Okay TD got me dreaming of how to make a versatile ice sled. In case you haven’t seen his cool sled maybe he will post a picture. Anyway before I start I was wondering what features you have added to your sled or would like to have. I am thinking I want rod holders like TD and a mount for my fish finder. I use a Lowrance X71 so it takes some special attention then I’d like to secure my auger. What are your ideas?
I think it is best to keep it simple. I have the TD rod holders and a 5 gallon bucket on mine. I have about 1/2 of the sled for chairs/ice tent/auger. It is a med size sled, but it works great for us. I also use an ice finder and I keep it in a cooler that I can put in front of the bucket (on the rod side). I have drilled some holes for bungee cords to hold it all together. I also installed a handle on the back of the sled…comes in handy when you need to lift it into the truck or over rocks and stuff with another person.
I have gone through several incarnations on rod racks on my sled and individual rod holders. As long as there’s PVC I’ll keep messin’ wid it. Some pictures attached.
I have a new tripod rod holder I plan to try soon. Also rerigging my Showdown for “run and gun”…using the through the ice shooting option. Will be posting pics and reviews on both those things in the next week or so.
Auger position in the sled depends upon the size sled and the size of the auger. I have a medium sized Jet Sled and a standard sized power auger fits fine front to back. If you need more room you can make a frame to fit over top of the sled upon which to balance the auger. But it makes it topheavy and you will roll it on anything but flat level surface. Definitely not good for towing behind a wheeler or snowmobile.
**If you would like to bring all your stuff over to my garage I would be happy to help you work out some options. **
For me my sled is used only for hauling my stuff. I have a bucket with a rabil cover on the outside of it that holds my rods and half my gear. The rest goes inside the bucket. The sled just has all the stuff strapped down to it. I usually have four rods strapped to my bucket.
TubeDude those are some great ideas for ice fishing. I like the sonar stand. I don’t like putting mine on the ice. You are definitely the prince of PVC!
I sometimes sit on my tripod stool but often I am standing and don’t like having to bend down too far just to read the display. Some guys just turn over a bucket and put their sonar displays on that. But if I can fab something more complicated out of PVC…
My new setup for my showdown will have the display sitting on top of a 1/2" PVC riser…coming up out of the base that holds the battery and some tackle goodies. I am rigging it so I can carry it across the ice and quickly check depth and fish by shooting down through the ice with the 'ducer…without having to set up and take down every time I stop.
Tube dude is truly the method master o pvc. What size pipe for the rod holders Is that TD? great idea. Keeps the clutter down and saves against broken rods
The rod tubes are 1" type 200 PVC. It is thinner walled pipe than schedule 40 and will hold the handles of most rods very well. Home Depot usually does not carry the type 200 but most Lowes Stores do.
**On the smaller and simpler model I used 1/2" to 1" Tees. **
The rod holders help keep rods from tangling and keep them handy and ready to change when you want to rerig or change tactics. However, it is a good idea to leave the rods bundled or in a rod bag during transport on or off the ice if you are going to be going through brush or towing the sled behind power equipment. Not uncommon for a sled to roll during high speed transit and rods do not do well if they are standing upright in holders. I keep my rods bundled with rubber bands and then stored inside an old tennis racket zippered bag. The reels fit inside the wide part and the tips protrude a bit but they are still better protected than otherwise.
TD your like a fishing da vinci is there anything you cant do
Oh yeah. Just ask my wife. There’s a lot of things she won’t let me do.
Thanks for the kindly comments. All ya gotta do is live a long time and remember some of what you learn from others. It also helps to be a bit creative and not to be afraid to try new stuff…and live to tell about it.
Looks like the Dinkster drew first blood on you.[:P] If only I was that organised.
Here is a look at my ice-sled rod holders:
**Ha. Eagle eye. I hadn’t even noticed that in the picture my own self. As you well know those little buggers got lots of sharp spines…and gill covers too. **
I probably released that little fish but I might have gotten some payback first if I had noticed the “war wound”.
This thread is most entertaining
Will a sled cover fit over your rod holder. We use snowmobiles a bit and I like to have a cover over my sled to keep all the cold white stuff off my gear.
Hey thank you for the ideas. I love looking at how others make things work. I still use my sled for the kids so I’m going to try to make my additions so I can take them on and off. Anyway thanks for showing me how you put yours together. J
TD thanks for showing me more great ideas. I really like that rod holder for the ice too. I sure wish I lived closer to your garage I’d love to take you up on that offer. But guess I can’t with my schedule now but I’ll try to get something together and then I’ll post what I came up with. Thank you. J
I kind of do things now like you are but I’d like to be able to use my fish finder on the sled and move till I find the fish and since my finder is a bit of a pain I think the sled will help me make it easier to use. At least I’m hoping it will. Hey thanks for you input. J
Wow that’s like a full tackle store on those sleds. How does it work for you? That would be nice not having to rerig much. Thanks for sharing your ideas I’ve really enjoyed these creative options. Thanks Jeff
It’s kind of fun to see how these talented masters have figured out better ways of doing things. I’m an engineer in my previous jobs and I always found my best designs came from listening to the people that knew the system I was trying to fix. If I just put something together off what I think is best I’m very likely to miss something important. So this has been great to see some neat ideas. I’ll try to get something together in the next week or so and I’ll post a picture of what I came up with. Thanks everyone. J