home made tip downs

I can see them from a distance so I can spread out to find fish. I have time to get to them when spread out. They operate the way they are supposed to. I don't have to bend down to grab the rod, I can get over 10' on the first pull up. I can't see why I would need a different design but if I saw a better one, I surely would use it. I have not seen one in 30 years. Many of the locals I fish with up north have copied mine to an extent.

That quite alright my design works just fine.

I would like to see them, I really doubt that they can sit at a 40 to 45 degree angle and then tip freely all the way to the ice. At best they would sit at 0 degrees totally horizontal and might tip but I just don't see them working as smoothly.

You are exactly right, the ones that use a spinning reel are nothing more than a rod holder. They do not tip down freely once they pass the balance point like the other cheap poles do.

Anyone that thinks a spinning reel setup is a Tip Down they are wrong. They have either never seen a real Tip Down and how it works or they just don't care for them.

A true Tip Down sits at roughly a 40 to 45 degree angle pointed upward and it has very little resistance when it is pulled down. Once it reaches horizontal it free falls the remainder of the way to the hole. This gives the fish free line so it feels nothing at all.

The problem with these is that they don't "tip down" like the natural ones. The fish feel them unlike the others. What I have found does help is to use a longer whippy rod. In the pic below, my friend has a shorter rod and it does not work as well as something over 30" and whippy. They usually drop the minnow with the shorter rod because they feel the pressure. I've had better success with the longer rod. That said, the catch rate on the hand-over-hand setup is far superior.

Once again, it is harder to spread out to find the bite with the rod/reel setups too as you really need to see the bit happen right away.

Thanks, W Sr.