Generator on ice

[TRPLTRBL]

Does anyone know if having the generator sitting on ice, spook the fish?

[rundrave]

you will get lots of different opinions. I would prefer to put it in the bed of a truck instead. Depth of water and ice thickness may play a role as well. lots of variables to consider.

[Rick]

Sometimes the vibration will attract fish. And yes, sometimes it can spook them. I wouldn't worry about it though unless you are fishing shallow.

[Hawg]

Cheap ones attract ticked off fisherman which is way worse than scaring a few fish. Tailgate has always been my place for it.

[RiverChuckNorris]

No.  Why am I so certain?  Because I've been fishing with one 15' from my IC for the last 5 seasons and I've iced a lot of fish.

 

As far as shallow vs deep goes, I was on URL couple years ago, fishing 8 fow in sleds and portables.  EVERY time we fired up one of the sleds, we caught a fish.  Not exaggerating.  Could've been a fluke, but it happened all weekend, became the running joke to fire one up if/when there was a lull in action.

 

 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

ours is cheap, but we put it in the bed of the truck and put the topper glass down with the tailgate open.  Seems to cut a chunk of the noise down.

[TRPLTRBL]

We have a new Honda generator & it's pretty quiet. Thanks for the feedback!

[YettiStyle]

I always put mine in the back of my truck and tuck it into one of the corners (no topper or tonneau cover).  I do it mostly to keep it out of the wind/snow so the breather tube doesn't freeze up. 

[elkrivermn]

Always keep mine in the back of the truck with the topper door open for ventilation and make sure it does not overheat. Every Night at bedtime I turn it off as well as during the daylight when lights, tv, microwave are not needed as a courtesy to others nearby.

[Boar]

plenty of people catch fish with a genny on the ice. plenty of peopl catch fish trolling in open water, it seems like as long as its a constant noise, it isnt really an issue..but i keep mine under my tauno cover as well.

[TRPLTRBL]

Thanks! Right now the problem is holes freezing up with house banked, heat at 70, & hole sleeves! Any suggestions?

[Surface Tension]

 Holes sleeves, banking, and circulate the warm air. 

 

  Sometimes noise can turn the fish on.  Seems if I warm up the truck or wheeler, sure enough the fish start biting.  Hard to leave with fish under you and now your late for supper.   

 One trip we had a group of guys fishing tipups for pike,   We stood around in the center of our spread. When a flag went off, imagine a Survivor contest and who could get to the flag 1st.  Tripping and tackling was OK.  With all the commotion more flags would pop.

 

 I'm pretty sure no one wants to listen to some one's generator, especially if they don't have one.  Somehow you just have to work it out.   In the back of the truck insulates some of the sound and if covered protects it from snow.  Be careful about putting a gen outside your shack.  If the wind is right it can and has entered the shack and poisoned the occupants with carbon monoxide.

  IMO music doesn't attract fish and I think scares them BUT if you have your boom box turned up to drown out the neighbors gen it equals everything out.

[TRPLTRBL]

That's funny! We don't have have contests, however the kids still race to q rattle wheel & take down each other in the way!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

If you have a quite generator you should be fine to run it all day and night. I know the honda, yamaha, and champion 2000 watt inverter generators on the eco mode barely make any noise. My uncle uses a yamaha,I use a champion, and my cousin uses a honda. All of them can barely be heard inside the Ice Castle. In fact the bubbler on the engle bait cooler is louder and we have to shut it off to hear if the generator is running. We have fished with them on the ice, in back of the pickup box, and also ran extention cords to get them a bit farther from the hut. Never seemed to scare any fish away. IMO, just running an extra length cord and putting it in the back of the pickup box to keep the vibration off the ice and somewhat damppen the noise is what I try to do. Never had anyone complain or problems with anyone being upset. Put an extended run fuel tank on the generator and your good for about close to 60hrs of run time with them. 

[Ice Shack Baby]

I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you have a Harley Davidson generator. I have been in an icehouse with 10-15 people with music going on and still getting a lot of bites.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

On February 3, 2017 at 10:34 PM, TRPLTRBL said:

Thanks! Right now the problem is holes freezing up with house banked, heat at 70, & hole sleeves! Any suggestions?

 

Get a used stove pot from a second hand store or a cheapo from walmart. Then dip lake water into the pot heat it up on the stove dump down your ice hole that is shrinking. Repeat steps to keep holes open. Also works to get transducers out of a frozen in hole edge.

[RebelSS]

Coffee can with a couple charcoal briquets in it. Old school.

[Big Dave2]

On 2/3/2017 at 10:34 PM, TRPLTRBL said:

Thanks! Right now the problem is holes freezing up with house banked, heat at 70, & hole sleeves! Any suggestions?

 

I use a fan to keep the heat down and it works good for me.

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Big Dave2

[delcecchi]

Immersion heater in hole?

[RebelSS]

Coffee can with briquettes.