Tip Up lines

What line do you guys use for northern fishing with tip ups?

I have always used 20-30# Dacron lines (mostly black) and then a leader depending on what I am fishing for. I can’t recall the Dacron ever breaking on me even with pike up to 20#. Make sure to use a good wire leader for pike – I keep looking for good leaders that don’t kink so much or easily but can’t say that I have a specific option for you on that.

Good luck,
Dave

I use the fifteen pound power pro….i like the smaller diameter and have no break offs that i remember…for leaders i tie my own using 25 or 30lbs florocarbon, I like keeping things small and discreet….(Its the lindy rigger in me)

Charles Schmidtbauer

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I use the fifteen pound power pro….i like the smaller diameter and have no break offs that i remember…for leaders i tie my own using 25 or 30lbs florocarbon, I like keeping things small and discreet….(Its the lindy rigger in me)

Charles Schmidtbauer

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I agree with the power pro. It seems to give the minnow below a lot more action and in turn I get a lot more flags. I rarely seemed to get flags when I used the steel leaders. I will take lots of actions and a few break offs rather than little action and no break offs. That may be specific to the lakes I fish. Some lakes the fish may not care whether the bait is live or dead and swimming or not.

i’ve got hundreds of hours logged watching flags and have tried all the lines. What i’ve found with standard tip up spools is the nylon coated tip up line is by far the hassle free way to go. The uncoated dacron freezes to the ice, gets whipped around by the wind and always seems to knot up as your haulin in the big one. It also won’t cut your finger off when that big “sally” decides shes not ready to come up the hole. It has plenty of finesse for double duty walleye tippin.

My northern tip ups have larger spools than my beaver dams so I spool them with fly line mill ends, smallest diameter i can find. inexpensive and they are tangle proof, and give you more leverage for pullin. I fish less than fifteen feet of water for northerns so having alot of line is not important. never had a break off except for the flourocarbon leaders i use.

Do you guys who use the small diameter lines ever have trouble with larger pike? Not so much with breaking line but the line cutting into your fingers and being hard to grip? I was just thinking of going to a thicker line.

I put on either the Frabill tip-up line or my old musky line which is cortland master braid 80 pound test, use nothing less than 20 pound test, then use a light 7 strand live bait rig with about a number 6 or 8 hook on it.

Tanner Wildes

i use polar II’s and the larger metal spools i spool them with 30# test cortland green spot dacron i use and egg slip sinker leading to a twelve inch 15# test titanium terminator leader these things are sweet ive never had one break off and they can even put waleyes on the ice they are a small diamter and have low vis the best of all they don’t kink all that much i have thirty tip ups and they all have this set up the leaders are expensive 15$ a pop but i only change them every three years the line i have now hasn’t been changed in ten no break offs and no line rot it is very important to take good care of the line and i get the water out of the line after everytime out theres no perfect setup but when i go out with my freinds they also want to use my tip ups good luck on your decision hopefully this helps

I haven’t noticed any problem with the smaller diameter lines…I to use the egg sinkers above a swivel…..depending on the size of the sucker and the lake im fishing, my leader are from 16 inches to 2.5 feet…looks goofy at times when there is only six inches of non leader material under the spool, but i have had success….
Once again i have had great luck with quick strike rigs with either six or eight sized hooks….
One thing that i usually always do with any sucker over 6 inches is trim the tail a bit….dont know if it helps but just an idea

Charles Schmidtbauer

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i use polar II’s and the larger metal spools i spool them with 30# test cortland green spot dacron i use and egg slip sinker leading to a twelve inch 15# test titanium terminator leader these things are sweet ive never had one break off and they can even put waleyes on the ice they are a small diamter and have low vis the best of all they don’t kink all that much i have thirty tip ups and they all have this set up the leaders are expensive 15$ a pop but i only change them every three years the line i have now hasn’t been changed in ten no break offs and no line rot it is very important to take good care of the line and i get the water out of the line after everytime out theres no perfect setup but when i go out with my freinds they also want to use my tip ups good luck on your decision hopefully this helps

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Good info…did anyone else read this and feel out of breath?