Cam-Fish was started by two guys who have enjoyed the sport of ice fishing for over 30 years. Over that time they saw a few new ideas in ice trap design. But none truly addressed the age-old problem of wind flags or worse the flag that failed to trip. The Cam-Fish design originated after one particular windy day of fishing at Northeast Carry on Moosehead Lake in Maine. The thought was that if a fisherman was going to brave 40mph winds, 30 below temperatures and 80 below wind chill, correct operation of his fish gear should be last of his concerns.
The traditional operation of every ice trap is based on a tab protruding from reel hitting a bent rod, turning that rod to trip the flag. However the flag to rod to tab relationship had to be exact and often needed adjusting when setting. This forced the fisherman to remove his gloves, pull out his pliers and make adjustments to his brand new “better idea ice trap”. These adjustments never seemed to come out just right, at the end of day the proof would be found in missing bait, an empty reel and the flag still in it’s down position. Frustatin’ en-nit?This is when the necessity for a truly better design was needed, and Cam-Fish’s Black Magic was born. The secret behind Black Magic is the reel. Instead of the traditional tab to rod twisting, trigger motion, the Black Magic works by using a cam or eccentric to pull the rod down, releasing the flag. See fig. 1 & fig. 2.
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| Figure 1 | Figure 2 |
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When the fish takes the bait and the reel begins to turn, the rod is forced downward by the cam and out of the hole in the flag spring releasing the flag. Yes it’s that simple! No more exact relationship between little tabs and bends in a rod and because the flag is secured by the rod, the only way the flag can be released is by moving the rod downward. No more wind flags!
Some unexpected benefits were discovered from this design. It doesn’t matter which way the line is wound on the reel, the cam works in either direction. Also, because of the cam’s gradual effect on the rod, very little force is required to release the flag. This allows the trap to be set more sensitively for those jittery species. The traps are manufactured right here in the USA - actually, in Rochester, New Hampshire. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please use the "contact us" link and drop us a line!
