The tip up has a reel with line on it and you can see in the one photo how it opens up with a pair of sideways legs to keep it from falling through the ice. You need a sharp auger to bore a hole and then you need a slotted spoon to sift out the ice chips. The hook is baited and you drop it down the hole and find the bottom and then bring your set about a foot off the bottom. There is a hook which attaches to a notch on the reel which when triggered causes the flag to raise. That's when you know you've caught a fish!

Normally you set up several tip ups and also have a few holes drilled to sit and jig from. If the fish are active you can be quite busy.