With the old-school tip-ups, we had to be right above the tip-up before we could see the spool turning. When rigging up, I start with 30-pound braided nylon tip-up line. It’s cheap, easy to hang onto with gloves or bare hands, and durable enough you can rip it off your tip-up spool if your line freezes. Beaver Dam’s tip-up line goes one better, containing a wax coating that sheds water. With quick-strike rigs, you can usually set the hook right away.