I got the call last night from good friend and frequent fishing partner, Dan, who had been out ice fishing a few days earlier and found a good spot.  He asked if I wanted to go.  Hmmmm, that's a tough one.  If I was willing to pick up the bait, he would provide everything else.  When I asked what he meant by "everything else" he said we were going to be tip-downing and he had all the rigs we would need.  I have never been tip-downing before, but I certainly have seen lots of people doing it.  It is a growing trend in this part of Wisconsin, and being very curious about the technique, I was eager to give it a try.  I picked up 3 dozen crappie minnows (rosie reds) and headed toward the boat landing where we planned on meeting. 

Even in the dark I could see open water as I passed over the bridge and I began doubting whether we would even be able to go, but when Dan showed up, we loaded up his otter sled, hooked it up to the 4 wheeler and off we went.  A bit reluctant to drive on the rotting ice, we kept to the sandy beach until we reached the place where we could walk out to the "hot spot".  With life preservers on and a chipping bar in hand, we started walking out directly toward the open water.  "A snowmobile went through out there when I was here on Tuesday," Dan pointed out as we walked.  I was pulling the otter so I slowed down a bit and let him get ahead of me.  Dan is a big guy and a good person to have in front of you on questionable ice.  With his GPS in hand, he came to a stop - we made it.  Drilling a hole, we found a good 15 inches of ice and I felt much better.  When it got lighter outside, Dan pointed out an orange bouy floating in the open water 200 yards ahead of us.  Somewhere underneath that buoy, a snowmobile sat on the bottom waiting for the scuba divers. 

Now that I've set the scene, let me tall you about tip-down fishing.  Dan made his own units and after seeing them close up, I can tell you that it is not very difficult to do.  In a nut shell, a tip-down consists of a rod with a peg running perpendicular to the rod just below the reel.  The peg on Dan's rods was just a nail that stuck out about 2 inches on each side.  The other important part of the tip-down is the stand that the rod sits upon.  Dan made some really cool wooden stands that folded up for easy storage and transportation.  When unfolded, the stands stood about 2.5 feet off the ice.  The top of the stand is split like a field goal post with grooves that the peg on the rod sit in.  This allows the rod to point up to a position of about 45 degrees and also pivot down so that the rod points directly at the ice hole.  Because the rod is just resting on the pegs, it can be picked right up off the stand when its time to set the hook on a fish.   When making your tip-downs, the placement of the peg is extremely important.  When resting on the stand, the rod should stay in a upward pointing position.  Then, when the rod tip is lowered even a couple inches, the center of gravity changes a bit and gravity pulls the rod tip down.  This is important, because a biting fish should only feel the initial resistance of the rod, after that, the rod should drop down, more or less, by itself giving that fish slack line to get the bait completely in its mouth. 

Like I've mentioned, this is was all new to me, so I watched as Dan got the first two units set up.  Then I did a few myself.  It was easy.  Simply put on a depth finder and locate the bottom.  Next, put on a small split shot or use a bobber stop, and mark the water line in the ice hole.  Put the rod in the stand and reel up the line so that the split shot is about a foot above the water.  Of course this can be adjusted depending on where the fish are located in the water column.  Dan uses inexpesive rod and reel combos that have those plastic spool reels.  These have a metal knob that you turn to tighten or loosen the drag.  Once we got the line to where we waned it, we tightened the drag all the way. 

We got all 6 units set up just as the sun started to appear.  We put them in a rectangular formation of about 20 feet by 40 feet. Then as if on cue, a rod dropped down.  Dan ran over, grabbed the rod off the stand and set the hook.  Laying the rod on the ice, he used the tip-up method of hand over handing until a crappie was flopping on the ice.  It didn't take long before another rod dropped and then the game was on.  For the next hour and a half, we were running from rod to rod catching crappies and an occasional nonlegal walleye.  Often we didn't have time to rebait before another rod tipped down.  We ended the day at 39 crappies and put a dozen or more back.  It was a blast and I can't wait to go again.  Unfortunately it will have to wait till next year.  It reached 60 degrees and they're talking rain for the next few days.  I'm sad to see the ice go, but have some great memories of the ice fishing season.

Here are some advantages I see for using tip-downs:

1. You can cover a large area because the tip-downs are so visible. 
2. The sensitivity of the tip-down can be adjusted by adding or removing weight from the line, or in some cases people use weights on the handle of the rod to adjust for different sizes of hooks, baits, and wind.
3. If there is a wind, the tip-down tends to bob up and down just slightly giving some bonus movement to your bait.
4. Its fun yelling "TIP-DOWN!"
5. They are inexpensive, easy to make your own, and the set up is fast and simple.
6. Next year my daughter will be five and my son will be three.  This method of fishing will bring excitement without the hassle of having them reel in.  They can just pull on the fishing line until the fish is up.  I think this is a great way to introduce kids to ice fishing.

Some disadvantages:

1. We were fortunate enough to be out on a day that was extremely warm with no wind.  I can see, however, under normal ice fishing conditions, that ice hole maintenance would be a continuous job.  Dan says that he has a friend that attached a broom handle to one of his ice scoopes so that he can just walk around and clean out holes without bending down all the time - great idea!
2. I think for panfish, tip-downs are hugely successful, but I don't think they would be very good for walleye or northerns.  I just don't know that I would trust a rod with a peg balancing on a stand to last very long with a big fish running away on the other end.
3. I don't mind catching fish by using the hand over hand method, but I really enjoy the fight of a fish on my light weight jigging rod.  I think there may be some products available that will convert a jigging rod into a tip-down rod without drilling a hole in the handle - I need to check into that.
4. When a rod tips down, you need to really hustle to get to it.  Once that rod drops that will be a few feet of slack line, but after that the fish will be stopped dead in its tracks.  Often times this results in them spitting the hook. We missed a few fish simply because we didn't get to them on time.

Will I go tip-downing again?  You bet!  I can't wait to do it again.  Without a doubt I will be making a set of them this summer.  If you get a chance to go fishing with a tip-downer, I strongly suggest you buy the bait and go along.  You, too, will be hooked!