How many people use a smitty sled under a one man flip-over?

[straightShot]

One man flip-overs are light, unless someone insists on bringing a week's worth of gear.  How many people in the IceShanty world put a smitty sled under their one-man?  Is it really necessary? 

[Ice Scratcher]

I do, four miles minimum of walking, you take any advantage you can get..

Short walks, (non walleye fishing) I do without..

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[Hookerhooker]

I do behind my sled, helps keep slush and snow off, don't have to use a cover

[DR.SPECKLER]

I do with my frabill commando if theres more than 6” of snow.it pulls like a dead deer in slush or powder snow.wet snow is not so bad.i dont use it for my fx100 ever tho.thats a light small shack.

[matzilla]

I always say i'm going to build one - never have. There are a few times, looking back, where i dearly wish I had one built

[Flatrocker]

Walking, pulling through snow, absolutely.   

[HWeber]

As already stated if there's snow i would for sure. 

[filetandrelease]

With snow yes ,

[ship of fools]

I always say i'm going to build one - never have. There are a few times, looking back, where i dearly wish I had one built

He sells a kit on Ebay.  A little pricy due to shipping but may be worth it since it's so easy

With a few inches of snow it helps immensely

[Raquettedacker]

Oh, Oh ,,,
me me me me me    ,,,   Mister Kotter...   

 

[rdhammah]

I have. it depends upon the snow conditions and where I go. there is one place where access is a 45* hill. I would use it there for sure

[pete/ny]

I do, four miles minimum of walking, you take any advantage you can get..

Short walks, (non walleye fishing) I do without..

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ICE SCRATCHER- YOU REALLY need an ICE AUGER MACINE walking those kind of Miles!!

[pete/ny]

If anyone in the Western NY area is looking for a BN never used Smitty Sled I am getting rid of one. I built it a few years ago and its been up in my loft since then. I purchased a snowmobile and an ATV so no need to walk. Really nice sled. If anyones interested text me at 716-998-1564. I will be putting it on Craigslist very shorty.

[Spider1]

if there's more than 1" of snow, I'll bring the smitty. Not all one man flips are light. I have a clam with the swivel seat and I do pack it up. It can get heavy. But that's not the problem.  Some tubs tend to snow plow when you drag them around on ice with snow. My clam isn't that bad but I've seen some that would plow snow bad. The smitty gets the tub up out of the snow so it doesn't plow it.

[Ice Scratcher]

ICE SCRATCHER- YOU REALLY need an ICE AUGER MACINE walking those kind of Miles!!

Right.. or a boat..



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[Max The Destroyer]

If we could get away with that here in NY, I would gladly pay for one on those!

[MimiCat]

As has been said before, over an inch or two of snow, SMITTY UP!

[straightShot]

I just need to pick up a pair of old skis and get going on a sled.

[straightShot]

...and I just need to figure out the slickest way of  making a smitty sled that will allow me to easily load and unload on the ice for hole-hopping and quick fishing.  I need to be able to move, drill two holes, and then commence to fishing within a minute.  Loading and unloading of the shanty has to be 15 seconds or less.  I don't want to spend ten minutes removing the shanty, etc., before I'm fishing again.  Using my popup hub, I waste too much time unloading, anchoring the corners, and carrying stuff into my tent.

I need to get smart on this before the season.  I want to be able to leave work with my gear in my truck, walk onto the ice, quickly pop two holes with my auger, and begin fishing on cold afternoons.  Moving around needs to be an option if I want, so loading to move should take less than a minute as well.

If anyone can share a picture of a quick setup on a sled that lends itself to being able to get to fish quickly, I'd appreciate it.  Maybe I'm just overthinking this, but I even thought of attaching skis to the bottom of the plastic tub to avoid unnecessary loading and unloading.

Thanks!

[Seamonkey84]

Practice makes perfect! Keep doing drills till you get it down. Remeber, it’s only training if your using all the same gear and cloths while your doing the tasks. So suit up and do some dry runs in the driveway or lawn 
Seriously though, pack your gear like your going minimalist with the option of having the shelter.  By that, I mean keep your auger, a rod and your flasher on top of all your gear, and just bungee the shelter to the sled. Get to your spot, pop some holes and see if anyone’s home. Once you find a spot, if feel like hunkering down, Push shelter off sled to your holes and flip her up. All your “extra” gear (more rods, heater, bait buckets, ice traps, etc) should be packed in your flip over already in the layout you prefer. The longest part should be setting up and taking down the shelter part itself, and maybe getting the heater going if you need one. Problem is, sometimes the drilling and dragging of sled/setting up shelter may put down or scatter the fish your targeting. If you want to move every 10-15 mins, drill a bunch of holes ahead of time in your area and just slide your shelter from one set of holes to another and give it a min. 

[HWeber]

I thought I remembered someone fishing from a one man still on their smitty. Obviously the tent wouldn't reach the ground but the seat still worked.  Could be worth a try

[FISHFORPIKE]

Smitty sleds make dragging in snow a breeze.  Would not be without one.

[Spider1]

No need to put your sled up on the smitty if you are just moving a short distance unless you got lots of snow. I will use the smitty while I'm draggin it all out to the fishing area. Once I am there I get the sled down off it and just use the smitty to rest my auger on to keep it out of snow and ice. If I just have to move 20 to 50 yards, I will drag the smitty behind the clam.

It's easy though to get the sled up on the smitty. I will position the clam right in front of the smitty. Then, I will grab the clam pull rope, walk behind the smitty and stand on the skies (to keep it from sliding) and pull the clam up. I do it with all my gear packed up in the clam, takes a few seconds and then I wrap a strap over it to keep it in place. But like I said, I don't waste the effort if I'm just moving to drill another hole or 2 in the same area.

[straightShot]

No need to put your sled up on the smitty if you are just moving a short distance unless you got lots of snow. I will use the smitty while I'm draggin it all out to the fishing area. Once I am there I get the sled down off it and just use the smitty to rest my auger on to keep it out of snow and ice. If I just have to move 20 to 50 yards, I will drag the smitty behind the clam.

It's easy though to get the sled up on the smitty. I will position the clam right in front of the smitty. Then, I will grab the clam pull rope, walk behind the smitty and stand on the skies (to keep it from sliding) and pull the clam up. I do it with all my gear packed up in the clam, takes a few seconds and then I wrap a strap over it to keep it in place. But like I said, I don't waste the effort if I'm just moving to drill another hole or 2 in the same area.

It makes sense.  I just need some skis and wood to get started.

[ship of fools]

It makes sense.  I just need some skis and wood to get started.

If you're on facebook put a post up asking if anyone has an old pair laying around. I had an offer for a free pair within 5 minutes

[straightShot]

If you're on facebook put a post up asking if anyone has an old pair laying around. I had an offer for a free pair within 5 minutes

Good idea!  I'll do that!

[straightShot]

ship of fools:

That was pure genius.  Within 5 minutes of posting on Facebook, a friend said that he'd bring a nice 1980's set of skis over to my house!

[ship of fools]

ship of fools:

That was pure genius.  Within 5 minutes of posting on Facebook, a friend said that he'd bring a nice 1980's set of skis over to my house!

Thanks for the compliment but dumb luck may be more accurate than pure genius!

[hays47]

For the life of me. I can't think of a reason to not build a Smitty Sled. Have actually lots of fun experimenting and discussing  on forums. Almost everyone wants to personalize their build of the Smitty. Part of the fun. I actually spent a few days experimenting with water skis vs snow skis.. Result I have one of each.

Also spent a few days coating with poly urethane. To preserve the build's wood.

At 70 years of age I need every advantage available. The Smitty has extended my ice fishing career. Trust me if you build one and use it. You will glad you did.

[Ice Scratcher]

Here's the one I use for my one man flip.. I built it slightly different for strength and weight.. Second page has videos..

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=307619.0

When you start adding things up, you can pack a lot of weight into those little flips. With all that weight, six inches of snow x miles will whoop the toughest..

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