Been seeing some guys using their rods as tip ups. So I decided to to build a prototype out of some spare stuff. It would be awesome if it worked. Hope to try it soon, like tomorrow Pete
Okay, it may be overkill, but I gotta tell ya..... Holy crap it was a lot of fun fishing with it. It worked great, although a missed a few fish with it. I think I needed a slightly larger hook. The fish always were caught on the lip, even the pickerel. And man was it fun fighting a 2 1/2 pound large mouth on that little rod and reel vs. hand lining a regular tip up setup.
We killed it today targeting our fare, perch and crappie. Biggest crappie weighed in at 1 1/2 pounds. Biggest one we ever caught. Big fish fry under way at home during the football game. Pete
Pretty cool, but on windy days especially the only reliable tip ups have submerged spools to keep the line from freezing
The late season, warmer days your rod holding tip up could be great
Wind tip ups jig the lure/bait when the wind blows. They are often the best for walleye, trout, and bass. Those are cool designs to tinker with, and would work better with a rod like your setup (if you can overcome the freezing issue)