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Ice Fishing Must-Haves (Part One)

Category: article

 Nov 15th, 2004 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Nov 15th, 2004 at 12:00 AM

There are a ton of new products out there that all of us at OutdoorsFIRST are dying to try out this year. There are also those products that are not necessarily new, but we always look forward to using during the ice fishing season. Consider this installment one of the new hot products and the 2005 must-haves.Frabill has been busy innovating this year, regardless of the season. We just finished up testing out the new POW’R LOK Yoke on the Frabill nets, and then they lay the these new ice products on us.

	IceFishingFIRST Photo The Frabill Arctic Fire Tip Up

Arctic Fire Tip-upsTo complement the Pro-Thermal, Frabill developed the Arctic Fire Tip-up. It carries a classic frame design, but they have loaded it up with performance features like a molded-in 19″ ruler, a tapered rail for easy removal from ice and snow, a counterbalanced crank and full-metal spool, and a dual trip mechanism for the ultimate control over trip sensitivity. It’s hi-vis green for easy viewing on the ice, and comes pre-lubed with Sub-Zero lubricant. We will be putting these to the test this winter, so watch for updates. The initial reaction after inspecting this over the fall is that this not your average tip up, it soooo solid feeling, but at the same time very precise, like a precision-machined fish catching instrument. Swing that arm and spool down into place, it has a very precision machined feeling, which contrasts with the ultra smooth spinning of the spool. Yeah, that’s what we’ll call it…the Arctic Fire is “rugged precision”!

	IceFishingFIRST Photo The Frabill Arctic Fire Tip Up light

Arctic Fire flashing tip-ups lightsThese new tip up lights just make so much sense when you look at them. The led lights are an extremely bright orange/red color (not to mention low draining), and the flashing light is activated when the tip up flag moves to the upright “tripped” position. This light will snap on to the flag shaft of virtually any tip up on the market including the Frabill Pro Thermal, Classic and the new Bigfoot Classic Wood model, and it comes with batteries pre-installed. It is powered by a 1.5 volt alkaline battery.We’ll be sure to catch some video of these in action this ice season.

	Nils Master Photo The Nils Master power auger

The Nils Master Power AugerRemember your uncontrollable giggling and giddiness the first time you started up a small four stroke outboard? This is exactly what the Nils Master power auger will do to you on the first outing. Never used one of these you say? Never seen one? We used this auger extensively last season, and it is, without a doubt, the smoothest, quickest, lightest, easiest starting sweetheart-of-an-auger we’ve ever used. The key is its perfect union between the Tanaka powerhead and Nils blade design, which allows for faster cutting using a smaller, lighter engine than the competition.The blade is ultra-sharp chromium stainless steel and the design makes it practically self-sharpening. As a valuable bonus, the auger is dual-purpose, converting in seconds to a hand auger. This is another product we will be filming alot this winter, so be sure to watch for the vids. If you can’t wait and you still need to see the “Nils” in action, check out the vids from last years “World Ice Auger Championship”Coming in Part Two: More from Frabill, Marcum Cameras, Precious Metals from Custom Jigs & Spins, and great shad baits from Nils…and how to use ’em!