Hole De-icer

[Drifter_016]

Any body know the name of a little battery puck like deal that sits in the hole and vibrates keeping the hole free of ice? I heard about them on another board and they seem to work well. The guy who posted about it said his buddy had it and forgot to get the name of it.
He said they had one and it kept the hole open all day in -30C temps. I could use some of them.  

[dcso3009]

I saw them at the ice show, and on the shelf at a local store.  Sorry I don't remember the name....

[Mounter]

I am interested in the name also.

[akdube]

I think you can do the same thing with a bait puck with waxies or mealworms in it. A little music and dancing machines they will be. Should get that water movin just enough to keep her ice free. Heck probably charge your buudies admission. good luck and let me know how that turns out.

[bucketmouth]

Biggest waste of money ever.  Do they work, yes!  Do they last, heck no!  Mine lasted a day in mild weather, my bud kept returning his after a use or two to get a new one from the bait shop.  They're just not built to last I'm afraid.

[Drifter_016]

Well I found out what they are. It seems they are made for duck hunting to give the illusion of movement in the decoys. And they're even on sale. 

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp;jsessionid=RYSEGBW5NXBF1LAQBBJCCOVMCAEFGIWE?id=0005687223528a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Product_liberal&QueryText=quiver+magnet&sort=all&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_requestid=59892

[alaskaruss1]

The concept sounded very appealing until I checked the Cabela's website and looked at the reviews. I think I will stick to scooping out the hole. 

[Drifter_016]

The concept sounded very appealing until I checked the Cabela's website and looked at the reviews. I think I will stick to scooping out the hole. 

That's what I though too, until I realized all the bad press was for the Magnum.
Seems the regular ones are ok and batteries last 10 or 12 hours for 2 AA's as opposed to 1 to 3 hours for 4 AA's in the Magnums.

[akdube]

2 aa in a walkman. I'm tellin ya charge admission make some money

[Hardwater Problem]

For what it's worth drifter, I have a duck butt that has a vibrating puck in it, and it goes dead in about two hours.  These things have a huge rotating weighted arm in them that spins and makes a pretty good ripple.  If it is the same thing, and not designed for ice fishing, they are noisy and vibrate horribly when making contact with the sides of your hole.  Pad the edges and keep a slug of batteries in your pocket, and I think it may work.  Would the vibrations be an advantage or disadvantage as far as spooking or attracting fish???

[Drifter_016]

  Would the vibrations be an advantage or disadvantage as far as spooking or attracting fish???

The guy on the other site said the hole with the vibrating puck was the only hole to produce fish on that trip.       

[Hardwater Problem]

Guess what I will be trying tomorrow...  thanks drifter!!!  It was about minus 12 here last night when we unzipped my buddy's shack to pack out.  I had to bust out my tip up, there was about two inches of ice in those holes.  The shack kept it so that we were only scooping at about five minute intervals, but if it works...  we'll see. 

[Barleydog]

Too cold for one of those up here Drifter...  I used to use a couple duck hunting and they work fine in 50 degree weather, but!  The minute you use them in the cold, they last an hour tops.  Can't imagine how long they'd last at 10- ??

[Drifter_016]

Too cold for one of those up here Drifter...  I used to use a couple duck hunting and they work fine in 50 degree weather, but!  The minute you use them in the cold, they last an hour tops.  Can't imagine how long they'd last at 10- ??

According to the fellow on the other site it worked great in -30C windchills.
He is located in the Sudbury area of Ontario, not Arctic cold but chilly enough.
It would be worth it to buy one just to try it out. IMO

went fishing a little speckie lake yesterday (we caught 3, no pics and missed 5 ), the temps. with the windchill were in the -30's, needless to say our holes kept freezing over in no time, a buddy had a vibrating puck to put in the hole to keep it from freezing over and to my amazement it actually worked, the best thing since sliced bread imo. (if ur talking ice fishing that is...) so of course figured i gotta buy me some of those, only i've never seen them before or heard of them for that matter, i tried googling vibrating puck but that didn't help, searched bps, and cabelas with no luck, tried searching the forum here and still nothing

[Home Wood]

I check my traps enough to keep them from freezing up too much. I don't like the idea of possibly having no bait on the hook for hours.

[geothefisher]

If they are on sale at Cabelas, you can bet they are no good.  Ever notice how Cabelas puts all the junk in the bargain cave!

[Drifter_016]

If they are on sale at Cabelas, you can bet they are no good.  Ever notice how Cabelas puts all the junk in the bargain cave!

I don't know about that.
I buy a lot of stuff out of the bargain cave.
My Cabelas underwater camera works well and the Cabela's Pigment died tee I'm wearing (as well as the 1/2 dozen others up to 5 years old) are great. My Cabela's Auger Hauler is awesome and I got it for 1/2 off in the bargain cave.

[geothefisher]

I don't know about that.
I buy a lot of stuff out of the bargain cave.
My Cabelas underwater camera works well and the Cabela's Pigment died tee I'm wearing (as well as the 1/2 dozen others up to 5 years old) are great.

I'm so glad that you have had a positive experience.  The clothing is never a problem, but I would bet your camera was a display or a return.

[bubba55124]

Best thing I've used is a coffe can with some match lite charcoal,place it 3-4 inches from the whole and it will keep it open till the charcoal dies,it works great.

[Kevin23]

I'm so glad that you have had a positive experience.  The clothing is never a problem, but I would bet your camera was a display or a return.

Online bargain cave and the in-store bargain cave are two totally different things. The in-store one is just customer returns.