Fish Brothers TipUps

[Dave]

Arrived home after a weekend of not seeing any deer only to find a surprise in the mail, my Fish Brothers TipUps. As the season develops, I and others at FM, will be field-testing this product but thought I’d give you my first impression...pretty cool TipUps.

The rectangular plastic transporting case unsnaps in half. Inside are two TipUp supports and reels. Each TipUp support and reel slides into a rectangular hole in each half of the transporting case. So far, we have one plastic case that holds two tipups inside for both protection and preventing them from being tangled up with other gear. Each case half provides the base for each TipUp. So far, I like the compactness of these TipUps.

The Fish Brothers TipUp does fit into a 5-gallon bucket or, what I like, lays flat and can be easily strapped to the rack of an ATV. Or, stashed into a gear bag like many are using nowadays. The black plastic base should soak up the sun’s rays to help keep, or slow down, the ice from forming under the TipUp. Also, the base won’t slide down the ice hole. Each TipUp is colored and should be quite visible on the ice, so vehicles will see the TipUps and not accidentally run them over. The reels also have an adjustable drag.

Any drawbacks? The only thing I see where one might have a problem is the instructions state that for a freeze-up free use, monofilament line must be used. I’ll experiment with that and let you know the results as the ice fishing season opens. Also, I’ll post some close-up photos of the unit at a later date.

For now, you can see the Fish Brother TipUps here.

Fish Brother Tip-ups

Has anyone else used these TipUps already?

[1DIRTBALL]

The same thought kept on reoccuring every time I looked at these tip-ups."Why didn't I think of that?"

[Hammer-Smites]

I don't like the idea of having a spool above water. Even with mono, on a super cold day, there has to be water freezing in and around the line. One little catch or drag of the spool with a finicky fish is all it would take for it to drop the bait.

I won a tip up once that had a spool above water. I took my kids out northern fishing one afternoon and was allowed a few more lines in the water, so I rigged it up and used it. Needless to say, it went out with the fish guts in my trash that week.

Anyone else see the same concern?

[Ray Esboldt]

I looked at these tip-ups as well. They do look cool and seem very portable. It also occurred to me that freeze up could be a problem. Hard to say without using them.

Why wouldn't coated, black dacron work just as well as mono? I use it on my traditional tip ups and it doesn't freeze when it spends time above water.

I'm anxious to hear the initial reports on these tip-ups.

[Rick]

I always agreed with Hammer-smites and Ray.

When I saw hundreds of that type of tip-up go out in the field and the same users coming back for more so their friends could use them it certainly caused me to question my thought process.

I guess I will have to try them and find out for sure this winter.

There are a lot of guys who say the above the water reel works just fine and they actually prefer the above water reel because of how easy it is to wind up and store.

I've always been a below the water reel guy when it comes to tip-ups.

[Surface Tension]

Reason for using mono is it doesn't absorb any water and its smooth surface doesn't trap water like a braid does.

When using an above water type tipup I always pinch the line between my fingers when I reel in, this does two things, it strips the water off the line and puts an even line tension on the reel. If you think about it, an above water tipup wouldn't be any more prone to freezing then your reel on you rod. Up till now an above water tipups main downfall was that the hole would freeze. I think Fish Brothers has solved that problem with its base being the hole cover. Like others have said its black color will absorb the sunlight. On those cold cloudy days kick some snow on top of the base to add a layer of insulation.

I'm looking forward to giving these things a try this winter, we'll see what happens.

[ChuckN]

I like the idea they stand up high so snowmobiles, ATV's and vehicles can see them and not run them over like my old one last year. The colors are perfect for people to easily spot them from a distance.

I'll do what ST said and wick the water off the line before reeling in the slack. My hands get wet and cold either way you look at it, that's part of ice fishing.

Bring on the ice!!!

[Paul Waldowski]

Here are a few closers pics of these tip-ups