Annual "What are you purchasing" 2020 Thread

I don’t have a whole lot I’m planning on getting but a few small things.

-Clam Silkie trailers. I’m a bit biased but these add a lot of natural action to jigs. Basically a mini bass jig skirt but made out of natural silk and the action is pretty crazy. Caught a lot of fish during testing last season.

-Might jump on the 40V bandwagon. After using a buddies a few times last season it’s the best auger on the market in my opinion.

-New Jason Mitchell Mack rod. I own the Heavy model and love it for lake trout but they have made an extra heavy geared towards sturgeon through the ice.

-Eurotackle plastics and the newest Z-Viber which is even smaller to help target panfish.

My list is pretty boring this year. What’s yours look like?

I’m pretty excited about the new Eurotackle z-viber micros, I also got a couple and can’t wait to try them out.Besides them here’s a list of things I plan on getting.

– Humminbird helix 7 G3 ice kit, most excited about this and the mapping capability on these units.After doing some research it seems like a lithium battery is pretty much a must but I’m gonna try it out and see how it does with the factory battery.

-Elliott ice rod, looking at the Nomad or Rippin-eyes. Waiting to go check them out in person to see if they’re worth the money as there aren’t many reviews on them yet.

– Pop up shack, I currently run a 2 man flip over and a lot of times have more people that want to go fishing and have heard some good things about the 5/6 man clam pop ups.

– Lastly I need to get a bigger AH battery for my k-drill auger set up, I currently have 1 5AH dewalt battery and fishing new lakes i don’t get as many holes out of the battery as id like so I’m thinking of adding a 9AH flex volt battery this year and between the two that should get me plenty of battery life. Any thoughts on any of these? Cant wait for hard water and to hear what everyone else is getting.

Jknitter wrote:

I’m pretty excited about the new Eurotackle z-viber micros, I also got a couple and can’t wait to try them out.Besides them here’s a list of things I plan on getting.

– Humminbird helix 7 G3 ice kit, most excited about this and the mapping capability on these units.After doing some research it seems like a lithium battery is pretty much a must but I’m gonna try it out and see how it does with the factory battery.

-Elliott ice rod, looking at the Nomad or Rippin-eyes. Waiting to go check them out in person to see if they’re worth the money as there aren’t many reviews on them yet.

– Pop up shack, I currently run a 2 man flip over and a lot of times have more people that want to go fishing and have heard some good things about the 5/6 man clam pop ups.

– Lastly I need to get a bigger AH battery for my k-drill auger set up, I currently have 1 5AH dewalt battery and fishing new lakes i don’t get as many holes out of the battery as id like so I’m thinking of adding a 9AH flex volt battery this year and between the two that should get me plenty of battery life. Any thoughts on any of these? Cant wait for hard water and to hear what everyone else is getting.

You’ll definitely want lithium for your Helix. I was getting about 2-3 hours with my Helix 7 G2N with a standard flasher battery. With my lithium I get 8-10 hrs and I’m also running an Ice Defense and Glow Ring along with it.

I needed a new drill this year as my old one went belly up. Bought a dewalt 998, so the only thing I’m looking for is a good auger adapter for ta drill for my 6″ hand laser.

I have so much stuff the only thing I need new is a auger. And im hoping to find a new 2 stroke auger. No batteries for this guy. 1 auger will last years, im afraid the batteries alone cost what a auger does. And 5 years down the line the old batteries won’t be available any more.

Bearcat I still have the 4 stroke strikemaster for sale going to the cities tomorrow

Bearcat89 wrote:

I have so much stuff the only thing I need new is a auger. And im hoping to find a new 2 stroke auger. No batteries for this guy. 1 auger will last years, im afraid the batteries alone cost what a auger does. And 5 years down the line the old batteries won’t be available any more.

Buy barely used, guys could barely pay people to take their 2-strokes last year from what I say in classifieds. I think $50-100 will get you a great auger or two.

Just bought a castle this year so there is that. Gonna pull the trigger of the 40V also, some new rattle reels, hopefully that is it cuz I’m out of cash! Lol

I picked up a whole bunch of goodies at some year-end closeouts last year, so I’m excited to use some new tackle and rod combo.

– Still looking to possibly purchase a set of ice fishing bibs. I have held off for the past couple years because I do have a perfectly good pair of Gander Mtn Insulated Camo Hunting Bibs. Might just use them again this year.

– Maybe a nice flip-over for 2 people +. I have a really nice Clam single flip-over and a 2-man popup, but love the flip-over style. The FW or other buddies would be able to tag along.

Jknitter wrote:

-Elliott ice rod, looking at the Nomad or Rippin-eyes. Waiting to go check them out in person to see if they’re worth the money as there aren’t many reviews on them yet.

Never fished one, but I held a few at the ice show last year. They’re incredibly light and seem well built.

I purchased the 40V Strikemaster last year. It performed flawlessly all season. Didn’t miss my gas auger at all.

mahtofire14 wrote:

My list is pretty boring this year. What’s yours look like?

Yeah well I may buy some more Clam dropkick jigs and if I want to splurge I may get some new socks, how’s that for boring mahto

Just kidding, cool thread. To second and add to others’ comment, I really like that 40v Strikemaster auger. Very, very cool. It seemed like the most common sales I saw in recent years would involve the battery. In many cases you could buy one battery and get one free.

I don’t see myself making any exciting purchases this year, but my 1-5 year wish list includes:

-New very warm boots for feet that are always cold.

-A new rod (I still only fish with store combos. They seem to work just fine but I want to at least pretend I’m in the big leagues).

-A floating suit. Problem is I have an ice armor suit in great condition so I’ll probably wait until that needs replacing.

-Possibly a 4 or more person hub shelter. When I fish with others it tends to be planned around nicer days so we can all sit outside and I’d like to get a hub to increase the days we can go.

Auger. Jiffy is a POS!

Bluetooth speaker for jammin when I’m not catching anything.

Here is my list:

waxworms?

Newer 2 man flip over.

Possibly a new set of striker bibs since I can’t find mine after we moved…..

I feel like I’m ahead of the game this year. Bought a helix 5 for the boat and now i need to get a genz box, ram mounts and the iceducer for it.

After tearing apart my Dewalt dcd996 drill to replace the chuck that was cracked in 3 places i found the plastic Casing was cracked over half way across the drill…… not cool. So i bought a new one, luckily it was buy the drill for $160 and get a 5ah battery with it for free. Found a replacement chuck for the old drill so i guess i have a backup now.

Definitely going to get some new jigs, Z-vibers, maybe some of those sling blade jigs, pinheads, who knows……

eyeguy507 wrote:

Here is my list:
waxworms?

I have already bought a small fortune in tungsten jigs from Slayer, Maynard and RBM. I did pick up a new Marcum lithium battery also. I was quite surprised at the weight difference. Other than that I am ready for the ice. I am sure something will catch my eye or be too good a deal to pass up.

My biggest purchase this year is a Garmin Panoptixs ice fishing bundle. Cabela’s is running a special on them right now for $1499.97 instead of the regular price of $1899.99. at this price I couldn’t pass it up so I bought one and with the money I saved I was able to buy the Amped Outdoors Lithium Battery for it and still had money left over.

We sold our 6.5×16 Yetti last winter…

Then bought an Otter Resort…..and ordered a 27′ custom Ice Castle…..

2020 has been an evil year lol

B-man wrote:

We sold our 6.5×16 Yetti last winter…

Then bought an Otter Resort…..and ordered a 27′ custom Ice Castle…..

2020 has been an evil year lol

Going from Yeti to Ice Castle? What made you do that? I’ve always heard Yeti was “top of the line”.

mahtofire14 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>B-man wrote:</div>
We sold our 6.5×16 Yetti last winter…

Then bought an Otter Resort…..and ordered a 27′ custom Ice Castle…..

2020 has been an evil year lol

Going from Yeti to Ice Castle? What made you do that? I’ve always heard Yeti was “top of the line”.

They are, but to get a smaller and somewhat equivalent Yetti it would have cost $60,000+

Ice Castles don’t have quite the fit and finish of Yetti, but I can tune up any trim work myself and save tens of thousands of dollars…..Pine and stain are cheap

-Striker Predator bibs: I found them on clearance a couple months ago

-2 man flip over: I rarely sit still and need something extremely light as I put on miles a day on the river where vehicles and crowds don’t go. My current 1 man works great but sometimes a buddy will tag along.

-Helix Ice Kit: I’m debating pulling the Helix 7 off my bow and giving it a go on the ice

Beer
minnows
– don’t mix them up.

Strikemaster 40v to replace the Nils, easier and quieter in the wheelhouse. A sure step, just waiting for a special on them. I really like the new propane tank holder that Smokey Hills Outdoor store has but it is a little spendy.

Jknitter wrote:

-Elliott ice rod, looking at the Nomad or Rippin-eyes. Waiting to go check them out in person to see if they’re worth the money as there aren’t many reviews on them yet.

I tried out the Elliott inhaler for a few hours last year and it is and awesome rod! Crazy how light weight they are. Decided to save a few bucks and got a 2b big nood (still made by the Thorne brothers but a lower cost line) that’s a fun rod.

Top of my list is a hub shelter. Pretty much set on a Otter Lodge, maybe a lightly used one? I like the blue color vs the new style. Will be a nice upgrade from my quickfish 3 uninsulated hub, and taking a friend or two.

Already ordered a few things from Jeff’s jigs and flies.

A few of the new z-vibers and plastics from Eurotackle also.

Engle or Frabill bait cooler.. still not sure which I want.

New boots, either Baffin or Norfin.

Other things I “want” but don’t necessarily need or will get:
– Eskimo pistol bit. Currently use a mora hand auger for my drill set up.
– Under water camera
– Slightly bigger sled to pull hub + more gear

Replaced my helix 5 g1 di/gps with a g2 sonar/gps + ice ducer
Replaced my 5″ lazer with a 6″ for $40 nib
Got $100 off a m18 fuel hammer drill
Scored a few deals on Pflueger Trion and Purist reels
Got an old 2003 Bombardier Quest 500 and decked it out for ice
Still need to build a few tip downs and rods

I will be getting a Clam Legend XL
Engel live bait cooler
Clam back pack
More than likely a fair amount of lures and tackle. I just got into ice fishing a few years ago and I might finally have most of the stuff I need!

Ryan Lange wrote:

I will be getting a Clam Legend XL
Engel live bait cooler
Clam back pack
More than likely a fair amount of lures and tackle. I just got into <em class=”ido-tag-em”>ice fishing a few years ago and I might finally have most of the stuff I need!

You can buy my engle from me. Used it 2 times. Located in north branch