Homemade Stuff

[Dogzlife000]

Since I'm always looking for a better (and cheaper) way of doing things, what kind of ice fishing stuff have you guys and gals made that has worked out great for you?

I'll start. I've made quite a few things in the past but one thing that has worked out very well for me is this rod organizer.

I've used this thing for a couple of years now and couldn't be happier. It's light, fast, organized and cheap (well, free actually). On the flip side, it's only fair looking and offers minimal protection but its worked out alot better than the ol' bags I've had in the past.

Anyway, let's hear 'em. Made any ice fishing gear that has worked out great for you?

Pete

[nofishfisherman]

The first "rod" I used was actually just fishing line wrapped around a 2x4. You would uncoil enough line and lay it in the snow in case you got a bite the fish could take out line then you just pulled it in hand over hand.

Caught some decent northern this way.

Second pole was just a spool of line just like you get it from the store. I bolted that the end of a 2X2 and then ran the line through some eyelets I screwed into the board. Pretty rough looking but it worked ok, besides I was probably a freshman in high school with no money.

Now I am out of college 2 years and still not alot of money for fishing stuff. But my mind is working on a way to build a portable ice house now.

Moral of the story: if you don't have any money for fishing gear just make your own.

[Jacob]

I turned my Voyager into a sleeper. I took the seats off and put in a deck just like a bass boat with flush doors going into seperate compartments below so that my stuff is organized and doesn't move around as much when on long hauls. Now I can simply unroll my sleeping bag and take a nap. It also works well with my dog, he can jump up and lay next to me on a cozy dry dog bed. I have custom retractable rod holders on the deck and five flush doors, including a livewell. I also bolted cross country skiis on the bottom for better handling and wear and tear. I just love to sleep in my portable.

[DaveyG]

I made my ice shack. I don't have a place to store it, so I made it so that the whole thing comes apart and the walls fold in half and I store it in my garage rafters. It's all held together with wingnuts, so I don't need any tools to put it together out on the ice. When taken apart, it fits on a trailer. It's built on 2x8's that act as skiis, so when I want to move to a new spot on the lake, I hook the skiis up to my truck with tow ropes and I drive to the new spot. Because it's collapsable, I guess somebody could steal it if they really wanted to, but they'd have to really want it. And I can't imagine anyone wanting my plywood shack more than one of the nice trailer ones out there. It takes about an hour to set up or take down. But that's fine by me. I just set it up at the beginning of the season and take it down at the end like all the other permanents.

[Norsky]

I made a detachable suspension system for my portable polar sport fish house. It would pretty much work for any of the houses with the large black plastic tub. I used snowmobile skis with leaf springs and a 2x2 steel tube welded on the top and a slightly larger square tube bolted to the rear of the tub. The skis attach with hitch pins and I also made a steel support bar in the front that hooks on to the rear pull bar on the snowmobile. The whole thing then just glides over the roughest ice without knocking all your stuff all over in the tub. I'll have to post some pictures sometime. It does a great job keeping your gear in good shape.

[FOOT]

I didn't make it but one of the guys I went to Mille Lacs with years ago did a nice job. He hooked up a light and buzzer system for night fishing that would wake us up if we got a bite.

He searched the junk yards for old contact points from auto distributors and got some lights and buzzers at the local hardware.

You slipped you line through a very small amount of stryofoam and then slipped the stryofoam between the points.

Then when a fish bit it would pull the line and stryo out of the points and the points would close completing the circuit. It was all ran off a 12V Motorcycle battery and worked very well for several years. Problem was we caught very few eyes and perch but we did get a lot of pout.

We also used to make our own tipups from old hockey sticks, window shade springs, metal close hangers and red cloth ofr a flag. They worked extremely well and were legal on the Mississippi.

One of these tipups cost about 35 cents to make and would last forever. Wish I still had a couple so I could send a pic but I've since "improved" my ice gear with store bought tackle.

[lanyard]

There should be a museum dedicated to the genius of thrift and necessity.

My brother in-law made ice dippers in shop class.

Putting plans together on a house similar to the one described above.

countless homemade bobber, line rigs, tip ups, etc.

my father in-law should be given an honorary Phd for the stuff he comes up with- including the insulated tip-up with a spinning reel!

As above, wish I ever thought enough of the genius to take pictures!

[Dan_L]

my dad made a real nice wooden box that fits snug in the hole cut outs of the hardside. he just drops it in so it sits a couple of feet off the floor. keeps all the auger shavings in the hole and not the house floor.

[Sonicrunch]

I made a wood burning stove out of a metal garbage can.

What is nice about it is that I just carry the ashes out.

No scooping.

I can make more if sombody wants one.

[TeddyBoy]

I just bought a new Frabill XLTwin. I didn't have room to store it so I made a pulley/lift system to hang from the ceiling of my garage. All I did was drill (4) holes in the sled sides/corners and put eye-bolts through big fender washers on each side (eyes are on the inside). Then I criss-crossed chain from one corner to the other and hooked on to the middle with a big game pully lift that is lag bolted to my rafters. With this system, I can raise and lower my shack to within 20" of the ceiling. It's a little heavy, but it's nice to have it out of the way. Some day, I might add an electric winch, but for now this works just fine...

[maj330]

I was thinking of doing something similar. Does cris crossing the chains over the sled help to balance the load or did you do it for a different reason?

Thanks!

[huntingmaxima]

I made an auger rack for my wheeler. i ripped a peice of 10" pvc pipe in half and mouted it to a peice o0f 3/4" plywood. mounted that to my atv. i wish i knew how to show the pics on here it really works great.

[FreeFlySpy]

I am always on the move while panfishing. Got tired of throwing my poles on the snow while landing fish. I took a pistol holder and belt and modified it. Now when I get a fish on rather than throwing my pole down I just holster it.

[Sonicrunch]

huntingmaxima

e-mail me the pic, I'll post it.

lach0082 @ metnet.edu

without the spaces before and after the @

[TeddyBoy]

maj330: You are correct. Cris-crossing the chains helps with the balance of the shack.

Another design element I forgot to mention is why I chose to put the eyebolts and chains on the inside of the sled. I did this for (3) reasons. 1. I didn't want to drape chains around the outside of the shack because, it would have bent the poles when I lifted the shack. 2. I wanted to get the shack as close to the ceiling as possible. By keeping the eyebolts and chains to the inside, I have a minimum amount of slack in the chain and can suck it up that much closer to the ceiling. 3. When out on the ice, the eyebolts double as hooks for securing my gear.

[Random guy]

I made a carrier/stand for my 15" color TV,Marcum flasher and underwater camera. Pretty cool, it all packs up and rides on the wheeler then when set up its like a mini entertainment center in my portable. Ya I'm hardcore in the winter, as long as good shows are on

[Sonicrunch]

Quote:

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I made an auger rack for my wheeler. i ripped a peice of 10" pvc pipe in half and mouted it to a peice o0f 3/4" plywood. mounted that to my atv. i wish i knew how to show the pics on here it really works great.

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[huntingmaxima]

sonic, thanks for posting my pics.

[Sonicrunch]

giddyup!

[the big dipper]

I bought a whole bolt of lycra spandex at a fabric store (clearance price) and then sewed up sleeves for both my summer and ice rods. I sew them so that the sleeves fit the tips a little loose (easier to insert and pull off, but also made the open end snug so that I stretch the fabric to fit over the reel which keeps it place very nicely, they work great for both protection and tangle- proofing the line,tips and reels in my rod case/rod box. Also, I'm working on a jigging action contraption that puts about 100x more action on jigging spoons than the buzz sticks. Haven't caught any fish with it yet, (waiting for a 12v motor) but it makes an angel eye or a rattlin varmit wiggle like a shad rap at 4 mph. What's wrong with that?

[Gus]

Spandex rod bag! Now that's a great idea. And the only reason anyone should be using spandex!

[CrappieJohn]

Petrowski.....you're a sick person.lol

In all seriousness...what we see talked about today as home-made might well be tomorrows goldmine. There are a ton of new products brought to light each year and most of those got their meager beginnings on someone's tabletop.

[Random guy]

Quote:

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Petrowski.....you're a sick person.lol

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I have been trying to figure out a fast way to stow and set up my sat dish on the Otter! 600 hundred channels to pass the time while waiting for flags.

I go from trying to eat sandwiches while casting in the summer so I don't lose time to bringing a color TV on the ice with me in the winter, I really don't know whats wrong, maybe I drank to much water out of Red growing up.

[FL SNIPER]

I made a wood lantern box to store my lantern. Works well. A guy can put away his "hot" lantern after use and not worry about it melting any plastic. It is secured in the box with a piece of rubber on the bottom and then a spring fastened to the underside of the cover. The spring fits over the knob on top of the lantern...so it really helps support the lantern and save on mantles during transport. If people are interested maybe I'll take some pics of it and try and post them somehow...or I could just email them to you...probably be easier.