Frozen Fish House

[BLACKJACK]

I really believe you can shoot ice - if done correctly. Still…..too many unknowns and not enough info or experiences to do this.

Sounds to me like a good way to make the 2014 Darwin Awards!!!

[MN]

Someone once told me after the fact to run a long, looped steel cable under the runners - pull it thru with a vehicle. Never tried it, seems to make sense and seems to be a safe approach.

Good Luck

[solbes]

Just know that steel cables under high tension are not always safe either. After trying to winch my 300-400 lb aluminum boat lift up my steep shoreline, I decided to pass on high tension winching unless you are positive on connection points. The eyebolt started to pull out the 4x4 and could have done serious damage if it gave way completely.

[hayseed]

I have not tried this, but it makes sense to me. How about laying heat cable along the skids and packing insulation on top. Perhaps a concrete blanket or septic blanket, then hook up a generator and crack a cold one and wait.

I've done it the chip and pry method and it's a lot of work. You only do it once before learning. Good luck.

[muskie hunter]

Dynamite just kidding.

[Hole Hog]

What ever option you chose can you please post a video? Especially if you decide on the rifle or the cutting around the whole shack while having it attached to your vehicle. Thanks. That would be great.

[Ryan_V]

Chisel chisel chisel. A chainsaw would also be useful. The mistake has been made, now you have to fix it. Been there, skids locked solid. The good news is that you will never make the mistake again! I have a skid house on mille lacs, moved it this weekend, over 2'of ice, still put it on 6" of blocking under it. You never know. I always err on the side of caution, rather have extra blocks under the house and not need them, than need extra blocks and not be able to get them under! Under no circumstances should you use a gun.

[Tom7227]

To all of those who face this problem - please clean up whatever you use to get your house free. I have been out on Bald Eagle and found large pieces of carpet, pieces of wood and misc. other junk. It doesn't go away just because you do.

[Foggy]

Finally got warm enough today to tackle the frozen down fish house. No salt, no bullets, no magic……just lots of chainsawing and chisel work. A few pry bar attempts and viola….it popped loose.

I tipped it on it's side and knocked the ice from the runners….winched it up the snow bank and pulled it off the ice. Got pretty stuck once with my UTV in deep snow…..but all in all it went better than expected.

A chain saw is your friend.

[minky]

Glad you got your house free Foggy!

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Seen a guy up here one time that made his runners out of 4" steel pipe. When it came time to free them he had an adapter that he hooked to the exhaust on his pickup to warm the pipes up. I think the runners where capped and necked down on the one end to hold the heat in somewhat. No idea how it worked, just thought it was an interesting idea.....

[fsnrod]

If you need more blocking all you have to do is go around any lake that had alot of fish houses on it after they have to be off and chip out all the blocks you want.

[hawkeye43]

Too many people forget to chop their blocking after they move their house.

[hillbilly...]

Someone once told me after the fact to run a long, looped steel cable under the runners - pull it thru with a vehicle. Never tried it, seems to make sense and seems to be a safe approach.

Good Luck

my 6x6 was froze down but I used chains and my runners have angles cut at the front so the chains slid right under it workd slik.. not sure if it would work if house were so sink 3" down.

[NCLaker]

Foggy ... where are the pictures & video

[Beast26]

Last weekend one of the spear houses decided to leave 4 20x24 blocks on the ice. They would work perfect for getting that house up in the air.

[mwal]

would make for a little wind problem in the holes

[1DIRTBALL]

You would want to start by turning on the heat inside your fishouse and set it as high as it will go! Then take a large kettle, like a soup pot, fill it with water and set it on your stove to heat it up to the boiling point! While you are waiting for your water to heat up, go outside and using your cordless drill, drill hole's in the ice as close together as possible, all along the skid's! Use the largest drill bit you have! I used a 1" spade bit which worked quite nicely. Drill your hole's at an angle so that they will be under the skid's. Now go check on your hot water to see if it's boiling yet. When your water has reached the boiling point or as close to it as you are able to get, take the pot outside and pour the water in all the hole's you had just drilled. Then just chill out and have a cold one while you wait! Probably would be a good idea to have another pot of water heating up in case you need to repeat the process. I hope this help's. Good luck! 1DIRTBALL

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

HaHaHa!!! You have got to be kidding!!! Shooting into the ice??? Anybody that does that is dumb AND LAZY. Chisel, and MAYBE you won't hit yourself in the foot.

[mamohr686]

We have a few local guys who spear, and shoot the ice to free their houses. As mentioned earlier, the gun of choice seems to be the 30-06. It's crazy loud and the ice shatters in about 2ft circle. They guy I watched, held the barrel at about a 30 degree angle about 5 inches above the ice, and about just a couple of inches from the shack. He shot while he turned his head away to avoid the flying ice chips. It took 4 shots, one at each corner of the house and it was free. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it.

[Foggy]

Foggy ... where are the pictures & video

[img:left] ]

I guess I have not figured out how to add pics on this site.

[vikingmeatwad]

Get a couple cases of beer, some tipups, chisels and invite some buddies out. Have some fun and chip it out at the same time.

Guns and salt do not seem responsible.

[Foggy]

We have a few local guys who spear, and shoot the ice to free their houses. As mentioned earlier, the gun of choice seems to be the 30-06. It's crazy loud and the ice shatters in about 2ft circle. They guy I watched, held the barrel at about a 30 degree angle about 5 inches above the ice, and about just a couple of inches from the shack. He shot while he turned his head away to avoid the flying ice chips. It took 4 shots, one at each corner of the house and it was free. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it.

I watched several ice shooting videos on youtube. Saw a few where they watched the bullets spin on the ice after shooting. Facinating actually. What disturbed me was that the bullets do not upset or flatten out when shot into the ice. It's like shooting into water. Saw Mythbusters did a piece on bullets on ice.

I didn't understand the ricochet effects very well…..so I didn't attempt it. I still have all my fingers, toes and eyes…..and plant to keep it that way. However, if I did better understand what happens when ice is hit with a bullet….then I may try it sometime. I think it is definitely a viable means to get a house out of the ice…..I simply didn't have enough knowledge here….and I'm not much of a risk taker anymore.

[Foggy]

OK….I figured I'd try this photo thing again…..Heres a pic after I cut it free from the ice…..layed it on its side to knock the ice from the bottom……and now I was winching it up a snow bank so I could stand it up again…..and pull it off the ice.

[lungdeflator]

Looks like a simple skid shack. I froze mine down about 6 years ago. I had skiis mounted to the side so tipping it on its side was how I moved it. I brought the sawzall and the generator out and cut the screws holding the walls to the floor and tipped everything but the floor over and hauled it in without damage. Then going back and working on just the floor with a chisel and winch was pretty easy.