The Cold Really "Bites"

And it bites big. 17 inches big that is.
Here they are, the men of the house, out ice fishing in Charles Pond over in Stow, Maine a few months back now.

I myself have only been ice fishing once, but I did manage to make a catch! It's certainly a cold sport, and takes a lot of patience. I however, was not lucky enough at the time, to be working with the cool tool my Dad & Brother are in the photo above. The black jig ,or tip-up ,they're using is from a local company called Black Magic. The company is out of Rochester, New Hampshire (03867) but there are dealers all over the country who sell the product from Rhode Island all the way to Wisconsin.

The Black Magic Tip-Up was created originally by Dan and his father George Allen. Their website tells of "The Black Magic Story" on how this jig came to be:

"Our “eureka” moment came when we hit on the idea of an eccentric molded into the reel instead of a tab to trip the flag. Traditional tip-ups are based on a tab protruding from a reel hitting a bent rod and releasing the flag. Our design eliminated the precarious, “mousetrap” sensitivity and replaced it with a unique solution that ends wind flags and all other false flags as well."

The co-creater, Dan Allen, actually works with my Dad, making us big fans. Dan is also a licensed New Hampshire Fishing Guide, and has been ice fishing for over 35 years.

You can get out on the ice yourself with this "fishin' magician"! His availability and rates are listed here: http://bit.ly/gpQBX2



The Black Magic Tip-Up is easy to use with it's three-step process:

"The way it works is actually very simple. As the reel is turned by a fish pulling on it, the eccentric pulls the rod down, releasing the flag. And because the eccentric puts almost no tension on the line, the fish isn't spooked by line resistance. So you catch more fish. The added advantage is that it doesn't matter which way the line is wound on the reel because the eccentric works in either direction."

Dan and George claim to have "ended ice fishing's biggest headache"...

I think the proof is in the pudding!




Have any other tips or tools? Let me know!

Morgan Manfredi

The Freeloading Intern