Let's See Your Smitty Sleds

[JMailbox8]

Had a car top cargo carrier that was going out by the road for free until a stroke of genius came and my smitty sled idea was born. The next day I heard of some skis that were going to be placed out for free at the town recycling center and grabbed a set the same length as my cargo carrier. With some scrap wood and screws I had around the house, I put it together in about an hour... and at basically no cost. The best part is it fits in my Pontiac Vibe hatchback perfectly. No more fishing items falling out of my toboggan and I can even fit my augers and pop-up in it. It pulls real easy, even when packed full. It keeps snow out of my stuff, and when I get home, all I have to do is drag it in to the garage and it's ready for next time. Let's see your smitty sled ideas.

[spot]

Built this last year, free except for some screws I needed:







It's a tri-hull, a toboggan with conduit outriggers and a cargo bed built from repurposed lumber.

[Troutmagnet]

Great ideas guys! I am partial to the cartop carrier idea. Will have to look out for a free one next summer.
Thanks for sharing.

[flyfish413]

Buit this sled beginning of last season. It folds in half for transport and fits an obscene amount of gear. The sled is held tight with a cam-lock strap. Been a real life saver in the snow.

[spot]

Nice work guys!

Mine holds everything I currently take out on the ice and does well in the snow, which is about all I can ask for I guess. It even holds the folding chairs I like to sit in since my back started getting older.

[stripernut]

My second season with this one, have been very happy with it! I kept it a little low and can leave my Clam Scout on it and still fish. VERY light, but make over 100 lbs feel like 10!

[Lavman]

I built this one last year due to the deep snow we had, it is amazing what a difference this makes dragging gear by hand. The long pull rope is also very important. Now that I have used this a fair amount I have decided that I will build a custom box that will attach to the top of the Smitty to organize all my shunk. Right now I strap the Jet Sled on it and pile all my schtuff in the Jet Sled, I want to be better organized.

Here it is unloaded. To make it very light I used 1x6 pine for the uprights and cross members, I used aluminum angle to secure the uprights to the skis and then reinforced the bottom of the 1x6 with 1" aluminum tubing, it's wicked rugged 

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Here it is with a load on, Frabil Refuge suitcase shelter on the bottom, Jet Sled on top of that and then the gear


The long tow rope is essential. Here is the Smitty along with the sled we pull our youngest angler with:

[Lavman]

Here is a look at the bottom of it, shows the 1" aluminum tube reinforcing

picture uploading

[JiggerDan]

Work of art Lavman! Looks lighter than mine.

[Lavman]

Thanks JD! It is very light.

Smitty came up with an amazing concept, THANKS AGAIN SMITTY!

There are roughly 70 pages of variations OF THE Smitty Sled dreamed up by our fellow IS members, very cool piece of ice fishing equipment. For anyone that hasn't found the thread on the SS here it is: http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=103927.0

[JMailbox8]

Nice looking sleds fellas.

[pikeaddict]

I may need to build one of these for my FX200 next year.  Its ok to drag with <6in of snow, but anymore than that I can see it really starting to suck.  Fortunately this year snow cover hasn't been an issue.

[Troutmagnet]

Thanks JD! It is very light.

Smitty came up with an amazing concept, THANKS AGAIN SMITTY!

There are roughly 70 pages of variations OF THE Smitty Sled dreamed up by our fellow IS members, very cool piece of ice fishing equipment. For anyone that hasn't found the thread on the SS here it is: http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=103927.0

Thanks for posting the Smitty's thread link. Some very cool ideas, only made it through the first 20 pages, more tomorrow night.

[spot]

Until this thread I wasn't familiar with the term "Smitty Sled". Mine isn't one- it was designed based on materials I had in the garage.

[dave b.]

Use the link that Lavman posted to access the thread on the ice shanty equipment page, lots of ideas. I just made one and I will take a photo to share the next time I am on the ice.

[Crayfish2]

I picked up an older Otter sled off Craigslist earlier this year and the bottom is really scarred up so it drags hard.  I'm thinking about "repurposing" some of my old skis into something like Lavman's setup and then strap the Otter on top.  I was contemplating getting the Otter runners, but they want a small fortune for them and I don't think those will help much in deeper snow anyway.

Lavman .... Just curious, why do say that the long rope is a necessity?

[spot]

Use the link that Lavman posted to access the thread on the ice shanty equipment page, lots of ideas. I just made one and I will take a photo to share the next time I am on the ice.

Oh I looked at it and they're cool. The sled I pictured above, while not a "Smitty" works fine for my needs. It's a little heavy but floats well in snow and slides on ice, and carries all the various crap important gear that I bring along with me. I was just explaining how I didn't know there was a thing called a Smitty sled, versus a regular improvised home-build.

[Troutmagnet]

I also did not know why it was called a "Smitty Sled". Great info here. 😳👍

[Lavman]

I picked up an older Otter sled off Craigslist earlier this year and the bottom is really scarred up so it drags hard.  I'm thinking about "repurposing" some of my old skis into something like Lavman's setup and then strap the Otter on top.  I was contemplating getting the Otter runners, but they want a small fortune for them and I don't think those will help much in deeper snow anyway.

Lavman .... Just curious, why do say that the long rope is a necessity?

Crayfish: With a short pull rope you are close to the front of the sled and therefore tend to be lifting the front of the sled up and also pulling it forward at the same time. The long rope puts you way out in front, pulling almost totally horizontal so all your effort is on forward movement, no vertical.

I tried a shorter rope on the Smitty at first, then went to a long rope, made a very noticeable difference.

[Crayfish2]

Thanks, Lavman .... good to know!

[spot]

A long rope also allows you to follow the sled from behind and guide it down a slope when getting to the fishing water. It's an odd sight, a guy looking like a wagon driver going down a wooded path through the woods to a remote pond, but it's better than getting run over by your own sled. 

[Lavman]

That's right, Spot! Last weekend was wicked icy getting to the water, I actually stood on the backs of the skis and rode the Smitty, looked like a dog-less dog sled! LOL!

[Troutmagnet]

Hmmmm, might want to put a couple raised foot rests on the back of these beast just for the thrill...who knows, maybe you might be able to hook up with a wheeler and get a free pull. 

[vtduckhunter]

 How do i post a pic?

[JMailbox8]

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=31022.0

[Chiselhead1]

Here is mine that I built last season.

[spot]

I'm thinking a set of chrome side pipes would make that one pop. 

[Raquettedacker]

That looks great Chiselhead1...  I love the removable handlebar..   

[merk42]

[stripernut]

It would be interesting to hear what the different Smitty's weight...