Keeping Big Suckers From Tripping Tip Ups

I’m trying to break the 40 inch mark for pike on a metro lake that I have seen 40 inchers come out of. However the size suckers I’m using keep tripping my flags. I don’t want to add more weight and make it more unnatural so I’m thinking of maybe trimming the tail of the minnows? If you care to see my exact setup it’s in the video below but basically it’s a single sureset treble with a couple split shots about 6 inches above the hook. Hoping to get back out once this cold snap breaks a little.

Clip their tails

Also try dead bait. I’ve caught some of my biggest pike on dead suckers.

You have to slit the belly and poke the air bladder out so they sit level.

I didn’t watch the video, but see your tip up in it. Are you using the big minnow clip on the spool?

B-man wrote:

Clip their tails

Also try dead bait. I’ve caught some of my biggest <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>pike on dead suckers.

You have to slit the belly and poke the air bladder out so they sit level.

I didn’t watch the video, but see your tip up in it. Are you using the big minnow clip on the spool?

I am using the clip. It helps but not always good enough. Thanks for the advice, I was actually thinking about using dead minnows next time out as it seems to work well for our neighbors to the north.

Clipping the tail can definitely help, but the really big suckers you might need to completely cut it off(that might be what B-Man means too). I always feel a bit bad for the poor little guys :(.

Dead sucker minnows

Some of the best pike bait you can have. Like b man said poke your knife in and slit the belly to poke the air bladder

Bearcat89 wrote:

Dead sucker minnows

Some of the best <em class=”ido-tag-em”>pike bait you can have. Like b man said poke your knife in and slit the belly to poke the air bladder

Would you let it fall and sit on the bottom or suspend a foot or two off the bottom like normal? I guess I’ve seen it done both ways. I’ll have to give both a shot and see.

philtickelson wrote:

Clipping the tail can definitely help, but the really big suckers you might need to completely cut it off(that might be what B-Man means too). I always feel a bit bad for the poor little guys :(.

Ah, no need to feel bad for them. I mean think about it, if you’re going to feel bad for that, don’t forget that you’re hooking it to a hook and dangling it in the water for a big fish to come up and eat it. So clipping it’s tail isn’t really bad

Suspend dead bait 2-5 feet below bottom of ice. There eyes are on top of there head.

jon amundson wrote:

Suspend dead bait 2-5 feet below bottom of ice. There eyes are on top of there head.

I get that but I have seen plenty of video of pike eating dead fish off the bottom as well.

Takes a little to get the pressure just right, you have beaver dam , take a pop or beer can put it under flag post before setting on spinner, might take some adusting ,squashing can. works slick

What I do with heavier baits(smelt,herring) is take your line and pinch in the loop of the line guide(on polar or beaverdamn).We cant use anything larger than a fathead here in ND,but if we could I would think about using a lighter planer board release,attached to that same line guide I was talking about,should hold a pretty good sized sucker.

I use offshore line release clips and fix clips with 30 lb tip up line to tip up then adjust clip to size of bait works great.

A tip I picked up from James is to use your split shot but to help anchor that minnow, use a bigger egg sinker, 1/8 or even 1/4 oz. Flag trips, egg sinker drops to the bottom and the line flows freely through it like a lindy rig.

One difference is James does this with his iFish Pro. Not sure if the tipup will freespool quite as easy? I would think it would be as easy as line coming off of a baitfeeder reel like he’s using.

BoatsHateMe wrote:

A tip I picked up from James is to use your split shot but to help anchor that minnow, use a bigger egg sinker, 1/8 or even 1/4 oz. Flag trips, egg sinker drops to the bottom and the line flows freely through it like a lindy rig.

One difference is James does this with his iFish Pro. Not sure if the tipup will freespool quite as easy? I would think it would be as easy as line coming off of a baitfeeder reel like he’s using.

I saw that thread a few weeks back. Never thought to try it on a regular tip up. Not a bad idea.

outdoorman102 wrote:

I use offshore line release clips and fix clips with 30 lb tip up line to tip up then adjust clip to size of bait works great.

That’s a great idea

If it was me…

You’ve got a flag wire sitting in a slot.

You can do a few things.

Reduce the diameter of wire of the flag -that will essentially make the slot deeper and harder for the flag wire to pop out.

You can also wrap wire or tape on the edge of the slot to make it deeper – again harder for flat to pop out.

You can increase your spring size so it puts more pressure on the slot -making it harder to pop out.

Each of these allows you to run the bait you need, whether they want it lively or barely moving… Or dead.
I wouldn’t limit yourself to modifying the bait to reduce accidental trips… They might want a lively bait.

2c

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

You can also wrap wire or tape on the edge of the slot to make it deeper – again harder for flat to pop out.

This is what I’ve done.

putting the can under the flag post just puts more tension on the spring.

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Thanks guys, a lot of really good ideas to try. Will see how they work when I get back from a little warmer climate after the weekend….

Put a castoration band on the T bar of your flag release, makes the t bar jump higher over the flag wire.