Snowmobiler ran over the Beaver Dam

[GotALunker]

So I'm sitting there fishing about 50-75ft from my tipups with more gear about 10ft from my tipups.

Was with a friend and we were well off the trail when some snowmobilers speed by and what looked like purposefully ran over both of our tips ups...one of which was a new Beaver Dam.

They may not have known the tipups were there, but why did they have to go so close to our gear? Aholes.

[blackdog1101]

That really stinks. Sadly, you can't fix stupid. Some people are just jerk-baits. I have an orange bucket I bought at Home Depot and put it by my tip ups. It works to help keep honest snow mobilers away from my tip ups, but I don't think it will work for A-holes.

[herefish101]

Every time my tipups are out I cringe when I hear snowmobiles screaming closer and closer. I have had one of my tip ups smashed in the past. Exactly like posted by blackdog, I put buckets right next to my tipups, only difference is my buckets are green. I'v ridden my sled all over the lakes of our great state and the only time I'v ever came close to a guy fishing is when A: I know them, or B: there is no other way to get through.

[toughguy]

I had a sled come screaming within feet of my portable today. I was in an area with several other portables where there were a lot of kids and dogs running around on the ice enjoying the nice day. I'm a snowmobiler and it upsets me when stupid people go around giving the sport a bad name. One slip up and people can be killed or seriously injured.

[Archerysniper]

I don't know what it is with some people, my neighbors put up a snow fence on the drive way to keep the drifts down only to have a snowmobiler run through it and drive up through the yard within a foot of the house and wip a sh itty through the landscaping of trees and rocks to bad they only missed the steel well casing by 6 inches.

[52#FLATHEAD]

I had a snowmobile running between homes at 11pm one night & kept waking up the baby. I threw a giant wad of white Christmas lights in snow on his "trail". About 11:35pm he came through again & only made it to the back yard. I heard some cussing but he never did come to my door & he has never run near my house again.

Anyways, I use pop-ups instead of tip-ups. Never had one run over...yet.

[Norm1980]

+1 can't fix stupid

[CrappieNight]

2 words.... Paintball Gun. If they are close enough to get shot, they deserve it. If you have to run through a populated area, stand up and keep your head on a swivel, and SLOW DOWN. Kids and dogs can pop out of nowhere. Probably the same clowns that haul a$$ through a parking lot while I'm walking my 3 kids in to Chuck E. Cheese.

[chris63]

Better yet use white bed sheets.These will get wrapped through the track and will take allot of time even with the aid of a very sharp knife to get running again.This will give you plenty of time to go out and "have a chat"with the young feller(S)!c63

[Ed Carlson]

See...it's just not me then is it.

Maybe people will stop give me [PoorWordUsage] for putting land mines on my thermal tip up now.

[motley man]

This reminds me of jet skis in summer.

[walleyecheeks]

I too have had this happen a few times as well. But I have found that their HSOforum sells replacement parts.

[picksbigwagon]

On Mille lacs a few years ago, we had a couple sled scream between our portable and truck, maybe 20 feet between the two. Scared the carp out of us, we jumped out and the guy was a quarter mile away with his buddy, laughing and pointing. We go back to fishing mad as a wet hen, thrirthy minutes later we hear snow mobiles screaming up towards us, we grab full beers (bottles) jump out of the house as this same retard is maybe 100 yards out. He sees us and the four projectiles ready for fire and he veers off, never to be scene again. This time his buddy was just sitting a ways off on his sled idling. I still wonder if they were hoping we were gonna chase him in our truck so his buddy could steal our stuff.......

Later on that day at a bar, we were told that usually sledders like to "buzz the tower" or run over tip ups......

[McGurk]

Maybe you need to make some "decoy" tip-ups out of cardboard, with a balloon full of a mixture of antifreeze and paint sitting on it to get kicked up on their sled. That would be good humor.

OK OK scratch the antifreeze and paint part. I know they are pollutants. Still funny, though. (urine, maybe? )

OK OK I know we are not supposed to urinate on the ice, or at least not get caught.

[MN_Pilot]

I plow a trail for MYSELF to get onto the lake through my yard. On Christmas I had a snowmobile come down my driveway and through my yard to get access to the lake. The public access is only a half mile down the road. I wasn't too happy about it because two years ago someone did it and ran over some newly planted trees and killed them.

I like the Christmas lights, or the white sheet idea. I think I'm going to try to find a white sheet to put out on the trail to see if it happens again. Keep the good ideas coming so I can confront whomever it is.

[TylerS]

I don't know what it is about small, motorized vehicles and utter stupidity. You put a rocket between the legs of a normal guy and he suddenly turns into a neanderthal. Unless you use a snowmobile for hauling wood or fishing gear, I see them as pointless frivolities. Great way to kill someone or, at the least, make you deaf before you're 40.

[JimBuck]

A buddy of mine has had issues with snowmobiles gaining access to the lake he is on through his backyard. Chicken wire layed flat over the trail seemed to do the trick when the signs weren't enough.

[Surface Tension]

I had my Beaver Dams run over too. When you can have a tip up to 200' away and a good chance that there is snow cover, there isn't much warning between seeing a tipup and avoiding it. Heck I've come close to running tip ups over too.

I use the Fish Brothers now which are much more visible then a beaverdam

Use some type of marker next to your tipup.

Keep speeds at a safe level when passing by a group.

Keep in mind a sled has much right to public water as fishermen.

[Ryan_S]

I like the Christmas lights, or the white sheet idea. I think I'm going to try to find a white sheet to put out on the trail to see if it happens again. Keep the good ideas coming so I can confront whomever it is.

I'm not anybody's mom, so I won't say don't do this, just be aware that setting out "traps" like this can get you into more legal trouble than what it may be worth. If the offending sledder decided to sue for damages, you would be liable. I'm not defending the sledders in any way; thier actions are deplorable. I'm just suggesting using more sense and restraint than what they are using.

[McGurk]

...When you can have a tip up to 200' away and a good chance that there is snow cover, there isn't much warning between seeing a tipup and avoiding it. ...

Is it so much to ask that sleds moving at speed stay 200' away from fishhouses unless there's a specific reason not to? They have all the rights in the world to be out there, and I don't blame them for going where the snow is, but that doesn't mean they have the right to be a complete jaggoff. It's the 2% that ruin it for the other 98%, just like trashy and loud fishermen.

[GotALunker]

my biggest issues isn't so much the fact that they were there, but we were well off the trail so I didn't see any reason that they would need to A) Go off the trail and B)scream by our stack of gear that was sitting 10' from the tipups. The whole point of leaving the gear there was so it would act as a "marker".

[fishinfey8]

The whole point of leaving the gear there was so it would act as a "marker".

Or a target. I'm not saying, I'm just saying. Snowmobilers that want to run over tip ups look for them. The chance of an honest snowmobiler running over a tip up is unlikely. Unless the tip up is on a well traveled snowmobile trail. Unfortunate as it is, it is the result of an imperfect world filled with a-holes (the snowmobiler) AND good, honest people (fisherman like you).

[MN_Pilot]

I'm not anybody's mom, so I won't say don't do this, just be aware that setting out "traps" like this can get you into more legal trouble than what it may be worth. If the offending sledder decided to sue for damages, you would be liable. I'm not defending the sledders in any way; thier actions are deplorable. I'm just suggesting using more sense and restraint than what they are using.

Understandable. This is why I'm not putting up a hidden fence to hurt someone. If they want to sue for some frusteration that they brought onto themselves by tresspassing, so be it. Since a sign doesn't work, I'm not one to sit back and hope they think twice about looking at the sign next time.

[slabchaser]

1st people to destroy your property are the same ones that go and cry to mommy and daddy. swift kicks all around

[WallyGader]

A couple years ago on rush we had 2 portables set up and it was about 11pm when this sled circles us for about 5 min. before we step outside to see what the deal is. Four of us stood outside while this jerk continues to circle us so my friend waited for him to round his house again when he ran after him, the guy trys to gun it to get away when he hit a ice chunk and wipes out on the ice. So we all run over to this [PoorWordUsage] to see what his problem was and it turned out to be a guy in his 50's drunk as hell telling us he dont want any trouble and like laughing, then he couldnt get his snowmobile started after tipping it on the lake. About a hour later he comes to us for help, seeing as we couldnt just leave him there we helped him get his sled running, and called it a night. Not sure what goes through these peoples heads.