First ice….new gear reviews?

What new gear have you tried thus far, and what is your initial review?
I’ve only been on the ice twice, but here are my reviews:

Little Atom Micro Nuggies Grade: A++
Wish I had tried these years ago! Cannot imagine going on the ice without them.

One Shot Skimmer Pro Grade: A
Usually takes me two shots, but it is a huge improvement over my old skimmer

ThorneBros quiverstick Grade: A++
I got a few custom rods over the summer, and this one is easily leading the pack as my favorite. I’m partial to a “feel” rod since my eyes are glued to the sonar, and this is the closest to perfection that I have found.

13 Fishing Free Fall Grade: B
I still think that it is overpriced, and I wish the drag was better. But, I will be ordering a 2nd. The trigger is awesome.

Trigger X Mustache Worms Grade: C
Gave them significant time in the water, but they failed to produce. Not giving-up, but they are going to the back of the rotation.

KDrill combo with the Milwaukee drill set up.

Good to see a review on the Freefall. I figured I’d wait for all of the kinks to be exposed and worked out before picking up a couple.

I haven’t tried much for new gear. Ice Team Carbon Series rods have been pretty good at an affordable price ($30-$35). They come in various lengths, so they’re a good option for this who like a longer rod. I’ve spent 3x as much for worse.

I’ve been having some good returns on new lures. The Wally Talker from Lindy is going to be a staple for me. Also, the quiver spoon from Lindy seems like a winner.

Baffin titans – amazing boots! Completely waterproof and so light. Big yes but with the reduced weight it’s not an issue. Easy on and off too.

Climate bibs – almost too warm. I bought them for the floating aspect and thankfully haven’t been able to test that out.

Marcum recon 5+ – just got it outta the box so can’t comment yet.

The mustache worms haven’t done much for me either. Not impressed with them yet at all.

Striker Predator suit, LX-7, and Panfish Plastics chigger fry. Love them all

Tyler Warner wrote:

The mustache worms haven’t done much for me either. Not impressed with them yet at all.

One of my go to baits. Catch lots of panfish with these on a small Tungsten joh

Smitty sled…..Glides by itself in the wind on ice but also effortless when we had snow on ice.

Just got the striker ice transporter bag, absolutely love it, can fit 6 tip up, 5 rods, showdown, rigid mini 18v radio and all my tackle, makes things much easier having everything in one spot and less clutter in the sled or machine, now question remains on longevity of this bag, I fish 5 to 6 times a week and I will put this bag through the ringer and only issue i have with it is the zippers, and that’s why I upgraded to this bag from last bag because zippers went to crap, so we will see how many years I can get out of it but other than that it’s a perfect bag for hardcore ice fisherman. I give it a solid A

Frabill 371 Inline Reel. Been out twice with it, took one or two casts to get used to the inline deal but now I love it. Very easy to open it up and change the middle bearing to change reel hands, also cleaned it up and put in some reel butter. Second time out got into some nice eyes and the drag worked well. The freefall button and freefall “brake” also perform nicely. So far, it gets an A.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tyler Warner wrote:</div>
The mustache worms haven’t done much for me either. Not impressed with them yet at all.

One of my go to baits. Catch lots of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish with these on a small Tungsten joh

Huh. Another great thread. Thanks to the OP for it.
We ALL love new stuff and seeing reviews here (regardless if they disagree, LOL) is always informative. I’d never HEARD OF a “mustache worm”.

I fish nights with glow hooks over the side of the boat in the summer (all summer) for gills and slabs. I’m willing to wager that these in a glow would be at least something new to add to the arsenal.

Always interested on the boot reviews. My Mickey’s are just more than my old knees and hips want to shuffle around in all day anymore. Studying the Baffin boots (on the Zappos site anyway) the WEIGHT is listed and not all companies do that. I’m assuming its weight PER BOOT though? The (on sale) Patriot 5 (listed for minus 58 degrees) states “1lb 15oz” so…..has to be per boot. LIGHT compared to my Mickey Mouse boots. Thanks for the heads up on that brand too. SO MANY out there……dang.

Nothing new for me other than another “plain jane” Eagle Claw inline reel (my third) and a 36″ Eagle Claw Tony Roach Power Ice Spring Bobber Rod I found on sale for less than half a St Croix spring rod. Coming tomorrow so the weekend will give me some kind of idea how it feels. I needed something a little shorter and stiffer than my normal whippy spring bobber rods for windy days. Hoping it is at least ok…….but would have to be flat horrible for what I bought it for. Not a lot of reviews on the rod or the spring bobber it includes so I’ll have to leave one next week.

Several new (to me) spoons and jigs sitting here for use once this cold snap solidifies things a bit but all “old news” to you guys. Maybe I’ll have fish photos Sunday or Monday.
God Bless

Kahtooka’s Ice Cleats. A+

Strikerice Hardwater suite…simply the best investment I have EVER made..