting big pike or pickerel.

i use 30 lb ice line on my tip ups. 10 lb flouro leades- 4 feet. size 2-4-6 red gami octopus or 2-4-6 eagle claw bait holder hooks . small split shot on the ones i want to run deep / no shot on the hi-lines.

Dont go less than a 10# leader. Also use the wide gap Gamis for the shiners.

I use black dacron and no leader. Just tie direct to it. Im going to try a few with a leader this year and see if there is any noticeable difference.

Dacron and 8# wire braid

I'll second the Woodstock line.

They have it @ KTP.

Woodstock Braided Nylon Ice Fishing Line Kittery Trading Post

I like to fill the spool 2/3 of the way with cheap 15lb mono, then fill the rest of the way with the wood stock TDF mentioned.. but I probably have a dozen filld with 40lb Cortland green dot dacron... a small button threaded on the line ahead of the swivel for marking the depth... I'm fussy so i splice a loop on the end of the line capturing the swivel, it makes for a smoothe transition, as often times the knot is larger than the swivel.. ( 30lb)... for most ponds, 10lb leader will suffice, where the pickerel are plentyfull, you will be doing yourself a favor by using 15lb test, unless you want to keep tieing hooks and possibly loose a few to bite offs... for leader material, i find cortland camoflage to be the most abrasion resistant with a nice balance of stretch ( you are hand lining here) and thin diameter... I make my leaders the length of the trap ... for trout I use 4' of 4lb floro...
for hooks, #4 for medium shiners .. I prefer Gami octopuss style... J hooks, pikerel have a nasty habit of taking a few feet of line and sitting on the bait, they can be difficult to hook with a circle, especialy for children... for bass or any fish running, circles work fine...

for large medium and large shiners, i prefer #2's... but as with salt water fishing, I like to use the smallest hook I can get away with...

Yeah. Don't forget to put a button on the main line.

Thank you Gentlemen ;)

And don't forget your jiggin' stick!

Use the old power pro off your surf reels. My bro loaded up all our tip ups with 50# power pro that was left on the reels from last season. Works great and the stuff lasts forever. We were using 12# trilene xl for leaders on the trout setups and 20# big game for the bass. Gami octopus and shiner hooks in 1,1/0, and 2/0 sizes. For ice fishing like what I do, its really tough to screw it up as many things work well.

power pro is great until.... a big fish makes a run and slices your hand to the bone....I saw a guy get 9 stitches just that way ...

awesome pics BTW.. those smiles say it all!

John: good to hear you're rigging up for the ice. I have a few different sets of leaders hanging on my walls. I keep them taught with thumbtacks until I know what kind of fishing I'm doing and then switch 'em out. I sure as heck wouldn't want to target pike with my trout leaders, or target walleye with my pike leaders, and so on...IMO, there is no one leader formula that is perfect for all the fish that I target through the ice. PM if you want to know any leader/tackle specs. Good luck!

Glad you posted that Joe. Most of the stuff I catch is under 3#, so I never really need to pay out line, but point well taken. I could see a big pike or salmon doing serious damage.

something else I forgot to mention that i have been doing for 45+ years... i wrap upright with black electrical tape from the cross bar to a few inches or so above the spool.. reason being... the black absorbs any sunlight and keeps ice from forming on the wooden upright.. on those cloudy days, the ice easily slide off the tape with a getle tap of the ice or a slight wiggle of the up right.. with out it you have to contend with an ice ball... it's a trick i learnd from an old friend of my dads back when I was a young-in...it's served well...

I used to use this heavy grey line for easy hand lining and add a long , like 12 feet of leader. haven't seen that heavy hand line lately so when I need to replace a spool on a tilt i use a thick dacron. If you will use thick line thats easy to grab , you need a long leader.The leaders have to be sized to your most likely species and size. For a stocked trout derby for example , 99 percent of the fish will be 1 or 2 pound trout, trout are fussy so I use a thin leader , like 8 lb XL. For fishing a normal pond with bass , pickeral perch , I would go to 12 lb leader. For places known to have very nig bass and Northern Pike , I might go 16 pounds but more likely just a shorter 12 lb.

For shiners you do need a big gap hook. For powerbait for trout you need a small treble. I like to hook the shiners just ahead of the dorsal fin. They swim normal that way and live a long , long time. If possible , get a big gap , fine wire hook.