Tip-Up's vs. Tip-Downs when to use what and what to look for when buying.

I really wish I could figure out how to search this forum because I’m sure this has been discussed before. I’m curious about fish traps. First off lets start with tip-ups. I have a few beaver dam’s which i LOVE. They seem to have a very light trigger, and they sit so close to the ice it’s out of the wind. They do however seem to struggle a bit in snow. Especially when it’s really blowing. I’ve noticed that if I’m not checking on them, the entire trap gets buried. Is this where the Jack-Trap style shines? I’m thinking of getting a few of them. Am I thinking about all that correctly and when to use each?

Nextly, I’m wondering about tip-downs. These seem to be preferred for small panfish but i’m really struggling to find much about them. I’m not sure if it’s just lack of marketing from any of the manufacturing companies, or because they are just an overly simple design but I’m having a problem finding any info on what makes a good tip-down vs a bad one. What should I be looking for?

Thanks!

Google has a nice feature that will only show you results from a specific URL. Put in in your normal search and follow it up with site:http://www.yoururlhere.com .

For your example copy in “best tip up option site:https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com” , and you will get a few good pages of results from just IDO’s site.

I find this is a good feature even for site’s that do have a search feature (which this site does have). It allows you to leverage google’s search and indexing strength, which I find is better for both the content of your search and finding older archived posts. A lot of site’s built in search seem to have a recency bias towards the latest posts.

I have been making Tip Downs for 20 years and selling them the last 4 or so years. Simple design that folds flat and balances well. If your interested in any I have a post in the classifieds section. They come completely ready to fish with the pole rigged and ready for you to add a minnow.

Many companies are marketing a basic rod holder as a Tip Down. These rod holders have constant pressure to the fish pulling on the line, they do not tip down easily and stay down.

A true Tip Down is a rod that sits in a stand at roughly a 45-60 degree angle, the pole will tip down with very little resistance to the fish. Once the pole reaches horizontal it should free fall the remainder of the way to the hole, feeding slack line to the fish.

If you have any more questions feel free to PM me or post here.

I love my jack traps… But then I found Indian hill ice traps. Either is excellent. The jacks have a light trip, but no drag for the spools. The Indians have a similar design and a drag. Both are made in USA. FWIW, I do own three beaver dams and they still see some ice, but I am sold on the northeast trap design. Add a little reflective DOT tape for the snow mobiles!