Slush?

[Bob/Mn]

I am looking to get a two up sled for ice fishing. The lakes in the area all have slush pockets on them.

Will a 136 inch track handle slush pockets or would I be better off with a 156 inch track??

[NoWiser]

136" should be just fine. What you want is horsepower, and lots of it, for getting through the slush.

I fished Canada a couple weeks ago and the slush was really, really bad. There were pockets that were 100's of yards long of solid slush. I ride a short track MXZ 600, we had two 700cc sleds with 136" tracks with 1 1/4" lugs, and a 700 with a 156" track and 2 1/4 inch lugs. None of us had any problem getting around at all. When you hit a slush pocket you hammered on it and didn't let up until you were out of it. Seemed we would skip right over the top.

The other guys with us had 3 Indy trails with the 440 fan cooled motor. Two short track and one 136" track 2-up. They all struggled, to say the least.

Keep in mind that the longer track takes a bit more power to spin, so if you go that route I would want a 600 minimum, or better yet a 700cc engine.

[Wanderer]

Sounds like NoWiser was into some serious slush!

FWIW, I have a '95 2-up 440 Polaris that I got stuck in a giant slush pocket a couple years ago. It was horrendous to get it out. I do have to admit I was over loaded and might have been able to make it through if I were by myself on the sled and pulling just one fish house.

I picked up a 2000 Polaris RMK 550 fan cooled with the 136 inch track and 1 1/4 lugs to combat that problem. It's been good and got me through all the slush I encountered last weekend. I even pulled a short track 440 for about 3 miles to get it off the lake through slushy pockets but had to follow older tracks to do so. After I got the speed up I could break my own trail but didn't want to risk getting stuck again.

My point is, the longer the track, bigger the lugs, and more HP all help, but you need to decide where to draw the line. If you want to lay out the coin to get the mack daddy sled that'll go through anything - by all means go for it. But I would have to say you can get through most conditions with a sled like my RMK and it'll cost about $1500 or so.

In these conditions bring tow ropes or straps and something to chisel ice with. I started carrying a crow bar with. Get all that frozen slush out of your track and between the track and tunnel when you get a chance. Once you get frozen up like that you'll get stuck easier and easier until the track has no clearance in the tunnel and won't move at all.

[broken_line]

ive gotten through some 1/4 mile long slush pockets with my jag 340 fan cooled and i have yet to be stuck in a slush pocket.. its more rider skill than throttle to the handle bar and big tracks.. you want to try to set yourself back so the skis arnt really giving you much drag, the track is just propelling its self and you can make it trough some nasy pockets. if your towing something best you go around it. 800 rmk with a 156" track you wont even need snow or ice to go out on the lake... :D

[BoxMN]

I had a fairly loaded 2man shack (either otter cabin or clam voyaguer, can't remember, the other shack was behind a yammie 600 long track) behind an old indy 400 with studs, and had to just about pin it, but it made it through some very very thick stuff. Was worried, espeically when I had a rookie driving it at first, but it made it through. I think the sitting back to get front end up is good advice, along with hopefully having the shack/sled loaded a bit tail heavy instead of nose heavy.

[NoWiser]

Another thing to think about is whether you want a liquid or fan cooled sled.

The liquids are nice when you have plenty of snow or slush. They have more power, and the heat exchangers (if they are under the tunnel) really help keep the slush from freezing up there. They are also better in warmer weather, provided you have plenty of snow.

Fan cooled are nicer when there is very little snow, because you aren't relying on the track kicking it up to keep your sled cool. The disadvantage is warm weather. They can really become sluggish.

One more thing to think about if you are looking at used sleds is that on this last trip, the guys who had metal skis had trouble with ice layers building up on them. After awhile it was like they were pushing two anchors across the lake. Those of us with plastic skis didn't seem to have the same problem.

Just a few more things to think about.....

Good luck.

[Surface Tension]

A long track is the #1 must have in my book for a fishing sled.

#2 is a sled that isn't dragging its tail. Good clearance between the body and snow, less to get hung up on.

My 380 Ski Doo Touring LE Long track Two up fits that bill.

In the mid to late 90s Ski Doo was way ahead of the game with suspension and ride.

This past weekend on B-Side I had a 250 lb rider and towed my Otter in the slush. When entering and going through slush she has plenty speed and power to break the track free and spin.

I didn't get stuck and and I made multiple passes though the slush field to brake track for us to move around on.

The 500 Polaris Indy pulled two Otters out to fishing grounds without a problem. Once it stopped in the slush it couldn't move with the Otters disconnected. It sat there the rest of the day till the slush started to set up. I was able to tow my Otter wherever I wanted. The Long track was a big plus there but just as important, I didn't have all that HP and a clutch that puts power to the track at 5000 RPMs. Just like driving a truck on ice, spin the tires and you'll go no where.

Take off easy and you'll move. Same is true with a starting out with a sled in slush. The driver/rider has a lot to do with that.

If you have steal skis, adding ski skins gives you a little more flotation and the slush sloughs off the bottom of the skis much better. Skis are a big part of what is holding you back in dead starts in slush.

So when your shopping for a sled for ice fishing, a long track, and two up because chances are you'll be pulling a buddy at some time. Suspension that isn't sagging, you don't want the body of the sled to drag in the slush.

CC's, to me aren't important. In general it is going to be easier to maintain a twin over a triple.

With that same thought maintaining a utility type engine over a performance sled is going to be easier.

Dependability in general goes down as well. My LE is 16 years old and has never not started. 5000+ miles and I still have the original belt on it. I now own two.

Having that extra snort with more HP which is more of an emotional release then anything, its not going to help you when starting out in slush.

[walleyemaster08]

I have a Rmk 700 with a 151 inch paddle on it and its REAL good in slush. ha