Thoughts Behind the Flags

When I started the Orange Top Fishing project, I had three goals for the tip-up flags I wanted to make. First, they needed to stand out during the day - in any conditions. Second, I wanted to be able to see/find them easily at night. Third, I wanted something of good quality - no shortcuts.

Most of my tip-up fishing happens at my cabin near Minocqua, WI. Our place is in a decent-sized bay, and I like to spread out my flags to find the fish. Visibility was key. With that, I experimented with different sizes and colors to see what was most effective in a variety of conditions. Ultimately, I landed on a 4" X 4" flag made with high-visibility orange fabric.

The orange fabric was an easy decision - especially after I found the high-vis, waterproof, reflective fabric I ultimately landed on. Simply put, it crushed the other options. In fact, when fishing with a buddy who used standard red flags, my eyes consistently were drawn to my orange flags, even when they were (considerably) further away than his. To find his flags, I would locate my flags and then adjust my gaze from there to locate his flags.

A note about the reflective qualities of the orange fabric. At first, I was skeptical of the fabric company's claim when viewing the flags in daylight. They just looked really bright. What I started to notice, though, is that they took on a "glow" in low light conditions. Why? I'm not 100% sure, but I THINK it's because they are reflecting light, which becomes more apparent when it's not so bright out. Whether that's right or not, it's a thing, and it's pretty sweet.

Daytime fishing was in place. Next came night fishing.

Landing on a reflective solution that I felt good about took more time. Last winter, I bought some reflective tape and wrapped it around my old red flags. That worked fine, although it wasn't sexy - and showed signs of wear by the end of one season. I wanted something better. All the same, looking back, that experiment is what set my mind in motion about creating my own flags.

I started out with reflective strip of fabric, sewn across the center of the flag. That worked pretty well, although it was a challenge (for me) to sew on straight, centered, etc. Still, I would have probably gone that route were it not for the orange fabric I ultimately chose. On that front, I didn't want to cover the high-vis orange, which would negatively impact daytime visibility. So, I started exploring other options and landed on the border approach, which was really effective in terms of visibility at night - and, frankly, made the flags look really polished. With that, I was set.

Listen, I KNOW I'm biased - after all, these flags are my creation. That said, I'm proud of how they turned out, and I love using these flags - day and night. They simply POP in all conditions.

I think you will love them, too.

PS - curious about the square flag versus the (new) rectangular option? That's the topic for another blog - be sure to check it out!