Wooden tip-ups

• Wooden tip-up
  
  The most commonly used ice fishing tip-up is one that is made of wood and metal. These wooden tip-ups come in many styles but each accomplishes its task in basically the same manner. The tip-up opens up in such a way that it can be positioned over a hole made in the ice by the anglers. As the tip-up sits over the hole an arm that holds a reel will either be in the water or over the water, dropping a line down into the hole. When a fish grabs the bait on the hook at the end of the line it triggers a red or orange flag on a slender metal strip on the tip-up to go up in the air. This is achieved via a trigger mechanism that runs from the reel upwards to where the flag is attached to it. When a small notch on the reel trips this thin wire mechanism, causing it to turn, it releases the flag attached to a notch on the other end by knocking it off its "perch." This makes the flag, which has been bent over into position and placed into the notch, to spring up, alerting the angler that a fish has bitten the bait and is running with it. The ice fisherman will arrive at the tip-up, take it from the water, grab the line and set the hook before trying to pull the fish up through the hole.
  
  

Polar thermal tip-ups

• Polar thermal tip-up
  
  A more modern type of tip-up is called a polar thermal tip-up. It is shaped like a disc and made out of tough plastic material. The polar thermal tip-up has an arm on it that folds down, dropping the reel into the water on one end, with a "T" shaped top on the other end that is perpendicular to the flat disc. When line runs off the reel it turns the arm and makes the top spin. The flag arm of a polar tip-up is a telescoping piece of metal that can be pulled out and placed so that it is held beneath the "T" top of the arm. When the reel arm spins the flag is released and goes up in the air. The angler will see the flag up and proceed to the tip-up, take it out of the hole, and set the hook to try to catch the fish. Polar thermal tip-ups sit right over a hole and cover the entire opening, keeping the hole from freezing over even in very cold conditions.
  
  

HT polar tip-up

• HT polar tip-up
  
  This type of tip-up is a cross between a wooden tip-up and a polar tip-up. Made of plastic it is rectangular in shape and it has a spring loaded flag sitting on one end of it. The reel arm swings down, putting the reel into the water in the hole while the top end has the same "T" shaped trigger that the polar tip-up employs. The flag arm is tucked under the "T" and will go up when a fish takes the bait, making the reel arm spin and releasing the extended flag arm. HT Polar tip-ups are easy to deploy and easy to pick up at the end of the day.