New Ice Gear/Plans for 2022/23 Season

[SkunkedAgain]

Hey Bob I didn't see them on the Utah for Sale board.... I'll check and see if they are on the main page one... Jeff

[joatmon]

So, I had some merchandise points from reaching a significant milestone at work. Decided to pick up two Pflueger President PRESSP20s to upgrade a couple of reels. Now to decide which rods they go on (I have way too many…).  I did also order on my own nickel, but on clearance, a Cabelas Deluxe 4 rod soft case that will handle rods up to 44 inches.  I’ve used the heck out of my Cabelas standard 6 rod bag.

Will get serious about re-spooling, etc. after my muzzleloader elk season is over.

[dubob]

Hey Bob I didn't see them on the Utah for Sale board.... I'll check and see if they are on the main page one... Jeff

I posted it on the Buy, Sell, . . . page and it was deleted.  I think I linked to the KSL ads in that post and that may be why it got deleted.  Anybody that wants the links can send me a PM and I'll PM them back to you.  I'll make another post on the Utah for sale forum without the KSL links.  I didn't know there was a Utah for sale forum when I posted it the other day.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Bob, for the info on that... I'll bet you have probably sold them by now, I'll check and see... Thanks for the info... J

[PACMEN]

Pacmen- I started building a tracksled last year too. Didn't make it very far before I diverted my time elsewhere. How long did it take you complete yours? Any tips? I kept all my components if i find myself wanting to finish it up. Youll have to report how it does after you get a trip or two with it.
  Skunked- I think I'm going to try an ice camping trip or two this season. May not get as many day trips in. So the overnighter sound like a good way to maximize available fishing time.
  Been pouring and painting a few little ice jigs that im curious to see how they work out. Caught the perch at rockport from the boat, so they should be ok. Picked up a couple jigging jackers to help keep the kids interested too

I would guess I've got about 20 hrs into it.  (Would have been lots less but the older I get the longer it takes to do something.)  If I do another one I think it will be less time due to the learning curve.  

Locking up the suspension was one of the issues I had.  Made a couple of blunders there. took me a couple of tries to get it to work like I wanted it to. As for tips on this I'm not sure if the suspension is the same on all machines.  If I build another I think I'll just roll it on it's side and weld it up.  I pulled parts out to try and reduce weight but most likely only got 10 lbs out of it.

Another thing I did was I built a frame that mounts on the top of the tunnel but is attached to the running gear where the running gear bolts to the tunnel. This frame includes both a basket and the engine mount.  Basket is about 3' long 16" wide and 12" tall.  I was nervous the engine vibration and running on the ice would be enough vibration to break up the frame so I spent a bunch of time making a soft engine mount. The tip on this is DON'T TOSS THE ORIGINAL ENGINE MOUNT BASES. Would have saved tons of time.

The plan is to try it as is but expect that I will need to stud the track as Dubob says.  Problem with this is the traction cleats are like 1 1/2" tall so I will have to cut and grind them off to stud it.

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Pacmen, did you use the snowmobile engine or a briggs type motor for your homebuilt? 

Used predator motor my son in law bought.

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Pacmen- I started building a tracksled last year too. Didn't make it very far before I diverted my time elsewhere. How long did it take you complete yours? Any tips? I kept all my components if i find myself wanting to finish it up. Youll have to report how it does after you get a trip or two with it.
  Skunked- I think I'm going to try an ice camping trip or two this season. May not get as many day trips in. So the overnighter sound like a good way to maximize available fishing time.
  Been pouring and painting a few little ice jigs that im curious to see how they work out. Caught the perch at rockport from the boat, so they should be ok. Picked up a couple jigging jackers to help keep the kids interested too

I would guess I've got about 20 hrs into it.  (Would have been lots less but the older I get the longer it takes to do something.)  If I do another one I think it will be less time due to the learning curve.  

Locking up the suspension was one of the issues I had.  Made a couple of blunders there. took me a couple of tries to get it to work like I wanted it to. As for tips on this I'm not sure if the suspension is the same on all machines.  If I build another I think I'll just roll it on it's side and weld it up.  I pulled parts out to try and reduce weight but most likely only got 10 lbs out of it.

Another thing I did was I built a frame that mounts on the top of the tunnel but is attached to the running gear where the running gear bolts to the tunnel. This frame includes both a basket and the engine mount.  Basket is about 3' long 16" wide and 12" tall.  I was nervous the engine vibration and running on the ice would be enough vibration to break up the frame so I spent a bunch of time making a soft engine mount. The tip on this is DON'T TOSS THE ORIGINAL ENGINE MOUNT BASES. Would have saved tons of time.

The plan is to try it as is but expect that I will need to stud the track as Dubob says.  Problem with this is the traction cleats are like 1 1/2" tall so I will have to cut and grind them off to stud it.

---

Pacmen, did you use the snowmobile engine or a briggs type motor for your homebuilt? 

Used predator motor my son in law bought.

Original engine was toasted.

[SkunkedAgain]

Cool thanks for the update on the dog... I think the snowmobile engines may be a little much to try and control that much power from a sled behind the towing machine... Like the box you added to haul gear on the dog, that will help add more weight for traction too... Good luck with your fun new machine... Later J