Some guys on my local fishing forum use Lucid grips.

http://www.lucidfishing.com/

They are the scissor-type like Boga but are less expensive but are good quality.

$47 for a grip with a 30# scale, $64 for a grip with a 60# scale.

I have the Little Buddy. It works great for me.

I like the safety features. The whole “not gonna kill me” angle is a winner in my book. That said I don’t like to be cold in my shelter but even last year in the -10 F temps of the Polar Vortex my Little Buddy kept my Frabill Trekker Max warm when set on high.

It takes a little bit to light with the push-button but a few button-presses can get it going for me.

I use the 1# bottles with it as I don’t need the heater all season long.

Wharf Rat wrote:

JD wins with his response, but I’ll say that I have tried both and have yet to catch a goddamn fish with either.
They sit in my tackle box and will likely never be used again, unless the IDO guys start using them and catching wicked loads with them.

I agree JD’s response was hilarious!

My spoons sat in my tackle box too (until I lost that box). I would never use them so they never caught….except one small perch in a small lake.

When the bite got tough one day and my marmooska style jigs stopped producing I put on a Zipper in a perch pattern and started catching big crappies and a good sized bass. You’ll see that Zipper in his mouth in my profile pic.

http://darkstar72.blogspot.com/2014/02/rippin-lips-with-zipper.html?m=1

Unless the IDO guys get sponsored by Salmo I doubt they’ll be using the Chubby Darter or the Zipper. As any sponsored show/angler has to do they fish the sponsor’s product. This isn’t bad, it’s how the show and the hosts make a living.

IDO uses Strikemaster augers; John Gillespie uses Jiffy. If Jiffy sponsored IDO they’d be using Jiffy. Refer to last season when Slender Spoons and other Custom Jigs and Spins offerings were all IDO guys fished with; now it’s Rapala/VMC.

Boss Hawg wrote:

Careful, Ion blades are hollow ground. My Work Sharp with the guide off works very well, and it’s very easy to see and control what you’re doing.

Thanks for that info Boss Hawg. The amount of material I took off was very minimal. It’s done wonders for the way these blades shave.

I don’t grind like a madman, just even off the bumpy edge and smooth the same edge off the bottom of the blade. The fact it’s a hand-held sharpening set helps with the control.

I sharpened my own with a diamond hone sharpening set I got off Amazon.

Worked great for my all my 5 times out this season with over 300 holes cut through 10″ ice.

The Zipper has rattles. It would be fished much the same as the Ripping Raps.

The Darter has no rattle chamber and when you jig it the bait “swims” and darts. It will go well outside my flasher’s cone and then “swim” back to center.

Crabby Bass Lures has some plastics that must come from the same mold as the Domination Spike.

http://www.crabbybasslures.com/Small-Lures_c_9.html

The CBL Squirts are great in the same way as the Dom Spike, and the Crabby Helgie is pretty great and works great in open water too.

http://darkstar72.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-phone-call-is-all-it-took.html

Fiskas marmoska style jigs. I impale maggots or plastic on my mooskas and they do fine for me.

I just can’t get the the spoon bite, right.

I’ve had some good Chubby Darter/Zipper fish but that’s for a different thread.

Lost a full box of Slender Spoons last winter before I could figure out how to make ’em work like the IDO folks did before they switched sponsors last year.

youngfry wrote:

I agree with JD… seems like a trick

Branden Visser wrote:

After adding everything up… I’m only like $30 cheaper than just buying a brand new TUCR Precision. Maybe that’s the way to go.

Certainly a way to go and from what I see TUCR builds very nice rods.

There absolutely is something wicked-cool about setting the hook and feeling the fish on a rod you’ve built.

JD Winston wrote:

Time and place my friend! I get what you were after about starting times but honestly, 1 to 2 pulls and a cold propane is running just fine. Considering ice fishing usually consists of more than one hole at a time, I arbitrarily picked 5. We could make it more or less. I have no doubt there are certain advantages to the electric (weight) and that they are fine units. But I do have my doubts about an electric in a winter like last year where even with my auger extension I was down to the handles. I could not imagine being satisfied with an electric in that scenario if I were running and gunning and wanted to pop 40 holes or more in a day. But I am willing to be proven wrong.

I have an ION 8″ (first gen) and last season we had 2’+ in northern IL. Not the 3’+ all north of us had but it was plenty thick for us.

Keep in mind keeping the battery in my shelter with me I was able to drill all the holes I needed to explore new bodies of water and drill enough to find my spots and get my shelter set up. Easily more than 50 holes through 2′ each time I went out.

I did have to buy new blades but that was after two seasons of use. I’ve also invested in a diamond sharpener so now I have a backup set of blades sharp and ready.

I agree electrics can absolutely work for an ice angler depending on the way they fish. If I had lakes the size of those in MN and WI I’d probably be toting a gas auger around so I could run a snow machine or ATV to the areas I’d fish. Since most of my ice time is spent on lakes I can walk across in no more than an hour I schlep my electric and drill all the holes I need.

Gorgeous Bronze!!!

darkstar72 wrote:

Frabill Trekker Max 2-man house (not thermal)

Vexilar FL-20 Double Vision for flasher and camera

Three ice rods I built, 2 of which generally get used depending on what I’m using as a lure.

Reels are mostly Mitchells I picked up off a clearance tackle website. I have one Abu Cardinal I use for ice too.

No tip ups yet, may have to get some but for right now I jig everything that isn’t a deadstick.

Add ION 8″ auger

Frabill Trekker Max 2-man house (not thermal)

Vexilar FL-20 Double Vision for flasher and camera

Three ice rods I built, 2 of which generally get used depending on what I’m using as a lure.

Reels are mostly Mitchells I picked up off a clearance tackle website. I have one Abu Cardinal I use for ice too.

No tip ups yet, may have to get some but for right now I jig everything that isn’t a deadstick.

I buy my components from Mudhole for convenience sake.

If I shopped around I could probably get better deals but right now I’m mainly building for me to replace all my factory rods for open water.

It helps me get better at building skills and try more advanced cosmetic tricks.

Sometimes big fish want a small snack.

Paul Owens wrote:

yeah i read that but it says depth and fish finding which is what confused me.

I’m sure it’s like the trick you can do with a flasher. I’ve seen Vexilar’s videos on it but any flasher should be able to shoot through.

I think the trick is decently snow-free ice and to wet the ice then plop the ducer down on it. You can read the depth without drilling. Handy if you are drilling by hand.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

Pi$$ poor German engineering.

Well, they don’t build ’em to float!

Another great episode!! I’m itchin to be ice fishin!!

I’d say since TUCR makes a custom or a “production-custom” lines that your best bet is to call them and get their advice.

Part of a custom rod is trusting the builder or telling the builder what you want and having them build it.

You can catch huge fish on light tackle if you set your drag right.

You can catch bluegill on a surf rod too.

If you want a TUCR trust TUCR to give you the specs and guidance to get the rod in your hands that you need. I think you’ll end up happiest that way.

My $.02.

Youbetcha wrote:

I would go with the fl-18. The fl-18 has the low power mode to make it easier to fish shallow water and also it does have the bottom zoom which lets you zoom in on the bottom six feet of the water column.

Does the FL-18 also have higher resolution than the FL12? That’s worth it if it does.

icenutz wrote:

Get the Fire Extinguisher, the Frabill is on fire!!!! I can hear Gillespie now!

Hehehhee!!! It’d be more like:

“Get the Kidde!!! Get the Kidde!!! The Frabill’s on fire!! The Frabill’s on fire!!!”

“But at least it smells like good ol’ Johnsonville bratwurst!”

Disclaimer: I like both Wisconsin Waters and Woods AND Johnsonville brats.

I lost my box of Slender Spoons last year so I only have a few spoons.

More Salmo Chubby Darters and Zippers than spoons at this point.

I also have a jig-box with around 50 Marmooska style jigs for panfishing.

Like someone said you can’t have enough….then again, you can have too many.

hnd wrote:

I just watched some random video on youtube that was about 20 minutes long. all it was was the hole and a flasher. a school of crappie and i watched it all from the flasher perspective. if it was 200 minutes long i’d of still watched it all.

this tweener weather down here in northern illinois is killin me.

HAHA!!!

I’m in Naperville and I feel your pain HND!!

Lots of us ice-heads are hurting for safe inches to fish! I’d watch marks on a flasher for hours too even if it was on TV.

I use WeatherSpark Beautiful Weather for wind direction in open water season for my kayak and to forecast temps between the open and ice seasons.

http://weatherspark.com/

You can also overlay pressure on the map. I am not sure if it can forecast pressure changes but it’s pretty good at pulling data and reconfiguring its self.

jmaj101 wrote:

Thinking about purchasing a Frabill Guardian all thermal ice shack with the new sidestep doors. Anybody have one or actually used one yet. Cannot seem to find much for reviews online. They look pretty cool though! Comments good or bad are appreciated!

I can only comment on Frabill doors. I have a 2-man Trekker Max. I like the shelter just fine for northern IL ice fishing except for the single door on the front of the tent.

Fishing with two in the shelter you have to move the flasher, possibly minnow bucket, and step over 4-6 8″ holes in order to step out when nature calls.

With the side-doors I’d wager there would be far fewer incidents of things getting kicked near or folks stepping in the holes.

My FL-20 battery was topped off before I put it away last season.

This season it still showed 100% however it wouldn’t power the flasher or camera.

A Vex tech responded quickly to my email and we determined my battery was bad.

I grabbed a 12V 7A battery I use in my kayak for the Lowrance and it worked no problem. My gut says your battery may be going….then again a simple percentage monitor could certainly be wrong too.

suzuki wrote:

That’s funny. I thought is was the most ridiculous. Assumed it was song lyrics.

It’s a joke. I have heard it before but it still made me chuckle.

Hopefully find safe ice in the Chicago burbs…..possible, not too probable.

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I like my Vex but haven’t used a Marcum.

To me as a only-used-one-flasher user I’d say I like what I’ve got.

As an FL-20 Double-Vision owner I’d say I like what I sunk a chunk-o-coin into.

Asking Vex or Marcum in my opinion is like asking do you prefer Coke or Pepsi; both work, which do you prefer or which do you already own.

I don’t want to start any passionate discussions here, I only wanted to give the only opinion I’ve got. My Vexilar helps me see fish on bottom or in the column, I can see when I’ve lost my wax-worm on the flasher, and I catch fish with it.

You can do all those things with a Marcum, with a Hummingbird, with a Lowrance and an ice ducer in the really-lousy “flasher” mode. What matters to me is I know how to use what I have and if/until it dies it’s what will alert me to fish being below my hole.

</$.02>