Tip-up question.

Hey guys,
I have a question about tip-ups that I hope someone can help me with. What do you do after the flag goes up? I am getting frustrated because, out of the very few bites that I actually get on tip-ups, I always seem to miss the fish. I usually use a #6 treble hook, is this the kind of hook that most people use for tip-ups and sucker minnows?
I watch other people when they get a bite on a tip-up and they usually do everything short of going to McDonald’s for lunch before they set the hook. In other words, they give the fish lots of time. I try doing this and all that ever happens is the fish drops the minnow. I have also tried setting the hook right away and all I feel is the hook ripping out of the minnow, leaving the fish with a free meal. What do you guys do?
I am stumped on this tip-up thing. I always run two tip-ups and a jigging rod. I am now at 49 keeper walleyes since January 1st, and not a single one of them came from a tip-up. I just don’t know what I am doing wrong with them. I’m glad I can catch fish jigging, because I would be in sad shape if I couldn’t!
Thanks for any help.

Walligator, all my tip-ups are set with either #10 or #12 trebles...not sure waht size minnows you use but I usaully try 4" in. suckers.Cant say I've had near the luck you have had or am lucky enough to spend what seems to be the amount of time on the ice as yourself. Anyhow, I can feel for you on feeling the hook pull out of the minnow, it can be a long drawn out affair before the fish actually has spun around the minnow and swallows it.. I've found it can take upto 3 good seperate runs for line to go out definatly with what can be a minute or two in between runs on the spool.. the after that do i lift the tip-up and hold the line in my hand..then waiting for that next run or pull to set the hook... Whew...not used to typing that much... anyhow thats what I do and has worked for me although haven't had a flag at the bay this year the imes I've been over

For what it is worth to you, I rarely lose a fish on a tip-up and I think the reason is that I don't just jerk the line when I get to the tip-up. I watch the spool and don't even attempt to pick up the tip-up until I make sure the fish isn't moving. Then I take the tip-up out of the hole. I always try to take the slack out of the line BEFORE I give it a pull. If I can feel the fish on the other end I set the hook. I guess it is: "A jerk on one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other end of the line". Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the info guys. One more question that I have is, do you guys ever have trouble with the fish just dropping the sucker for seemingly no reason at all? The reason I started this thread is because I was fishing tonight and I had a flag go up on a tip-up with a 8" sucker on it. I watched the spool spin for about a minute and it just all at once stopped. I stood there for another minute -- it didn't budge. I picked up the tip-up and felt the line -- nothing there but a chewed up sucker! The fish just decided that he didn't want it or something. This has happened to me a couple of times this year, and I was just wondering if it was a common thing or not.
Thanks.

Try a #10 treble hook, this should help you out. If your using a bigger one maybe the fish feel that. Sounds like your doing okay without tipups.

after last weekend at out fishing camp we are up to 61 walleye and im guessing around 20 pike and of those 52 of the walleye were caught on tip ups. We use size 14 or 12 hooks no matter how big the minnow and we use alot of big bait, although we had to size down last weekend to get flags. I never take a flag until atleast 5 min after the flag goes up. I found alot of guys take it when it stops moving but when using big bait alot of the walleye just go lay down to eat the minnow. If you take it right away alot of times you just jerk the bait away. as to dropping the minnow, i have never fished anywhere for walleye where you didn't have that happen once in a while, i have found using as small of split shot as possible will sometimes reduce the number of drops but sometimes it is still inevitable

Everything that the others have said, smaller trebles or even a single hook is a must for them to swallow it but also, some use different leader types, I choose not to use steel leaders but rather a heavier pound flouro-carbon as much as 20 lb test for Pike areas or as little as 8 lb in more Walleye dominated areas. I feel that Flourocarbon line is more abrasive resistant then regular Monofilament.