Wheelhouse setup with no snow

[Nordern]

I have always set my wheelhouse down on a 2 X 4's and banked it. Now with no snow is it OK to utilize the slush from the holes to seal the house and drop it all the way down to the ice? I usually fish for 2 days and was wondering if the shack would freeze to the ice? Thanks for any help.

[LightningBG]

It certainly could freeze down. That slush gets pretty solid in a short amount of time. We were out yesterday and it was a pain just getting the canvas from the portable to break free. We had to beat on it a while with a shovel. I dont think I'd risk slushing it in.

Do you have any old blankets or drop clothes that you could roll up and put around the edge of the house(after its up on 2x4s)? Or strips of plywood that you could set up around the perimeter? or even 2x4s on edge? Then at least you could pull the house out of the way, and beat on those to get them free of the ice.

[fishadb]

That will be fine, as long as there isn't water coming up your holes. The only time I ever block mine is if it's not sitting quite level. I made the mistake once when I was in high school of not moving the house away from a snowbank before drilling holes and then left. Dad was a little po'd as it took quite a while to chop out.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I've never blocked up a wheel house. The only way I can see you'd have a problem is if you get a bunch of snow, or there is already a couple inches of water on the ice. Really the only water that should come up would be from drilling holes, but that is minimal and shouldn't cause the house to freeze down.

[tisosy11]

I was leery about using the slush to bank the house this weekend (zero snow). But I found a high spot out of the water Friday and banked with the slush. House popped right off the ice both times I moved it. I brought lumber along incase i had to set up in the water, but was lucky.

[fishergurl]

Use pool noodles under your shack instead of the slush. Cheap and easier than shoveling!

[fishergurl]

oh, and get some hole sleeves for inside your shack!

[vman11]

Depending on the make of your frame and hole covers/liners, there should really be very little banking.

I drill my holes with the house up but don't remove the slush. When I set the house down the slush makes a perfect seal around my holes. Make sure to pack it in and let it freeze. Unless there is a stiff wind or snow is readily accessible, I usually never bank.

2 days on the ice shouldn't freeze your house in unless you set it in already standing water.

[fowldreams]

Use the slush if need be. You are running your heater inside the house while out there. So, there is alot of heat that will be trapped beneath to prevent from freezing in . There was couple inches of water on the ice when I set up Friday. Dropped house all the way down and fished til yesterday morning which was well below zero. And the house came right out and away we went.

[Farley]

We do the same as VMan. Just drill the holes and let the slush bank the holes, no need to bank the house. If you need more ice, drill some more holes outside and use that ice.

[minnbowhunter]

I drop the house about halfway down, then drill the holes. If I leave the house all the way up, I am bent way over cutting thick ice. My house seems to drop at a little bit at an angle, the closer the house is to the ice the better the holes in the house match up with the holes I cut. Drop the house and use the slush. Fished the same spot for a week and the house lifted up just fine. If you get concerned just give the handles a crank or two to keep it loose.

[Nordern]

Thanks for all the information. I will give it a try this weekend.

[Nordern]

Well got up to Mille Lacs on Friday morning and sure enough there was no snow for banking at all. I set the house down 1/2 way and drilled the holes. I then lowered it fully and used the slush to seal off any air gaps. I was surprised that my shack was probably the warmest it has been. After 3 days on the ice it cranked up just fine. Thanks again for all the pointers.

[Redlineracer12]

I've noticed that if there is a decent breeze you might not have snow when you setup, but you probably will after being there for an hour or two. That's if there is snow someplace on the lake. I also drill while up in the air and drop it down on the slush though.

[Finlander]

Does anybody use those slush buckets placed over the hole and captures all the ice chips and slush while the house is placed all the way down on the ice while drilling?

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

I do, but only if my buddies are there. They work good for keeping the ice cuttings out of the shack. Most of the time I just drill the holes and shovel any slush up. This year I pack the slush around the holes to help seal them up.

[bk_MN_iceman]

finlander, yes - my buddy has this slush bucket and we use it while the house is sitting on the ice. Drill the holes, fill the slush bucket and dump it on the ice to bank the house with. Usually with the 5 holes and 12+ inches of ice we can make it around the house pretty decently.

Then we also use the slush inhaler to get the excess slush from the holes, into a 5 gallon bucket and use the more wet slush to pack down the wind side of the house a bit better.

Finally, plop in the hole sleeves and we're set for a draftless weekend!

[Bulldoggr]

wheres the Like Button?

[timjones]

I do. Works good. Just drop the house down, put the slush bucket over the hole, auger your hole, scoop the rest of the chips into the slush bucket and dump. The only thing I don't like is I have to do one hole at a time. Start the auger, do a hole, stop the auger, scoop, dump, move bucket to next hole, start the auger, and so on.

[BigDogRob]

I used the slush bucket this weekend while dropped to the ice and it worked just fine. with a couple guys it is even better one holds the auger while the other dumps the bucket outside and on to the next. the chips from augering pushes out nicely and seals when the water hits it. I did find that when dropping a sleeve that it works better to put the sleeve in first then use the slush inhaler. since the auger size is different than the sleeve. I did notice that since we didn't bank anything around the house our holes started to freeze and shrink in size by the end of the day... I like the idea of the fun noodles, but with a 8'x21' that could get spendt when the wind blows then away while cranking...lol if there was a way to tie them all together and form a v for the front that would a good thing to use. I would think they would freeze in pretty easy though. maybe something like a plastic runner that had a foam center just plastic on the side that contacts the ice? It's always cool to hear ideas or trial & errors...

[sunniewally]

I USE INERTUBES 13". CLEAR THE ICE FROM UNDERNEATH AND PUT THEM IN PLACE AND DROP HER DOWN . SEALS UP GOOD. MAKE SURE THE SCREWS FROM THE HOLE COVERS AREN'T STICKING THRU.