More snowmachine for ice fishing

[JWJ]

I am looking for a snowmachine for ice fishing, pulling my ice house, hauling, etc. I'm not "into" trail riding. The "posts" talk about "utility" sleds and I am not certain what they are. What models are they, and what are they called from the different makers? As you can probably tell, I don't know alot about them, and whatever you can offer would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[slick2526]

How new are you looking at. In my opinion I wouldnt waste my time on the newer ones for the stuff your looking at doing. I would try to find a old ski-doo blizzard or something along that line. Also I would try to find a snowmobiling forum and ask them. Also you might find a good deal on a sled that way.

[yrnut]

JWJ- I have used my Yamaha 440 Exciter for many years on Lake Erie, with great success. I live about 1/4 mi. from the Catawba ramp,so I can usually start right from home to go to the lake. I feel that I can negotiate the usual push-ice and rough ice better with my Yamaha than the 4-wheelers that I see. Understand, this is only one persons'opinion.

[dave]

Take a look at the utility sleds from polaris. I have the widetrack with the 500 twin engine. High range, low range, forward, reverse,
lots of storage. Great for pulling. This is possibly the best utility machine on the market.

[ron]

Is there a solution for running snow machines on the bare ice and not burning up the plastic slides? I run on saginaw bay and travel 4-5 miles on the average trip out. Twice last year I burned a set of slides up with one trip. I prefer the snowmachines for negotiating the stress cracks which open frequently during the course of the day but getting tired of the twenty dollar sets of slides. Any tips would be appreciated.

[The Great Guide]

Snowmobile slides are engineered to be lubricated by the snow. The snow cools the slide as friction heats it up. I live in northern MN and we rarely have black ice conditoms, but I've heard of guys spraying silicon on the slides for added lubrication. I would also recommed that you check with your dealer for the possiblility that some form of other slide might be available although I've never heard of any.

TGG

[gilman911]

Liquid dish washing detergent works well for me. Not as convenient as snow but it works.

[eyewitness]

A little trick the racers do is to take a 1/4" drill and drill into them about 1/8" deep the full length of the slide. Don't put too many in, but space them randomly and frequently (at least every 1/2"). Sounds crazy doesn't it? The reason it works is that the small holes will pack snow into them and will keep them cooler. Yes they will still wear, and a lubricant can help some, but it's the heat that breaks them down more than anything. Also, try tipping your sled on its side and spray each runner full length with "Slip Plate" teflon spray. It is made by John Deere I believe. You could even spray the track clips as well. That is what the slides end up riding on. Preteat both wit ha good coating once and then respray just before going out each time. That should at least slow the wear down somnewhat. Good luck!

[dave]

The best thing to do, and what the test drivers do in the
spring when there is no snow is to drill a hole in the back
of your ski's and install a bolt through the ski just long enough
to make good contact with the ice. This will kick up small ice
chips on to your high fax and keep it cool. I have done this and
it works great. Be forwarned that it will make nice skid marks on
your garage floor as well.

[JWJ]

Amazing how these "posts" sometimes get sidetracked! Eight responses and no one has answered what a "utility" sled is! Still would like to know.

[ShadMan]

I am not an expert in the field of snowmobiles, but will tell you that I do prefer them over ATV's. A utility sled is larger than your normal cruising sled, or trail sled. Most have low speeds for pulling and have reverse on them. The tracks are wider and longer to get more traction for what they are intended for and that is pulling larger loads. I do not own a utility sled but wish I did because of the towing and carrying capacity. I own a Artic Cat Jag Special 440 and it is used 95 percent of the time for getting me out on the lakes and fishing. the other 5 percent is pulling the kids around in the back fiels on the sled. I mount my boats GPS on the front dash of the snowmobile with the antenna on the hood. It gets me to all the reefs that I want to fish on Lake Winnebago. I had made a small sled the size of my Fishtrap to put the trap on and pull it behind my snowmobile. It has downhill skies on the bottom and the sled sits about 10 inches above the snow, so it can clear some deep snow. If you ever get a chance to see Dave Genz setup that he uses it is superp ice machine. Hope I helped? ShadMan

[dave]

Polaris utility machine is called the "widetrack".
Artic cats utility machine is called bear claw or something to that effect. I'm not sure on the other brands.

If ice fishing is your main use, you will love the widetrack from polaris. It has a full two-up seat plus a large cargo rack behind the seat. It has a much longer and wider track then a "normal"
snowcat. The low range is great for towing heavy loads, the clutch engages at a very low rpm, so you won't have problems spinning the track into loose snow, or spinout on bare ice. The full two up seat
flips up to provide a large amount of storage space. I also mount my auger right on the back of the cargo rack. This is great to not have it bouncing around in the otterskin fish house. The rack is also large enough to carry a mid size cooler that I use for carring minnows in, again nice not to have to worry about spilling the minnows out. They typically have a very large windshield on them, so they are very warm to drive. The only drawback it that they take quite a bit of room to turn around, but the reverse helps here a bunch. Hope this helps a bit.

Dave.

[Terry/JNR]

I've got a pair of 1974 Artic Cat Panther 340s with the steel cleat tracks. These machines are ideal for ice fishing sleds. They aren't real fast but they have a lot of power and the steel cleats are better on glare ice than the tracks on newer sleds. Both machines are in excellent condition as they were purchaced new by my father in '74.E-mail me at jigsnrigs@hotmail.com if you might be intersted. I live in Superior,WI. I've also got a 79 Artic Cat Eltigr'e liquid cooled also in ecellent cond.