I have to think that whoever made this awesome ice fishing “tip up” would have been a lot of fun to go fishing with! I think they caught a fair number of fish with it too, as there are breaks and repairs to the mid-section of the arrow, I assume from the tugging of some not so small fish!
The purpose of a “tip up” is to suspend bait at a set depth, and then to detect when a fish strikes—which this one would render a very exciting and dramatic event! Line pulled from the reel (which still holds some line, and which makes a tremendously satisfying spooling sound when the handle is turned) would be threaded through the hook at the tip of the arrow and then dropped through a hole drilled in the ice, into the water, with bait on the end. One can slide the weight on the metal balance attached to the arrow to adjust the height of the bait in the water.
This is the sort of creation that makes me super happy—way above and beyond what was needed to do the job, but a joyful and fantastic looking way to to get it done!
15” tall (when arrow is straight horizontal) x 18” wide x 7” deep (at base). Glued repair visible on either side where the post and middle of the arrow meet, and a hairline split extending from it. I’m not sure I’d try putting this back into use for ice fishing, but really a fantastic object for display. The balance still works great to point up, down, or anywhere in between and turning the crank really is pure pleasure!
Yellow is slightly brighter than photos show; this was a tricky one to shoot--please forgive the not so great pix!
