Keeping holes open

[Ryan_V]

does anyone out there have any tricks to keeping holes in the permanent open when not in use. I've heard alot of old time tricks, but none seem like they'd work. is there anything I can do to keep the holes open so I don't have to redrill holes each visit to the shack, either home made or commercial??? Sure would be nice if something would work!! let me know if you guys have any tricks like that up your sleeves!!

[lookin4fish]

heres my idea, but i cant say it will work for sure but it may be worth a try...

use a 12 volt boat bildge pump and a timer switch. I thing Rig rite makes a timer switch that will run the pump for 30 seconds and then shuts off for a period of time, then starts again. if you just put the bildge pump down in the hole and hooked it to your battery (with the timer switch inbetween), the flow of the water should keep it open. i use the same set up in a livewell i keep outside at my home to keep the bait fresh. it will run about a week on one deepcycle by using the timer switch. it may be more expensive that you are looking for. bildge i think is about $15, the switch is around $30, and of course you have to have an extra deep cycle battery becasue that one will be low on output after running the bildge for a few nights. pretty expensive, but you are trying to defeat mother nature, and thats not easy to do. i am sure someone here will come up with a better idea, but i thought i would give the suggestion.

good luck

[Sandmannd]

That would work because moving water can't freeze. Same concept as leaving your waterfall going on your pond, it won't freeze solid. I put a "cattle" heater in my pond to keep more ice off of it. I don't know if they make a 12v, but a power inverter would take care of it. The cattle heater is for their water, you can get them at fleet farm pretty cheap.

[Ryan_V]

LOOKIN4FISH...good idea, but a little too much $$ and effort. I don't know how long the house will sit unused, and batteries to keep it up with 7 holes would get spendy, great idea though if you know you'd be back the next day!

by the way, LOVE you ulitmate fishing machine!! have you had any takers yet??

[lookin4fish]

few nibbles, no sale yet. you have to have the right buyer for this sort of thing. who ever does get it will be the really lucky in my opinion. its a steel of a price, and is so much fun. i have used it for every season fishng/hunting/camping. i will miss it!

one other option i have seen a number of years ago was a eight inch inflatable tube. you would blow them up and put it down the hole. when you came back the nest time you would deflate it. i havent seen them for may years, and have never used them myself. my guess is that they must not have worked very good becasue they would still be easy to find if they did. maybe someone here knows what i am refering to.

good luck

[Tod Todd]

The inflatables are plummers balls try the local hardware store or McMaster Carr has them in all sizes.

[HarryG]

http://apps5.oingo.com/apps/domainpark/domainpark.cgi?client=netw8744&s=AIRPLUGS.COM

The site is under repair but should be up soon. It was the best hole savers I have seen but I have not used them. They are durable and require a pump. I used the Yellow hole savers and were not worth the effort let alone the price. The problem with these is they are expensive but if you go to the house often enough, they seem to be woth it. If you look around at all the useless stuff you can buy for ice fishing, this is a bargain. I have not used this but I think it works. I cannot say that about a lot of the stuff I buy. If you were to buy a hole saver this is the one. If this is not to your taste, the next best thing I can say is a 4 stroke auger. It is cleaner than a 2 stroke and will for sure keep your hole open.