Author Topic: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?  (Read 16434 times)

Offline tlzkaasen

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Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« on: Dec 06, 2015, 08:56 PM »
Looking for a snowmobile for ice fishing only.  Don't want to spend a lot... Prefer to be under 1k, but maybe as high as 2k. Looking for something reliable and bullet proof. Suggestions?

Will be towing a sled.

Thanks
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline BIGCREW

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 06, 2015, 10:28 PM »
For your price range your not going to get to new of a sled but that doesn't mean you can't get a good one,you may have to shop around a little more but some great deals can be had for the coin you have to spend and any sled beats walking,your best bet is to find someone that knows what to check on a used machine,is the track good does the motor sound good etc.I would steer away from the sporty models and try to buy from àn older person that is less likely to have beat it and took care of it,I worked at a ski area and we had mostly Polaris and a few Yamaha sleds so there the only ones I have any experience with but I know the mechanics preferred Polaris and I did to

Offline Fisherman 1

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #2 on: Dec 07, 2015, 11:24 AM »
Skidoo Skandic or Tundra.

Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 07, 2015, 10:11 PM »
Appreciate the responses
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline redneckdan

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 07, 2015, 10:13 PM »
Stay away from the skandics, especially in your price range. Trust me on this. That transmission is a ticking time bomb. And God help you if you get that thing stuck.

Mid 90s indy 500.

The poo 488 and doo 503/550 engines are bomber. 15,000 miles on a top end is not unheard of.

Offline Alex Delarge

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 08, 2015, 03:27 PM »
A lot of different options but in general you may want to look into a long track with some kind of rack on the back. Fan cooled won't overheat as quickly on bare ice as liquid cooled, and fan cooled is lighter. I wouldn't let that discourage you from a good deal on a liquid sled. Depending on the conditions you fish you may want a studded track, that cost a few hundo to have done if not already done.
I do have a 1995 indy classic (488fuji) with 12,000K and yes they are bulletproof when well maintained. Paid $500 5 years ago
I also have a 1991 MX XTC (470 rotax) with 2,400K that I use more often than not for obvious reasons (mileage/longtrack). Paid $600 last year.
With your budget you're probably not gonna find the ultimate fishing machine cause realistically they are $10,000.
Yamaha, Poo Indy, Ski-Doo w/rotax engine. I'd stay away from the cat IMO but look for a clean sled with low miles.
It must be something in the water.

Offline Adkrs

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 08, 2015, 06:13 PM »
Check out the thread I posted. Atv vs snowmobile. Was in the same boat as you but I was considering and atv too. I may end up spending more though. Lots of good info
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Offline Fisherman 1

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #7 on: Dec 08, 2015, 07:43 PM »
Stay away from the skandics, especially in your price range. Trust me on this. That transmission is a ticking time bomb. And God help you if you get that thing stuck.

Mid 90s indy 500.

The poo 488 and doo 503/550 engines are bomber. 15,000 miles on a top end is not unheard of.
Hahahaha, and the last thing you'd catch me on is anything Polaris, just like a Ford with heated tailgate

Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #8 on: Dec 09, 2015, 04:53 AM »
Check out the thread I posted. Atv vs snowmobile. Was in the same boat as you but I was considering and atv too. I may end up spending more though. Lots of good info

Already have Can-Am 4 wheeler.  Looking to purchase this snowmobile to pull a sled for deep snow.
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

luv2fish2

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #9 on: Dec 09, 2015, 11:36 AM »
find a 2up polaris trail or sport touring reverse and estart are a  plus as is studded track , should be able to find one in your price good reliable cheap to fix and longevity is very good, just sold one and upgraded to a newer arctic cat bearcat long track good luck

Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #10 on: Dec 09, 2015, 09:47 PM »
Appreciate all the responses  :tipup:
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline Whiskeythrottle_24

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #11 on: Dec 10, 2015, 11:00 PM »
Had a 1995 ski doo formula z 583 bored .30 over wiesco high compression pistons and worked great for ice fishing and trail riding. Had zero issues with it and i only paid $550 for it.The 583's are pretty much bullet proof and have a lot of power to rip through the slush. This year i restored a 1998 ski doo mxz 670 that i will be using. Eventually ill buy a air cooled sled just for ice fishing, I love my ski doos

Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #12 on: Dec 11, 2015, 04:52 AM »
Had a 1995 ski doo formula z 583 bored .30 over wiesco high compression pistons and worked great for ice fishing and trail riding. Had zero issues with it and i only paid $550 for it.The 583's are pretty much bullet proof and have a lot of power to rip through the slush. This year i restored a 1998 ski doo mxz 670 that i will be using. Eventually ill buy a air cooled sled just for ice fishing, I love my ski doos

Lots of these around after a quick search on craigslist.  nice!!
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline eiderz

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #13 on: Dec 11, 2015, 06:21 AM »
Had a 1995 ski doo formula z 583 bored .30 over wiesco high compression pistons and worked great for ice fishing and trail riding. Had zero issues with it and i only paid $550 for it.The 583's are pretty much bullet proof and have a lot of power to rip through the slush. This year i restored a 1998 ski doo mxz 670 that i will be using. Eventually ill buy a air cooled sled just for ice fishing, I love my ski doos

Nice first post whiskey, welcome to Iceshanty. I'm a doo guy as well, right now I'm using a 550f Expedition, long track and fan cooled both are very useful on the ice.

Offline Westsloper

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #14 on: Dec 11, 2015, 10:26 AM »
Mid to late 90's Polaris indy 500 Touring is a bomb proof sled. I picked up a 1998 Polaris Indy 500 Touring 2-up 5 years ago with only 2800 miles on it for $1700.00 off Craigslist. I have 7200 miles on it now and its still as strong and soild as the day I bought it.
Jiggin up jumbos!

Offline DR.SPECKLER

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #15 on: Dec 11, 2015, 02:36 PM »
I don't have  a trailer so I was looking for something light. I found a 1996 arctic cat puma 340 deluxe at  a garage sale sitting in some tall grass  and asked if it ran.the guy said he couldn't get it started last year.i got my tools out of my truck checked compression,spark and came to the conclusion that the fuel pump went out.i offered him 300 bucks and when I got it home took the pump off  and put another one that was sitting around on.couldnt get it to start for nothing so I decided to start from the fuel tank and work forward.the gas tank was about half water half fuel when I drained it.now it starts in one pull or a half turn of the key being electric start too.go figure I get a sled after being without one for many years and no snow here in Michigan.kind of off topic but..

Offline SLAYERFISH

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #16 on: Dec 12, 2015, 01:01 PM »
I like sled fishing when its nice out!  These are all mine and I havent found one yet that doesnt work great for ice fishing.   However I would say that  "Big Blue" the Poo touring in the last pic has gotta be the finest ice fishing sled ever made.  Its like riding a heated couch onto the ice.  With reverse! ;D
















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Offline tlzkaasen

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #17 on: Dec 13, 2015, 07:49 AM »
Thanks for sharing slayerfish.  You guys probably right... ANY well taken care of sled thats a decent deal is BETTER than NO sled. 

 :tipup:
Alva Lake in Harshaw, WI (15 minutes to Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Minocqua)

Offline Bout-Time

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #18 on: Dec 13, 2015, 08:08 AM »
Arctic Cat Pantera, Puma or Panther Deluxe w/reverse.
"Many fish their entire lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."-Henry David Thoreau

Offline Madplumber

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #19 on: Dec 13, 2015, 11:31 PM »
Polairs 600 or 700 between 97 and 99 they are bullet proof and should be around $1000

Offline Arctic Addict

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #20 on: Dec 14, 2015, 04:15 PM »
My rides are an Arctic Cat pantera 136" and a Mountain Cat 136" with a 2" paddle.  Deep snow/slush is no problem.
"Hope" is not a good fishing strategy!

Offline eyeflyer

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #21 on: Dec 15, 2015, 05:30 PM »
Mid to late 90's Polaris indy 500 Touring is a bomb proof sled. I picked up a 1998 Polaris Indy 500 Touring 2-up 5 years ago with only 2800 miles on it for $1700.00 off Craigslist. I have 7200 miles on it now and its still as strong and soild as the day I bought it.

I picked up a 2001 low mileage Polaris Indy 550 a couple of years ago. Works well, when its nice I like to fish off the sled so I added a couple rod holders, one on the dash and one on the back (you can fish two lines here when icefishing). And no there not for trolling.....




Offline Arctic Addict

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #22 on: Dec 15, 2015, 05:48 PM »
Travelling light when prospecting new ground.
"Hope" is not a good fishing strategy!

Offline staggerin

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #23 on: Dec 15, 2015, 05:57 PM »
I'd be looking into a jetski
Look at me I can walk on water

Offline Bout-Time

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #24 on: Dec 16, 2015, 09:18 AM »
I'd be looking into a jetski

LOL true!
"Many fish their entire lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."-Henry David Thoreau

Offline cobra_sleds

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #25 on: Dec 16, 2015, 11:44 AM »
Many options out there. Just make sure you get a long track (+136") and reverse. E-start is nice too.
“The problem with self-improvement is knowing when to quit.”

Offline Raeman70

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #26 on: Dec 05, 2018, 09:02 AM »
What's your thoughts on this ? 1992 Indy trail two up with reverse and electric start. Grip and thumb warmers. 1755 miles.
Anyone opinions or experience with this sled?

Offline bootstrap

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #27 on: Dec 05, 2018, 09:10 AM »
i would be looking at long wide track touring models if there are such a thing. good in deep snow.

Offline pmaloney86

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #28 on: Dec 05, 2018, 12:49 PM »
I'm also in the market for a sled.  I've found a few on craigslist but I really dont know up from down when it comes to these machines or really anything mechanical.

Need opinions on the following:
1995 Polaris Indy Special 600 XLT, fox shocks all around, ripsaw track (no studs) ~3200 miles $895
2000 Skidoo Formula Z 700 ~2500 miles, lever reverse, no electric start, studded track $1200
2001 Skidoo Formula Deluxe 600 ~2500 miles, electric start, lever reverse, studded track $1200
2002 Polaris 600 XC SP ~1100 miles, not many details posted but has a studded track, looks brand new in the pics $1900

I'd get the 1995 indy if it had a studded track but around here we don't always have a ton of snow so I feel like studs are necessary.  No clue how much a new studded track would cost
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FISHFORPIKE

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Re: Snowmobile for ice fishing only - what to buy?
« Reply #29 on: Dec 05, 2018, 12:55 PM »
I'm also in the market for a sled.  I've found a few on craigslist but I really dont know up from down when it comes to these machines or really anything mechanical.

Need opinions on the following:
1995 Polaris Indy Special 600 XLT, fox shocks all around, ripsaw track (no studs) ~3200 miles $895
2000 Skidoo Formula Z 700 ~2500 miles, lever reverse, no electric start, studded track $1200
2001 Skidoo Formula Deluxe 600 ~2500 miles, electric start, lever reverse, studded track $1200
2002 Polaris 600 XC SP ~1100 miles, not many details posted but has a studded track, looks brand new in the pics $1900

I'd get the 1995 indy if it had a studded track but around here we don't always have a ton of snow so I feel like studs are necessary.  No clue how much a new studded track would cost

You can stud the track that's on it, add $$$

 



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