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Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Tipups => Topic started by: WYIfish on Nov 25, 2017, 02:01 PM

Title: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: WYIfish on Nov 25, 2017, 02:01 PM
I was following a thread the other day and have lost it so we start over in tipups.

If one takes a black rubber mat and cut an 18 inch or so circle with a slot to the center, one can make a solar powered anti ice accumulator for your tip up. Pretty simple principal and easy to make.   If you can't get a truck or car tube, walmart has black rubber floor mats for around $5 apiece that are pretty good once you cut them round and make sure they are a few inches larger than your hole diameter.  It may have been under chit chat-gadgets.
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: ActiveTrapChecker on Nov 25, 2017, 02:18 PM
We don’t get too extreme cold so for me, I would rather keep after the holes and hack away at the ice with a skimmer. Plus, staying active helps keep me warm
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: fishEH on Nov 25, 2017, 07:55 PM
I use those interlocking foam mat tiles. I cut them into a 12" diameter circle. I only use an 8" auger so they cover the hole fine and stack inside a 5 gal bucket. They actually do make a difference and prevent the holes from freezing up.
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: Chute82 on Nov 26, 2017, 07:27 AM
I used a yoga mat to make hole covers.  Traced the bucket circle with sharpie pen and cut with utility knife.  Fits into a bucket, cheap, and simple.
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: Martian on Jan 02, 2018, 09:41 AM
I used a yoga mat to make hole covers.  Traced the bucket circle with sharpie pen and cut with utility knife.  Fits into a bucket, cheap, and simple.
This is great, cause I ain't doing any yogi!!
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: ActiveTrapChecker on Jan 02, 2018, 09:43 AM
We don’t get too extreme cold so for me, I would rather keep after the holes and hack away at the ice with a skimmer. Plus, staying active helps keep me warm

We did get extreme cold this past weekend, reading all the hole cover posts....
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: stripernut on Jan 27, 2018, 08:35 AM
Been using them for years and work great. I picked up some nice black mats for short money. I just cut them squares and they work just fine, no need to go to the effort of cutting them in circles unless you want to store them in a bucket...
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: ActiveTrapChecker on Jan 27, 2018, 08:38 AM
Been using them for years and work great. I picked up some nice black mats for short money. I just cut them squares and they work just fine, no need to go to the effort of cutting them in circles unless you want to store them in a bucket...

I ended up buying 8 24”x24” mats at Ocean State Job Lot, $9. I got fancy and cut circles, which left me with a lot of waste. 8 covers using 2 mats, saving the other 2 as a partial floor for the pop up
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: SirCranksalot on Jan 27, 2018, 09:10 AM
The OP is on to something here. You want solar heat going IN rather than trying to prevent what little there is in the water from escaping.

I read that on here last year somewhere. I use rods rather than a tip-up so I took a light weight $ store pan and painted the outside black. I could put a hand warmer or a candle underneath if needed, but I was out on thur with temps around -10C(don't know what that is on the old wacky scale  ;D) and didn't need any heat source! Heck, it was even a cloudy day!!
Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: Bucket Rump on Jan 27, 2018, 02:12 PM
I splurged when they were running their New Year's Day sale and picked up a couple of these to try.  After three times out in 15* temps I have to say they do indeed work quite well at keeping the hole clear, at least for the 3-4 hours each time out that we were using them.  They mention on the "tips" sheet they send with the covers to stretch a rubber band from the slot to the outside edge and tuck a hand warmer on the underside if the temps get real cold. 

If I'm only running rods inside my flip shanty I have been using the rings alone as "hole guards" to hopefully prevent kicking any of my gear into the drink.


Title: Re: Tip up hole covers black saturday
Post by: Walleyewacker007 on Jan 27, 2018, 02:39 PM
I got those black hole covers in a three pack for $20 X 2. I use the extra one as a seat pad. They work great for jawjackers, even in heavy snow or sub-zero temps the holes stay clear, I have to clear the jacker more often than tbe hole.