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Tip-Ups go Turnkey

Category: new products

 Dec 3rd, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Dec 3rd, 2009 at 12:00 AM

Jackson, Wis. ” When Frabill introduced the original Pro-Thermal tip-up over a decade ago, it quickly became a favorite tool among hardcore anglers and wintertime guides alike. Its simple never-fail design resonated with tip-up fans everywhere. Today, Frabill has gone a step further, adding the 1662 Pro-Thermal, an all inclusive tip-up “system” that anglers have been waiting for.

	1662 Pro-Thermal

“The insulated Pro-Thermal creates a solid barrier over the ice hole, sealing it like manhole cover,” says Captain Pat Kalmerton, tip-up wizard and professional fishing guide. “There is no other tip-up that is insulated like the Pro-Thermals ” None.  They are the original thermal tip-up and still the best, most insulated models anywhere.  “This thing is winter-tough, too,” he adds. “We’ve run over them with trucks, snowmobiles, you name it. These tip-ups just keep right on working.  Plus, I love that I can grab a 5-gallon pail, and stack eight of them inside, all without tangling a line.”

Kalmerton adds:  “When Frabill told me about this new 1662 Pro-Thermal, I thought now that’s ingenious ” a system complete with all the fixings. It’s everything you need to catch fish with a tip-up, right out of the package. Everything except the bait, that is.”

“In order to make any tip-up work,” offers Frabill pro Eric Haataja, “you need to fill the spool with quality line, and determine the precise depth of your bait. Then you need the means to quickly return a bait to the right depth. And for low-light fishing, a strike-triggered tip-up light is an indispensable tool. With the 1662, I don’t have to buy all these items separately “they’re all included. And for no more cost than most barebones tip-ups on the market today.  One more thing is that it’s black and absorbs the sunlight to help keep you holes from freezing up.”
 
Indeed, the 1662 system comes with 50-yards of Dacron tip-up line, a clip-on depthfinder weight, a mini line marker and Frabill’s new Lil’ Shiner Tip-Up Light, which is valued at $15 itself. When the flag trips, an environmentally safe non-mercury switch activates a flashing LED inside the Lil’  Shiner Light, signaling a strike. “On a dark frozen lake, this light flashes like a strobe” you can probably see it from more than a mile away,” says Haataja. “It’s made a huge difference during my nighttime walleye excursions.”
 
For Kalmerton, it’s all about functionality, which the 1662 has in spades. “This is the smoothest tip-up out there,” he asserts. “It has no dry spots on the shaft, so fish feel zero resistance on a bite. It never freezes, nor does the hole. Heck, they’re the only tip-ups smooth enough to be used for light-biting panfish.
 
“For beginners or experts, this tip-up has everything they need to catch fish” and they don’t have to worry about quality. It’s got the Frabill name on it, which is the same as saying ‘trusted gear.”