Keeping ice hole open over night?

[Big Jeff]

What works to keep my tip ups out over night with out freezing up to bad. I have strike sensor so I will get an alarm if they go off but I am looking to find an option for keeping them open over night with cold temps.

I have one thermal tip up and two old school woodies.

What have people tried and what are the pros and cons?

Is there something I could poor in the hole or should I rig up some kind of box?

[Fowlmouth]

I wouldnt pour anything in the hole... anything that would keep a hole from freezing definitely would not be good for the lake. Why not just put your tip up in the fish house over night?

[LunkerCity]

Pouring anything in the lake is illegal. They make tip up boxes that you put candles or a lantern in and that will keep your hole open. Search online and I'm sure you'll find something on them.

[Ryan_V]

without a source of heat, like a candle, etc. you're holes will freeze, twenty below is twenty below no matter how much Styrofoam you put over it, especially is there's any wind, I would bring them in when it gets too cold overnight

[WalleyeChaser]

I use the circle foam covers with slots from FF with good luck! I don't know about all night but they worked in single digits and below zero for 4-5 sometimes 6 hours around dusk and after with little to no ice skim! Cheap enough to try! I would imagine the boxes can get spendy plus you have to mess with candles and lighting them with cold wet hands in the wind yeah right.

Here is a link:

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/mills-fleet-farm-ice-hole-insulator-black/0000000006342

Make sure you kick the slush pile down. Leave just a little around the whole getting the insulator as close to the water as possible. But If you clean down to bare ice the cover will feeze down completely and get stuck. Learned this from experience.

[CAMAN]

without a source of heat, like a candle, etc. you're holes will freeze, twenty below is twenty below no matter how much Styrofoam you put over it, especially is there's any wind, I would bring them in when it gets too cold overnight

In most cases I would agree, but here he isn't trying to keep someone warm. In this case he is just trying to prevent the water in the hole from freezing, and so his heat source would be considered the water that is probably around 33deg, and he is just trying to prevent ithe surface water from hitting that magical 32deg mark.

[Tom Sawyer]

Ice Buster sold at many RV dealerships. Environmentally friendly anti freeze.

As seen on Jason Mitchell Outdoors

[Big Jeff]

I just read up on a coffee can charcol idea I think I will try.

[TrapMan13]

Does anyone still use those inflatable deals that you put in the hole to push the water out anymore? When they came out a few years back it sounded like the ticket but i never see anything about them anymore?

[Fowlmouth]

I just read up on a coffee can charcol idea I think I will try.

Those look pretty cool, always wanted to try and make one.

[Hawg]

The person that invents the cure for freezing holes will make some good money. Old timers used to force a stove pipe with a cap on it down the hole at night. Then whenever they returned they took a small wad of paper, lit it on fire and dropped it to the bottom of the pipe. The pipe heated almost instantly and popped right up. Don't be looking down the hole if you try this, they shoot out hard! This was in the house though, not the tip up holes .

[gonehunting]

The coffee can idea does work especially on windy days. All you do is put charcoal briquettes in the can and light them as you do in any grill. Place the can next to the hole and the heat coming off the can will keep it open. Just remember to take everything with you and don't dump contents of can on ice when done. I laughed the first time my dad had this suggestion but it worked. If you have a generator an outdoor dog bowl heater coil would also work I guess. Until you burn your line off bringing up the coil. You may have a three foot hole by morning also.

[Hawg]

Coffee can will only work for a few hours though, won't it?

[Chad Holst]

For those that dont know what the "coffee can" method is...

basically you drill 2 holes. One very close to the hole you intend to tip up fish from. (or regular fish from on cold days). You then get an can that fits into the ice hole. Fill the can 1/4 way with rocks, or heat rocks if you have them. Then top the rocks with charcoal. Chip a channel a few inches deep/wide from the heat hole to the fishing hole. Light the charcoal, place a metal top on it, with a vent, so it can breath. The charcoal and rocks will heat the water a small bit, that water will flow back and forth from the fishing hole, and your hole doesnt freeze.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a small amount of copper tube coiled in the bottom of the can, with one end going through the can and the other pointed towards the channel, this will cause a perculator effect and spit the hot water towards the fishing hole/channel.

I suppose it looks something like this....

You could also use a small heat coil in the "warming hole", if you are running a genny. Maybe make a float for a small fish tank heater. It only needs to keep the surface water from getting to 32 degrees.

For the life of me i cant figure out the cenario where you would need this to run by it self for more than a few hours. If someone wants to tip up fish over night, while they sleep, then im guessing they have a sleeper house, so they should be using rattle reels. If they are NOT sleeping, then why would you need it to last for more than a few hours? just go over and fill the charcoal every so often. Plus, who tip up fishes at night..all night long? why? i dont get it.

[LunkerCity]

Ice Buster sold at many RV dealerships. Environmentally friendly anti freeze.

As seen on Jason Mitchell Outdoors

Once again, dumping ANYTHING in the lake is illegal. It doesn't matter if its environmentally friendly. Just like throwing egg shells in while spearing. They may be "natural", but its still illegal.

[Vitreus]

For those that dont know what the "coffee can" method is...

basically you drill 2 holes. One very close to the hole you intend to tip up fish from. (or regular fish from on cold days). You then get an can that fits into the ice hole. Fill the can 1/4 way with rocks, or heat rocks if you have them. Then top the rocks with charcoal. Chip a channel a few inches deep/wide from the heat hole to the fishing hole. Light the charcoal, place a metal top on it, with a vent, so it can breath. The charcoal and rocks will heat the water a small bit, that water will flow back and forth from the fishing hole, and your hole doesnt freeze.

If you want to get fancy, you can use a small amount of copper tube coiled in the bottom of the can, with one end going through the can and the other pointed towards the channel, this will cause a perculator effect and spit the hot water towards the fishing hole/channel.

I suppose it looks something like this....

You could also use a small heat coil in the "warming hole", if you are running a genny. Maybe make a float for a small fish tank heater. It only needs to keep the surface water from getting to 32 degrees.

For the life of me i cant figure out the cenario where you would need this to run by it self for more than a few hours. If someone wants to tip up fish over night, while they sleep, then im guessing they have a sleeper house, so they should be using rattle reels. If they are NOT sleeping, then why would you need it to last for more than a few hours? just go over and fill the charcoal every so often. Plus, who tip up fishes at night..all night long? why? i dont get it.

This is the way to go.

[randerson]

I have also seen that method with the charcoal done with one hole and a copper Worm like (moonshiner) device used where you put a small 1/4" copper line in a hole and than have it coiled in a coffee can with charcoal or sternal and than go back to the hole and just stay out of the water a inch or so and it will do a vacuum effect and dry water into the worm in the coffee can heat it and than put it back into the hole keeping it from freezing

[Chad Holst]

This ice stopper stuff, im not convinced of 2 things. First, it says its non-toxic, but is it bad for the water? I hear people say all the time that things are non-toxic, but if you ask them to drink it, they quickly decline, meaning it may be non toxic, but its still bad for you/would get you sick. And the company that makes it is selling their automatic fisherman, that set the hook for the angler. I mean come on, are we really to the point that a fisherman doesnt even need to trouble himself with things like "setting the hook"? The only thing left is to reel in the fish, and they have a yo-yo for that... so how about all these jack @ sses that buy this junk just skip righ to the ultimate "automatic fisherman" and just send me their money and ill go catch the fish for them. they can stay home in the warmth of their living rooms with their adult diapers on (so they dont need to walk to the bathroom) and there snuggy.

Sorry, but it just makes me shake my head.

As far as the product Tom posted, it seems like an answer to the line not freezing in. If its actually OK to use in the water. Remember, in MN you can not put ANY chemical in the water. Good, bad or other wise. I watched a DNR officer give a guy a ticket for pouring his pop out, granted the guy was being a jerk, but the officer CAN ticket you for putting any substance in the lake. I'm guessing something that has the ability to keep water from freezing is not as nutral as "Coke".

In the world of micro electronics, i would think someone would simply make a ring that floats inside the hole, that is just a tiny bit smaller than the whole, that has a small heating device in it that runs off of 12v.

[JeffB]

Coffee can will only work for a few hours though, won't it?

Just drop a couple more briquettes in when you check your tip-up. If its so dead that you don't even need to check it every few hours does it really matter.

[mitchell]

The Automatic Fisherman is illegal in Minnesota but is widely used in other areas particularly for trout. Works much like a downrigger release, fish pops the trigger and the loaded rod sets the hook. I like this product because fish don't swallow the hook and I can fight the fish with a rod and reel. For light biting trout that are spooky and line shy, this product is the ticket and is all you see people using when you go over to Wisconsin fishing for steelhead. This product obviously has other applications as well. The solution that is used in the Ice Stopper is widely used to winterize RV's so yes, people do drink it the next spring when they run water again. You pour the solution inside of the bobber and the line runs through the bobber. This particular product would work for wind tip ups extremely well. Good luck on the ice this season and be safe.

Jason Mitchell

[EJ]

Big Jeff,

Sounds like you are set similar to us with round insulated tip ups and Strike Sensors. The best method we have found is to cover the tip up with a 5 gallon pail and use snow around the pail to help insulate it. You will need to move flag down to base of tip up rod (we trim about 1/2 the flag off), drill a hole through pail for Strike Sensor string and mount a small block of wood to pail for transmitter to sit on. We Velcro the transmitters to this wood block so they do not get loss in shuffle. This not only helps to keep hole from freezing, but just as importantly, it keeps blowing snow from fouling the spring/flag on tip up.

EJ

[Chad Holst]

Thanks Jason. I could see this for tip up style fishing for steelies.

EJ, i dont tip-up fish much, but i really love this idea and im thinking im gonna have to dedicate a night to setting up a couple sets of these. Thanks.

Pictures?

What type of strike sesors do you use?

[EJ]

sirlips,

I use Strike Sensor brand. They have transmitter boxes that also have a light that goes on when tripped. You also need their receiver which beeps in your house or pocket.

Our group mostly targets walleye and to have a few tip ups set out greatly expands the target window during feeding times by allowing us to target several depths with live bait while jigging in house. It also helps to find the depth of more active fish.

The Pails are pretty easy to set up and it takes a bit of trial and error to get everything aligned properly, but isn't rocket science. I will see if I can get a photo later.

EJ

[BryeGuy]

Is there a way to use a dryer vent and a computer fan to keep the holes open?

Just messing with ya!

[Sonicrunch]

I have an idea for something, but I do not have a permanent. Would anybody with a permanent like to try something out?