What's your setup?

[800stealth]

A take on Joe's ice fishing ride thread...

If I'm solo I'm bringing out a portable for sure. For skinny ice on foot I've got a DLX 3000 suitcase shanty that fits in whatever I'm driving and is fairly quick to setup, though I have been dinged in the head a few times by the support hoops that my wingspan is a few inches short of lifting both at the same time lol. It doesn't drag well and not too mobile once setup and a big gust can put you into an ugly faceplant (that's a different thread lol) but it's light and has great views of your traps through the windows from a bar stool and the floor is a gamechanger for staying dry, no insulation but a medium buddy heater on low is plenty for jeans and a hoodie.




Once there's enough ice for a wheeler or sled I bring a bigger shack, I have a gen 1 Bayrunner that is perfect for running all over the lake, I use a good ridged hitch and just stay hooked to the machine all day. Setup in a bayrunner is literally 10-15 seconds and moving is just as easy, just close the trap doors and off you go, no need to close up. Makes searching for fish very easy. No insulation in this one either but it's small and a carpeted floor keeps it toasty with the same medium buddy heater on low.



If I know the spot I intend to setup on I'll bring the Otter lodge pro xt. It's a monster and pretty much impossible to drag by hand unless on glare, so it only comes out behind the wheeler. This unit gets pinned down as base camp and has everything I could need for a full day out even in the worse conditions, heavy insulation keeps thing warm and more importantly quiet on tough weather days. It's got a full deck over the tub with plenty of room for a pad and sleeping bag, full led lighting, and a 120 volt converter running off a 18 ah lithium for charging camera batteries or phone.. I once watched John Carpenter's The Thing on my laptop in a storm while the flags were slow to pop lol. My beagle Jezzabelle love this shack as well, it's always got her blanket and treats, most folks don't have a clue she's lounging inside.




If I'm fishing with friends, it's a day of keeping the wind at my back and bringing the smallest jet sled I've got with just the basics wether on machine or foot. Usually have a tripod chair for chilling out waiting on flags and enjoying the conversation... We've found that parking a pair of the biggest wheelers on the lake side by side makes for a good wind break when you sit in the footwells...



So what do you guys do? Different setups for different conditions? only go out when you can drive the Winnebago out on the ice? Are you a real man and ride the bucket in the wind no matter what?

[TheCrittaC]

I'm usually on foot and by myself. For a shelter, I always bring my portable Eskimo 949i, unless I plan to hole hop. It's wide, comes with plenty of anchors (I use the drill attachment to drive them in) and I can set it up by myself without it blowing away because of the grommets in the corners. If it's a sunny day, it heats up very well and I can crank the stove down really low.
The pack basket, table, chair, cooler, fish finder, stove, propane (one-pound cylinders), bait bucket and various other things go into a standard Jet Sled. That gets loaded onto a homemade wide Smitty Sled. The auger goes on one side of the Smitty and the shack goes on the other side. The Smitty Sled has the added benefits of getting large, awkwardly-shaped things out of the Jet Sled and making pulling everything much easier.
If I do have my snowmobile, which I haven't registered in NH this year, everything can fit into a Jet Sled XL with some creative arrangement and bungee cords.

[800stealth]

I hear ya on registering machines this year... I did the sled but not the wheeler and that was mainly for trail riding. Only a couple days this year I felt comfortable on the ice with machines.
That smitty looks really stable, nice and wide.

[jigmaster5]

My main set-up is an Otter Sled II (not sure if they make them anymore) - it's similar to a Jet Sled Jr.

For this set-up, I want to be as light as possible so I can stay mobile.  That means no shelter, no chair, no tip-ups, no bait bucket, no radio, no food, no stove, etc, etc, etc. - just stuff for jigging.

1st thing that I do is to take the cheap, thin horrible rope that comes w/ the sled off & save it for something else.  Next, I get a much thicker + longer rope from the local H/W store & presto already 2x better.  Helps w/ dragging alot.  I tried a smitty sled, but found no benefit.

In the sled, I have the folllowing:
- Cordless drill (Milwaukee 18V brushless) + bottom half of a 6" Lazer hand auger w/ drill adapter (& extra 6 mAh battery)
- Paracord (mostly for rescuing dog walkers and/or their dogs...haven't had to use it yet....but 1 day years ago I wished that I had it)
- Safety spikes (in case I fall in...hasn't happened yet...but I've seen other ppl fall in & doesn't look fun...so I try hard to avoid it)
- 4 jig rod cases (UL, L, ML, M) - mix of rods that I've built + commercial rods.
- Altoids tin of safety stuff (bandages, fire starter, etc) - fits in a pocket of the jig rod case.
- 1 small boxes for small lures (tiny jigs + spoons) + 1 medium box for larger lures + a small lunch bag that I use for misc tackle + tools
- 1 small bait cup (usually trout worms - sometimes spikes)
- 1 foam kneeling mat (like ppl use for gardening)....rarely use it....but if the weather is nasty can buy me a few more hrs of fishing time
- HT Polar Mitts (just the outer layer) in case it gets really cold + windy
- 1 underwater camera (don't even bring sonar any more - saves on space + weight, too)
- Jiffy chipper dipper (ice scoop).  Mine is old + rivets are starting to loosen up, but I will keep using it until it falls apart.

And that's it!  The whole package is very lightweight.  This is my main set-up & what I fish 95% of the time.

Oh, if I'm fishing late ice or ice that I'm not 100% confident in, I will bring a Jiffy Mille Lacs chisel (sometimes a plank, too).


2nd set-up:

If it's very cold or I'm bringing kids out, I will bring a Frabill Commando flip-over (or stay home if it's crazy cold).  Same thing w/ this sled, take off the cheap, thin, short stock rope + replace w/ thicker + longer rope that feels good in hand & doesn't absorb water.  Next add, hyfax runner kit both for ease of pulling & to save the tub.  Buddy Jr heater + some propane will keep it fishable until low teens.  Only 1 trip w/ this sled this yr w/ my daughter....otherwise hasn't been cold enough to need the flipover when I've fished....packed it full of tip-ups, bait, her skating stuff, snacks, extra clothes, drinks, plus all my regular stuff.

[Steve H.]

Not to get into every piece, but here are the major ones I use
 
- 2015 Silverado pickup (to and from)
- Eskimo Quickfish 3 (non insulated)
- Little Buddy heater (1 lb cans only)
- Jet Sled XL (all day trips)
- Jet Sled standard (half day trips)
- Milwaukee Fuel 18v drill
- StrikeMaster Lite Flite (8")
- Vexilar FLX-12
- 2 13 Fishing jigging rods (UL, Med)
- 1 Clam Gravity drop reel (6 lb)
- 1 13 Fishing Free Fall drop reel (3 lb)
- Several miscellaneous older jig rod setups from UL to Heavy bucktail rods
- Assortment of tip ups, mostly Heritage Lakers with a few others mixed in
- A bunch of other stuff, cookware (all day trips), safety equipment, chair and jigging stool, scoops, chipper, tackle bag with jig boxes and terminal hardware, etc, etc, etc....

[Roccus]

 I'm a tinkerer... always evolving, and trying to improve, some of it is due to age, sometimes it's about being more convenient...

My basic gear is traps , terminal tackle and jigging gear, along with something to make a hole in the ice with..

this gear revolves around a jet sled Jr, a Medium Nordic  sled( made by clam) and a large Nordic sled, my 4-wheeler and backpack figure into the mix.

I have a soft tackle bag that houses hooks, weights, jigs leaders material, small first aid kit, spare auger blades and the tools to change them, sunglasses and hand held depth finer, this bag can go into any system i use, it's grab and go, nothing gets left behind. It's probably the only thing good i ever got out of my Salt water sportsman subscription.

That bag can go into any of the tubs, a back pack or the wheeler. Nothing important is left behind
The traps I have are 3 sizes, I have the mosquito fleet  that are 12" tall and weigh about 8 ounces, all six fit =into a small zippered " beaver dam" style bag, my "go to" are 30: tall cross style with 4" spools, they are sturdy and not too heavy they fit into a rocket launcher set up made from plastic rain gutter, the rocket launchers slide into 2" pvc on all my sleds/tubs and onto the wheeler.. my heavy duty "big boy traps and are  standard  H style, 30" tall bye 25" I only use them during windy days when I dont want to stay home ( or like the derby a few years back) they are heavy and bulky.. but wont budge in the wind.

I have 2 Smitty sleds, the new one made specifically for my medium nordic sled, the other )older) one fits my Eskimo wide one hub or my large nordic sled, both nordic sleds have kettle grill mounts, i only use the large sled when I have the wheeler and carry cooking gear.

I also have an Eskimo 3 man , I think it's a Quickfish, i rarely use any of my hubs..
the backpack ( and snowshoes) are for times when the snow is deep, foot travel is the only option , I toss the bait bucket into the Jet sled Jr, along with the auger of my choice and load the mosquito fleet into the backpack.

I have 5 auger choices plus a Mils lac chisel as well as My red neck hammer chisel.. 3 of the augers are gas, of those 1 is an antique "1 armed bandit" it still runs but is never used. I have an 80's vintage 10 "  3 HP jiffy, it runs, it hasn't been used since i stopped going to champlain

The remaining gas is a 2 hp jiffy STX 8" the last 2 stroke they made
.. these days I use, an 8" ion and a 8" Eskimo pistol bit with Milwaukee fuel drill, and I use that more and more as time goes on..

Bait buckets are numerous, but now I only use 2, both Engel cooler, one is 30Qt. the other is 7.5, they dont slop water like a bucket, and bait doesnt freeze either.

I can fish just about any species, under any condition if I so desire - these days, the desire is far less than when i was younger..

[SALMONEMIA]

looks great joe. I use mainly a smitty and occasionally a pop over shelter. I don't cook food on the ice I usually bring simple foods to eat with little prep and a few beers that's it.

[Roccus]

looks great joe. I use mainly a smitty and occasionally a pop over shelter. I don't cook food on the ice I usually bring simple foods to eat with little prep and a few beers that's it.

You've fished enough  with me to know I get a little carried away with what I bring.

But you won't forget the day my truck dropped through the shell ice in the parking area and I used my winch to pull the truck to solid ground.. I haven't used it since. But I have it " just in case,"

[SALMONEMIA]

You've fished enough  with me to know I get a little carried away with what I bring.

But you won't forget the day my truck dropped through the shell ice in the parking area and I used my winch to pull the truck to solid ground.. I haven't used it since. But I have it " just in case,"

Absolutely, that was like watching a real episode of ice road truckers. Coolest self-rescue I have seen

[DConICE]

Not as much of a set-up but still feel like I bring too much... and still not happy with how it all works. Need more trips and adjustments.

Always on foot... or I'd probably bring more.

Clam Kenai pro thermal is my main sled... since even when I don't flip it over the seat works well for jigging.
Problem is the way the seat mounts (two pipes acting as rails to slide forward and back on) it takes up a large portion of the sled and limits what can be stored. Plus being a deep sled- things get "lost" in the bottom under the folds of fabric. I have tried some organization methods/devices to make it more efficient, but have yet to be completely happy with any of them. 

I do have a buddy heater - but rarely need it if the cover is flipped over, so usually leave it behind.

Tackle is in a back-pack with plano boxes in it, rescue rope and boat seat cushion (float) are part of the standard haul. Boat Seat/Cushion works well for kneeling when tending traps... a throw safety device... and padding for the 5 gallon bucket if sitting on it.

I carry a Jiffy 3.0 HP 10" still (its not that old and can't justify the upgrade yet) and I need to find a better way to carry it on the sled.  Always carry my chisel and ice picks... but again need a better mounting plan.

I did build a smitty a few years back they would hold the sled/shelter, auger, chisel, jig rods etc... but it started getting heavy for pulling, plus made the seat unusable unless I took the shelter off the smitty when I got somewhere - which defeated they purpose of trying to be mobile.

Usually carry my bait bucket nested in a 5 gallon bucket... spills and splashes mostly end up in the 5 gallon bucket and can be poured back in the bait bucket. The 5 gallon bucket doubles as an extra seat or holder for electronics (higher easier to see). This will wedge in the aforementioned seat rails so it does stay upright while transporting bait. I also have a gallon Coleman drink cooler that I am going to try to use for bait. I don't carry a lot of bait, and it won't leak when tipped or freeze when bitter cold, so I think it will work out.

Carry Garmin striker 4 or Lowrance hook fish finder, and if fishing clear lakes - Aquaview camera with motorized tripod. Of course tip-ups, jigging rods, scoops etc. are always in the sled.

I mostly fish alone so no longer pull the Coleman stove, grill, table, camp chairs etc... That was when fishing was an outing and that gear overloaded a small jet sled...  Still not sure how I fit it all, but do miss those days taking out the kids and friends.

Recently made a rod mount out of scraps before the last trip, if I like the way it performs I will make it out of better material and make it permanent.  It not only is a place to carry rods while transporting - but also to hold them while jigging with another - whether the cover is flipped over or not.   

[bassin212]

Some nice rigs here for sure! I definitely need to build a smitty. A lot of my gear is bulky and heavy, but I added a one man Frabill flipover to the arsenal because I was tired of dragging my 3 man insulated clam flipover around.

 I also snagged an otter monster lodge for my camping trips. I was throwing all the camping gear in the 3 man flipover and a jet sled xl, but cramming everything into that 3 man with the bar running down the middle is a PITA. So I recently purchased a Shappell Magnum Sled. Which will be dragged by the 2002 Arctic Cat Panther.

For an auger I run a 8” Eskimo pistol bit on a Milwaukee hammer drill. Have a big buddy and portable buddy. Only use the big buddy for camping. Helix 7 MSI for the boat and ice flasher, helix 5 on the snowmobile for GPS, and a 19QT Engel cooler that fits perfectly in my snowmobile basket. Only mod I really want to do now is figure out a good way to mount rods on my snowmobile for the days I want to run and gun.

[george_l]

I have an Eskimo 3 person pop up, only set it up once, never bring it.

I have a Jet sled I bought at a yard sale for $20, not sure what size it is, might be an XL.

I carry my Eskimo Pistol Bit, Milwaukee drill, 2 5 amp hr batteries, my spud, about 8 traps, 4 jig rods, 5 gallon pail and bait bucket, wicker basket, and an old flasher.  Usually throw a couple of beers in the basket.  If I'm fishing with a certain crew, a bottle of Bourbon.

I hardly ever sit, if I have to I'll use the pail.  I'm not a sitter, would rather drill more holes, and find more fish!

George

[Dirt23]

My shanty is a striker climate suit with some minus 33s underneath and mad bomber hat on top.  Regular size jet sled that is tiered, dividers in bottom to keep traps (heritage), and dividers support a piece of 3/8plyood that is cut to full shape of interior of sled.  On top of this plywood goes old Plano 787 filled with about every jig imaginable, yeti bucked usually filled with smelt or goldens DeWalt tipped with kdrill.  Off back of sled 5 rod holders 1for scoop and 4 for different powered rods. Simple yet mobile and effective

[PoolGuy]

Usually I’m out in my Polaris Ranger UTV.  The dump body works great to carry everything and set up a base camp…   
When on foot or fishing other lakes I have my strikemaster glide lite sled or my jet sled

[jethro]

I bring way too much stuff, all the time. I did buy a one man portable for the days when I'm pulling by hand and it will be cold and windy, but haven't used it yet.

Most of the time I want to be laker fishing in my flip, and it's too heavy to pull by hand, so that has to wait until I have enough ice to bring the sled.