How to Set Up an Ice Fishing Tip-Up

Instructions

1

Open the tip-up up from its closed position. Typically with a wooden tip-up, this involves unscrewing a nut that allows movable arms to unfold into the form of an "X." The arms criss-cross over the hole in the ice, while the reel arm with the reel on one end and the flag and its trip mechanism on the other run perpendicular to the folding arms.

2

Lock the nut to keep the folding arms in an open position. Do not tighten the nut too snugly--this will make it very difficult to turn when you are done fishing at the end of the day and the tip-up is potentially frozen from the winter chill.

3

Bait your hook. Let out some line from the tip-up's reel and then attach your bait to the hook. Most ice anglers employ the use of live bait, such as minnows, shiners or meal worms on a tip-up.

4

Pull the flag up until it is as high as it can go on the tip-up. Traditionally a wooden tip-up has a thin long metal strip to which a flag is attached. One end stays attached to the very top of the tip-up's reel arm while the end with the flag is bent. This allows the flag end to fit into the part of the tip-up that triggers the flag to go up. In some cases it is a short bit of metal that the spinning reel dislodges the flag from, sending it into its upright position. On other tip-ups, the trigger is one long piece of wire with a catch on one end that moves in unison when the fish takes the bait and spins the reel. This movement dislodges the flag from the catch.

5

Attach the flag to the trip mechanism and carefully take line off the tip-up by hand. Simply pulling the line off the reel will cause the tip-up flag to go off. Take as much line off the reel as you desire so as to have your bait at whatever depth you decide.

6

Place the tip-up into the hole without causing the flag to go off. Be alert so that if the flag does go off from the tip-up being bumped that it does not whip up and slap you in the face. This is most unpleasant on a cold day. Your tip-up is now set up with the bait down in the hole and the flag ready to go up if the mechanism is triggered by a bite.