Ice fishing is not for the weak or weary. It is a tough and rewarding sport. For those who live in regions where the lakes and ponds freeze over in the winter and the ground is covered with snow, they have to find activities to stay busy even on the coldest days. To the true fisherman, three feet of ice and frigid temperatures are not enough to deter him/her from doing what the love to do, fish. To some it is just a reason to get outdoors, to some it's a great reason to get together with friends, some provide dinner by ice fishing and others just do it for the pure enjoyment of the sport. No matter why you ice fish, you owe it to yourself to have good quality equipment if you are willing to brave the elements.

--------------------- Why I use Jack Traps:-------------------------

These days I don't mess around with cheap equipment when I am participating in outdoor activities. I am too competitive to lose a fish or a contest because of inferior equipment. If I am going to spend a day out on top of the frozen lake with the wind blowing and snow falling, I would hate to be wasting my time with equipment that will only let me down. When I first got into ice fishing I messed around with cheap equipment. I used some hand me down traps and borrowed some others. They were always breaking down, needing to be returned or just not very good. The first set of ice traps I bought were not Jack Traps. Being young, foolish and broke I bought what I thought were “good nuff”. I used them for a season and was thoroughly disgusted with them. They continually tripped the flag every time the wind gusted, they were not very durable or tough and just didn’t cut the mustard. By the end of that season they were plum worn out and I had decided to save a little bit of money and buy a set of quality traps.
In making my purchasing decision, I looked at several brands that were on the market and the one that stood out well above the rest were the Jack Traps. It also helped that a friend and ice fishing buddy had a set and I got to see them in use. I took a road trip to L.L. Beans and and picked out 5 lucky ones from the shelf and have been using them ever since with no problems.

-------------------Materials and Craftsmanship:-------------------------

This is what sets the Jack Trap apart from the rest of the field. Made in Maine is usually enough said for the consumer to know it has been made with the best materials and craftsmanship but I will list them out for you.

Heavy Gauge Aluminum: One of the most important parts of the complete unit is the Reel. This one is made from heavy gauge aluminum providing strength and light weight at the same time. Most companies are using a cheaper plastic material that can crack or chip in the extreme cold temperatures and who the heck wants to use plastic anyway, I prefer metal and wood.
The Flag Holder is also made from this material. The flag holder is the part that the flag gets locked into when in the set position. It protrudes from the side of the upright. This is a nice way to keep the trap light and durable. For those of us that still hoof it out on the lake instead of using a snowmobile or ATV, it is important to keep as much of the equipment as light as possible because it all adds up. Think about just the basics; traps, auger or chisel, bait bucket, lunch, skimmer, and a thermos. Equipment weight can add up and every little bit makes a difference. If you don’t care about the weight because you are using a snowmobile or ATV then you can still rely on the aluminum to be durable when bouncing around in a tote sled or pack basket.
Also made out of heavy gauge aluminum are the end sections. These hold the trap together as the upright and leveling pieces are separate. Once again, the aluminum is light and strong combining both features you need. It also looks pretty good to in contrast with the wood.

Stainless Steel: The tripper rod is made from stainless steel. This is important because it spends most of its time being wet and rust would completely ruin the function of the trap. The tripper rod is the piece that the reel bumps and trip the flag. It runs from the top of the upright where the flag holder is then underwater to the reel. This will not bend or break and is a no-nonsense part.
The tripper holder is packed with white lithium grease to prevent freeze up and to keep the trap working very smoothly. It can be re-packed if needed. Mine still function after eight years flawlessly.

Hardwood: This is the best feature of Jack Traps. I have mentioned how it is nice to keep the weight of your equipment down but this is no place to go lightweight. When I bought these traps I expected them to last my lifetime. So far so good. You cannot expect that from a softwood pine or cheap plastic. A hardwood Oak or Ash is extremely tough and durable. They don’t chip or crack or even wear. A double coat of Polyurethane helps keep them in new condition and helps keep the ice from sticking to the wood. It also keeps them waterproof.


----------------------- Why buy a Quality Trap:-------------------------

I have touched upon this already but will spell it out in this section. I bought a quality set of traps because I spend too much time on the water and put too much effort into my fishing to allow poor equipment let me down or ruin the day. The Jack Trap is the highest quality trap I have ever seen or used. Bad things happen with inferior traps. First of all they break much easier then a Jack Trap. Ice fishing in general is abusive on equipment. You are out in the worst of conditions with freezing cold temps and the worst weather. Materials can become brittle. Half of the trap is shoved below the surface of the ice and the top is exposed to the elements. It continually gets taken in and out of the water over the course of the day. The bottom line is if your trap is not made out of quality materials it will break leaving you handicapped. Just getting the traps from the truck to the fishing location can be tough on them as well. Most people toss them in a pack basket or tote sled behind a snowmobile and zoom down the lake. They bounce and rattle and get beat around but when the hole is drilled the Jack trap is still in its working condition. They used screws in the construction instead of nails, brads, or tacks. This is a great move in ensuring a long life and dependable trap. With inferior traps reels get stuck, flags either get tripped to often or not at all leaving you with an empty hook and not knowing about it until the end of the day or when you check on the trap. If you want to be more successful while out ice fishing buy a set of Jack Traps!

------------------------Wind Proof:-----------------------------

This is a very important feature to ice fishing traps. Most of the time the wind is blowing and it doesn’t take much of a breeze to turn into a gust on top of a frozen lake. Wind flags are a pain in the neck. My friends with inferior traps are constantly chasing false flags on windy days. The wind trips the flag from the tripper hook and the reel never moves. It really gets your hopes up when the flag goes up and you run over and nothing is there. I have never had a wind flag with the Jack traps. I have a great story to testify to this. One day while fishing on Moosehead lake the wind was blowing so hard and raw that out of the group of 15 of us, I was the only one crazy enough to fish. I ended up setting my traps right in front of the lodge so I could see them from the card table inside of the lodge where we were all hiding. The wind blew so hard that it actually picked my traps right out of the hole and blew them across the surface of the ice. When I finally chased them down the flags were still set on the ones that the hook didn’t fetch onto something and trip the flag. Now that is windproof!

------------------- Price and Availability:----------------------------

I bought my from L.L. Bean's about eight years ago for $35 per trap. I think they are trading now for about $45. They offer a deal if you buy five which most states regulate as the number allowed by a fisherman. L.L. Bean will guarantee the quality of these traps and if anything ever does go wrong with them they will refund you or replace the trap no questions asked. I don’t think they get many of these back. They are more than you will pay for most ice fishing traps but in the long run they will probably save you money as they will not need to be replaced every couple of years like cheaper traps. They also save you the headaches of a broken down trap and the heart aches of inferior traps and losing fish.

Want to see another quality trap:Heritage Laker ice fishing trap

Line it up with Trilene Ice Fishing Line

©smallmouth 2007

Click on my other Fishing Reviews:
Lures:
Strike King Premier Spinnerbaits
Strike King Redeye Spinnerbait
Rebel Pop-R, Pop, Pop, SPLASH
Jitterbug, That Old Classic
Storm Wiggle Warts Lures
Gary Yamamoto's The Kreature, Ugly Kreature
Zoom Lizards
Zoom Salty Chunk Trailer
Reels
Quantum Energy PT Baitcaster
Quantum Kinetic PTi Spinning Reel
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 4600C3
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6500 C3
Abu Garcia C4 series Reels
Abu Garcia Cardinal 500 Series Spinning Reel
Shimano Curado CU-200B5
Shimano Curado CU-200B
Other:
Frabill Vinyl-Coated Minnow Trap
Frabill Sit-N-Fish Bait Container
Berkley Trilene XT
Berkley Trilene XL

Recommended: Yes