Pull or haul?

[Rippinlip]

I have been playing around in the garage with the wheeler set-up for ice fishing this year and since I do alot of fishing myself I normally go out with just the 1-man flip over.

I was wondering what most of you do when it comes to hauling the porty out on the ice?

Do you pull it behind the wheeler or make a set-up to haul it out on the back of the wheeler?

It is a clam with a travel cover. It is pretty light and the tub is fairly stout.

[Ryan_V]

Pull it, lees set up, more fishing time!

[CrewJones]

I pull the shack but keep my minnows and auger on the wheeler so nothing in the house gets all farged up

[JeffB]

I pull the shack but keep my minnows and auger on the wheeler so nothing in the house gets all farged up

+1

[MinnGuy]

Pull it so you can flip and go.....

[joneshat11]

Haul, so you can haul @ss across the ice and not worry about your stuff being wrecked!!

[lutzy]

I would pull. Here are 2 posts that show how I haul everything so nothing is in the house to get damaged. I used this set up for the first time last year and everything worked perfect. The one thing I liked the most was I have a hose for the propane that is long enough that I never have to take the tank out of the holder.

home made atv gear hauler

home made atv auger mount

[Finlander]

Towing all your stuff in your portable and hoping all your stuff doesn't get damaged is too risky! Just when you think you can go slow so you can take it easy on your gear you start breaking thru slush under 1/2" of ice and if the slush is deep you will get stuck so you'll have to hit the throttle and speed up so you don't get stuck! Then when you do get out of the slushy mess you find your house caked with water/slush and ice chunks which will instanlty freeze to everthing inside your portable and good luck after that trying to fish! So if your not going a short distance haul your gear on you sled or ATV!

[fishwater]

I haul everything on my sled if I'm going a moderate distance. You can go way faster with less worries.

[munchy71]

Towing all your stuff in your portable and hoping all your stuff doesn't get damaged is too risky! Just when you think you can go slow so you can take it easy on your gear you start breaking thru slush under 1/2" of ice and if the slush is deep you will get stuck so you'll have to hit the throttle and speed up so you don't get stuck! Then when you do get out of the slushy mess you find your house caked with water/slush and ice chunks which will instanlty freeze to everthing inside your portable and good luck after that trying to fish! So if your not going a short distance haul your gear on you sled or ATV!

+1

-Munchy

[McGurk]

Referring to what Finlander says about kicked up snow and sluch, why wouldn't a person mount some sort of low hanging flexible mudflaps? I'm thinking like you see on the back of big rigs and trailers. I know they'd freeze up too, but a few good kicks and an occasional blast of heat should take care of it.

I'm in the pull crowd, as long as you keep your auger, flasher, and rod bag on the rack of the 4 wheeler. That way you can get to your spot, drill some holes and check with the flasher, and decide if you are going to fish there or not without even looking at your house!

[reinhard1]

i do the same thing. sure some snow and stuff gets on the portable but it's not that hard to get the snow off. i take it easy and dont race from point a to b also. good luck.

[broman]

I usually pull, but this year I found an old wire mesh picnic table top and I mounted it to the back of my ATV with some 2 x 6's and some L-shaped angle brackets so I can now put my 1 man on the back of the ATV. The table top extends a little over the back seat and also over the sides and back of the ATV. It fits my 1 man Frabill nicely and I can put a large storage box inside the 1 man in the open area.

Having a shack on the back rack should save wear and tear on the bottom of the house, allow me to drive faster and also allow me to backup in the snow without having to unhook.

[munchy71]

Referring to what Finlander says about kicked up snow and sluch, why wouldn't a person mount some sort of low hanging flexible mudflaps? I'm thinking like you see on the back of big rigs and trailers. I know they'd freeze up too, but a few good kicks and an occasional blast of heat should take care of it.

I'm in the pull crowd, as long as you keep your auger, flasher, and rod bag on the rack of the 4 wheeler. That way you can get to your spot, drill some holes and check with the flasher, and decide if you are going to fish there or not without even looking at your house!

The snow flap on my polaris goes almost all the way to the ground. I actually have to be careful when backing it up to not suck the flap under the track. Even with that, when I used to tow my Fish Trap, snow would still kick up and load my FT full. Follow a tractor trailer closely when it raining out, and you won't believe the amount of spray that comes around the sides of the flaps. Same deal with slush or snow ehind a sled or quad.....

-Munchy

[munchy71]

i do the same thing. sure some snow and stuff gets on the portable but it's not that hard to get the snow off. i take it easy and dont race from point a to b also. good luck.

Ths snow's not always the bigggest issue, but slush sure can be. Like the day we were out on Lake Superior fishing in the Aposltes 3 or 4 years ago. It was a warm day that resulted in lots of slush and water on the surface. By the time we got back to Bayfield, those that were towing, could barely move their shacks because they were FULL of slush.

And truthfully, if we weren't "racing from point a to point b" out there, it would take all day to get to our spots. I use a sled or ATV becasue it can maximize my time fishing by getting me from point to point more quickly. Less time in transit = more time fishing. If I don't want to get to my next spot as quickly as possible (within reason....there's no reason to be unsafe), than I'll just pull my Fish Trap on foot. Of course, as always, YMMV.

-Munchy

[reinhard1]

if your fishing the areas you mentioned you are doing what you have to do and i would probably do the same thing. i dont have anything against people going faster on the ice on their snowmobiles or wheeler believe me. you do what suits you best. i fish smaller waters and i have the whole day for the most part when i do go.

slush is the worst i agree also. sometimes it's so bad along with a heavy snow season you need chains to even move at times. i have a cover for my portable also so that helps when i'm moving. i would suggest that to anyone who pulls a portable. good luck.

[frostbite]

+1 on pulling pack everything so it won't fly around i use a aluminum gun case the ones for brake down shot guns alittle more $$ then the plastic ones but well werth it i never broke a rod yet you can 6 rods in one i also put the auger on wheeler.

[B-man715]

I prefer to haul my one man Fish Trap on a hitch hauler.

(like the ones for a truck, but smaller and raised up for an atv.)

I bolted a fish house sled tub to it. Then my shack sled nests into it. This allows me to keep my storage box on the back rack and my auger on the front rack.

This setup lets me cruise arcoss a lake full trottle without the shack fish tailing; like when being towed.

The time saved loading and unloading from a trailer is also nice! I toss a strap across the shack if going any distance when trailering.

It is a great way to haul a small shack!

I'll try to find a picture for you.

I also fish out of a Grand Caravan. It is big and heavy, with that I use a towbar because of the weight.

[B-man715]

Here is a pic with the shack out of the tub, hope you get the idea

[Rippinlip]

Thanks B-man, I really like the set-up.

Looks like some garage time this weekend during the dark hours when I am not sitting in the deer stand.

[IcerRon2010]

Hi Bman

Where did you buy your rack at? What are demensions? Love your idea! Keep you from heffing a fish trap on top of the rack. Easy load, no strain on the back.

[B-man715]

Glad I could help guys!

I bought the rack from Gander a few years ago. It is roughly two by three feet. You'll notice the angled tounge to give you more ground clearance.

I bolted an Eskimo two man sled to it (used to have that shack. My one man fish trap fits in it too.

A couple more mods were needed to make it work.

The exhaust from the wheeler will get hot enough to melt a hole, so I bolted on a small 6" square peice of metal to deflect the heat.

My 2" reciever is an aftermarket bolt-on, and was too light-duty to handle all of the tounge weight, especially with the leverage a shack that far out makes.

A simple rachet strap from the angle of the tounge to the back rack of the wheeler keeps the reciever from bending.