Racor ceiling lift. It’ll hold all of my gear (including shack) and will lift it tight to the ceiling allowing us to pull our vehicles in. Another plus is the mice can’t get at it.
Raises and lowers using a drill. Very easy to install. I did have to replace the cables because my garage has 10ft ceilings.
http://www.racorstoragesolutions.com/p/detail/phl-1r?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
I too run the BassKhang’s and SD, but I still sand both near the tips to get the diameter I’m after. To repaint, I use Krylon as a base coat (white for the tip), then after a day or two of dry time, I hit with Testors Pactra in either Fluorescent Orange (preferred) or Fluorescent Green, 2 coats. I will then tape off that section after it has dried, then I hit the rest of the blank with whatever color I want it to be.
I’ve been playing around with different tip colors, and how much of the tip to paint. I will do at least to the first guide, but usually the second (so around 5″ from the tip). I prefer the orange, but also use green, yellow, and pink. I will also use the same color thread as the tip color for the guides in that area to make it all come together. Also, when adding my first coat of finish to the guides in the colored tip area, I will add a drop or two of Testors paint to the epoxy, along with some glow-in-the-dark pigment.
The TSI 321 has worked great for me, even better than the Hot Sauce.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Sylvanboat wrote:</div>
If the goal is sensitivity at the tip but backbone to set the hook, why not not use a heavier rod with a spring bobber?St Croix already accomplished this with their line up of Legend Ice rods with spring bobbers.
For example, if you use the Legend Ice rod in UL power. You will find that it is more power than any other UL power rod on the market in comparison.
I actually own a St Croix Legend Gold (solid carbon w/spring bobber). I also own a Thorne Bros Quiverstick w/a Tripwire. The TB has more backbone than the Legend. The Legend bends all the way to the handle where my TB stops short of that.
St Croix sells ice rods on their name, not their performance. Their spring bobber design is great, but the Tripwire takes it to another level with non-kinking Nitinol that doesn’t have a spring for your line to get tangled in.
St Croix’s new tubular design is a warranty nightmare waiting to happen. Solid blanks hold up better in the cold and take the abuse better that ice fishermen dish out to their gear. They might be great, but I think their trying to get a piece of the “Mass Produced Custom” rods.
With that being said, I now roll my own and will never buy production again.
I love it when you just get done drilling a dozen holes, set your gear down, start fishing, and have somebody comes over and jumps onto one of your new holes! That absolutely drives me mad. The sad part is, it’s not the young guys, but the retired guys. I’ve had guys ask if they could fish holes I’ve drilled, and I don’t have a problem, because they are polite. But just to jump in is bs. I can’t bring myself to do that because I was always taught the “do onto others” thing, and I feel it’s just rude. If somebody needs a hole drilled, I don’t care. Just don’t jump into the middle of my set and start fishing the holes I put the effort into making.
Even after opening, it seems to keep very well. What ever fuel is left over in my auger from the previous season just gets ran the next winter without issue. Like others have stated, the cans they come in are far more convenient than a gas jug.
As far as expensive, I’ve run into issues with bad gas. When you drive 45 minutes one way to fish, and then find out your gas is bad, that $7.99 a can is cheap! Also, I’m still on the original plug on my Jiffy SDi60 8″ (7 years), so it’s clean burning.
Anyone have a oil out there that would be comparible to hot sauce? Can’t seem to find any searching online.
TSI-321 is what you seek. I actually quit using the Hot Sauce after using the TSI321. I run this in my soft water reels also.
I was leaning towards mono also, just not sure which pound test. I was thinking 20, maybe 30?
Do you have issues with the Powerpro freezing? (I’m assuming braid). I got away from using braid for ice fishing except for tipups.
I’ll take the Frabill 371 if still available. PM sent
I ended up going with the Schooley style reels from Sportsman’s Direct. They are easy to figure out and seem to hold up well. They are also using cheap HT spinning reels.
https://sportsmensdirect.com/shop/ice-fishing-Reels/side-winder-pro-reel/
I have the Predator jacket and Hardwater bibs. The jacket is great and allows me to layer as needed.
The Hardwater bibs are warm, almost too warm. If doing a lot of walking and hole drilling, they are too warm. For sitting out on the ice all day, they’re pretty nice. I only wear blue jeans under them now.
I’ll have to give that a try. It’s really frustrating having to clear the dang mess every time I want to use it.
Tuma, I’d be a dead man if my wife found out about rods and reels, and now what I have invested in rod building.
I’ll most likely be selling some rods I have purchased in the last couple years, especially after seeing what I can build for the money compared to purchasing complete (aka St. Croix’s).
I’ve used both the custom noodle rods and those with the NiTi spring bobbers from TB’s and TUCR (noodles). The noodles work for just about all scenarios, but I have encountered light bites where even an ultra sensitive, ultra thin noodle has a hard time picking up bites. My TB’s Quiverstick with a Tripwire was able to pick up the bite.
Ryan Wilson, I’ll be doing a handful of different noodle rods that are handcrafted just like you mentioned, but I’d also like to have the spring bobbers for ultra light bites.
This hobby is getting expensive in a hurry! Not so much with ice rods, but open water.
I recently tried out a custom rod with Eva foam and spinning reel. The builder turned grooves into the handle for the castration bands to sit into. It felt amazing in my hands and balanced great. The reel felt very secure with zero movement or wobble.
When I build my next rod, I’m going to try this and see how I like it. I have been using silicone tape with good success, mainly because I did not like the feel of the bands, but that was without the grooves cut into the handle.
I have the cottage pro (whatever the insulated version is w/bucket seats). I can’t imagine fishing two people in something smaller. I can fish with my two youngest inside. It’s a little tight, but we get by. With 2 adults, it’s almost perfect.
I have the hifax kit, which helps for pulling and wears better. However, I still want to build a Smitty sled because if you’re pulling for a long distance, it gets heavy!
This will be a “do all” for now. I realize different actions match with different baits. I’ve done that for years with my spinners.
But I currently don’t have the budget or time to justify a rod/reel setup for every application. When I’m finished with school, and the kids are old enough to go out with me, then I’ll have more time. At that time, I’ll start adding more rods to my arsenal.
How is their sizing? Most of my boots are a 10.
I ended up going with the CGI attached by silicone tape (rescue tape) and filled with 3lb Suffix Fluoro.
It seems to balance well. I actually have the 371, but I think the CGI will be a better fit for this rig.
Now we just need to get some ice and I can give her a try!
This will mainly be targeting gills and perch. Most of my fishing is in shallow water, usually under 10 feet. I do occasionally fish deeper stuff up to 20 feet.
I didn’t really have a price in mind. I’ll pay for light weight and quality.
Another vote for the Striker. Been using the Hardwater bibs. They are warm, but if you leave them unzipped, they’re fine for hole hopping.
