Hardwater Fishing - What's a tip-up?

When hunting season is over, I look forward to our cold winter months ahead. The colder the better! Cold days help our lakes freeze quicker and ice fishing season starts sooner.

Ice fishing season creates amazing opportunities to catch big game fish like pike, trout, and burbot. You are able to access areas of the lake that you wouldn't normally have easy access to unless you have a boat.

I normally use tubes and spoons as my primary lures, but this year I decided to try out bait on treble hooks with tip-ups, and jigging raps/rattlers, like the one below.

In Alberta we can have two fishing lines in the water at the same time which helps increase your chances of hooking fish! Although you can hook a monster on a small lure, I have mostly caught bigger fish by using a bigger lure. If you think it's too big, try it, you will be surprised.

What are Tip-Ups?

There are several styles of tip-ups, I prefer the ones that cover the entire hole to prevent your hole from freezing over. The line and spool sit under water which is why it is very effective when fishing at extreme freezing temperatures -30. You can jig a lure in a warm tent while your tip-up sits on a different area of the lake. I used a basic setup of two treble hooks size 2 using smelt. This method is very effective late season as you are trying to mimic dead bait. 

I do have another type of tip-up where you can attach your rod. This style of tip-up is great for warmer days where your hole won't freeze over. It is very fun to fight a big fish with a rod.

If I had to pick one, I would go with the hole covered tip-up as it is more versatile and it will not require you to have extra rods.

I have found that jigging a loud flashy lure near my tip-up brings great success! Rattling and flashy lures can bring in preditors from afar and if your lure does not seal the deal, the stinky smelt will.

Have fun and be safe!

DIY Tune Your Own Bike

I have the Tiagra 10 Speed on my road bike and every year I tune my bike before taking it out for spring. I created a quick tune guide that I continue to reference every year and I would like to share it with everyone.

Rear Derailleur Tune Tutorial

1) Make sure the rear derailleur is shifted to the smallest cog. 

2) Adjust the High Limit by using the screw on the derailleur marked H. Ensure it is aligned properly to the smallest cog.

3) Make sure all your micro tension adjusters are loosened, then tighten 1/4 turn.

4) Unscrew the tension cable and pull tight with your hand and screw it back.

5) Shift to the highest cog. If it does not go all the way, apply tension using the barrel adjuster until it is shifted to the highest cog. 

6) Adjust the low limit by using the screw labeled L so that it aligned properly to the biggest cog.

7) Use the B-Tension screw to adjust the pulley distance to the largest cog. You do not want it too close as it will pinch the chain.

Adjusting with Micro-shifts & Front - Derailleur 

1) Move the chain to the largest gear in the rear, and smallest gear in the front. Switch to a micro shift which shifts the derailleur closer to the bike frame. Then I tinkered with the high limiting screw and made sure the chain was not rubbing.

2) Pulled the front derailleur cable to tighten it but not enough to actually shift derailleur, Also made sure the barrel adjuster was at its lowest point.

3) Change the chain to the smallest rear cog, there was some chain rub. Use the micro shift and it should slightly shift the front derailleur preventing chain rub. If it does not, use barrel adjusters to add enough tension to the micro shift.

4) Shift to the biggest cog on the front, there was some chain rub, this time I added some tension on the cable using the barrel adjuster. Tighten the low level screw so that it would never get passed that point. If you could not add tension you need to loosen the front derailleur low level screw.

5) Moved the rear cogs to the highest gear. There was some chain rub. Used the micro shift which shifted the derailleur slightly towards the bike frame, no rubbing occurred.