anchoring a protable in the wind

[fishin789]

I was out fishing in the wind we had and it was hard to just stand in place on the ice in the wind. there were a few people that came out and put up thier portables and some had a litte trouble in the wind and some didn't. I was just wondering what everyone uses for anchors and placement points for the best and easiest anchoring?

[deja vu]

I carry two wooden anchors, each consisting of a 10 foot length of strong cord securely tied to the middle of a foot-long piece of an old hockey stick handle.

Drill a hole in the ice upwind of where you want to set up your portable, shove the piece of hockey stick into the hole and wedge it under the ice, then tie the end of the anchor line to an upwind corner of your portable's sled.

One anchor is usually enough, but two may be necessary on slick ice with no snow cover. Usually you can recover your anchor(s), but if the anchor hole freezes up, just cut the cord and find another piece of hockey stick handle.

[brianh]

I just leave it hooked to my 4-wheeler

[tipup]

will leaving it hooked to the wheeler work in the wind on glare ice?

[Minnetonka]

I use the Clam ice-anchors and they work great. They just clip on or off as you need them. I wish they came in a bag or a case to keep them organized.

[tipup]

I have seen plenty of screw in type but I am looking for something a little more convient(SP). I hav e heard mixed ratings on the screw in ones also.

[slick814]

I've got a couple of coffee cans with some QuickCrete in them. While the concrete was setting, i added a U-bolt to it, then tied a pice of rope to the u-bolt. Drill a hole for each can partly into the ice and drop the can inside the hole.Easy and cheap to make. You could use just about anything for weight, too. I used the QuikCrete because I happened to have a small bag laying around last summer. You don't have to worry about the hole freezing that way either.

[metrojoe]

The ice anchors have always worked for me.

[Yellow Dog]

Got this idea from this site a few years back...drill holes on the downwind side where your shack is going to be--not all the way through the ice. Then put a 2x4 in each hole and the shack sled (I have an Otter Lodge) puts pressure on the 2x4's. I've never had a problem staying put and it's easy to pick up and move again.

[Sonicrunch]

I'm considering studding one side of my suitcase portable.

I studded by boots and it is the best!

[Gadgetman]

I would suggest just breaking down and buying the strikemaster anchoring system. They sell them in pairs and they also double as picks if you were to fall in. Can be used in either 8 or 10 inch hole. small enough tht i just put them in a small bag and clipped them on the rail in my voyager. Always there and dont have to worry about forgetting them when you really need them

[Farley]

Dont know if I want to do this to mine but some guys just take some long large thread screws and a cordless drill and screw the floor right to the ice, right through the bottom of the tub.

[Northlander]

For as often as I have to use the anchors I just use the screw in types.

[CanOCorn]

I can't say I am a fan of the coffee can idea. Last thing I would want is to get into a big fish and have it wrap around my anchor hanging behind me under the ice. The screw in ones bend. At least they did for me. The board tied to a rope and shoved down the hole is the only way to go.

[Duffman]

If you use screw in anchors, do yourself a favor and bring a cordless drill for pilot holes, makes that process a little more hassle free.

[DigitalFisherman]

This will likely sound more complicated than it is but here it goes.

I installed eye bolts on both ends of my yukon. I then cut two peices of 3/4" angle iron about 3/4" wider than my auger blade and put an eye bolt a few inches from the end of both peices of iron. To anchor, I drill a hole half way through the ice about 3' out from both ends, drop an iron in both holes and use a spring lever tie down strap on both ends. Takes about two minutes to anchor both ends and is very solid. Had it out on red durring a big blow and she never budged.

[fiskyknut]

For portable anchors I prefer a Brunette, though a blonde works well too!

fiskyknut

[riverrat56]

The coffee can wouldn't go all the way through the ice so it couldn't wrap around.

I have never anchored my portable, I do have something rigged up to though if I ever need to, although it does require about a foot of ice.

Drill a hole with the auger about 3/4's of the way through at an angle and then tie a rope from the auger to a nifty eye bolt on my house.

[veximan]

make sure water doesn't seap into the hole from below or even water coming across the ice from your other holes that could freeze your auger in the hole. I've heard of this happening and NO it hasn't happened to me. Just something to remind others about the potential.

Hope that you have a full bladder if you catch my drift.

[colt44]

Like your method, Yellow Dog........

[bassNspear]

dont need to do it. Only time i am on the ice is when i am spearing. which is almost everyother day. When cutting the spear hole, it allows me to collect enough ice to be able to bank my house, and then i place block on side where the wind is not blowing, to hold the house.

[RandyR]

I bought some ice screws from Eastern Mountain Sports. I think you can find something similar from any sporting goods retailer that carries climbing gear. Ice climbers use them as safety anchors as they climb frozen watrefalls and such. They are made from titanium, screw into the ice with easy effort, and hold like crazy (25 mph + winds). It takes less than 1 minute for me to anchor my portable. I got the male and female clips from a fabric store, the female ends even have reflectors molded into them for added night time visibility.

I made the straps from 1 inch wide nylon strap material and anchored the female end to my portable with SST bolts. The whole set weighs less than 2 pounds. Lightness is important because I typically walk out on to the ice. The screws available from popular ice fishing supply manufacturers are infinitely inferior to these, they will bend and do not hold well. The titanium screws are hollow, giving the displaced ice somewhere to go as you screw them in, and they will not pull loose. I use two anchors and cross them in a "X" patten to eliminate the shelter shifting from side to side.

See photo:

[JRFISHBAIT]

Strikemaster makes a nice anchor. You drill extra hole(s) 2-4" deep. They then have an expandle anchor that you adjust to the size of the hole. It then has a rope that you tie to a small plastic piece that you bolt to your house. It's hard to explain without a picture and I don't have one. It can also be used as an ice pic as you walk out to your favorite fishing site. It works well and is simple to use.

[Grant]

the stick/rope down the hole trick worked well with an Otter Den tonight on Grays. ~Grant

[bassNspear]

JR how much are the anchors from Strikemaster?