ice fishing problem

[vetspet(ind)]

i went fishing tues nite and my hole kept freezing up even tho i had a tent over it....my line formed ice on it where it touched the water and my spring bobbers developed ice...when i would set the hook and start to reel all the ice would jam in the first eyelet and the fish would get unhooked as i struggled to free up my line jam....one solution is to get a larger shack and use larger heaters to warm everything up more...i just bought a nice shack for 250 dollars three yrs ago so i'm hinting to wife i made a mistake and may buy new shack next yr....i'm wondering if anyone ever used a mr.heater....heat water on it in a coffee pot and just pour water in my holes as they get cold....i have a problem with room in my hut but will try this next time i go out REW said to use cooking oil in hole ....wouldn't that get cold and gell up and make a mess?.....any tips from the veterans would be appreciated

[Goldpig]

I am certainly no veteran, but here's my thoughts. I use a Mr. Heater with the tiny Coleman tanks. I am not sure whether it is a decrease in pressure or cold tanks but after an hour on a tank my holes freeze and I get ice on my line. So, to deal with this I set a pop can filled with water directly on my heater and dump it in my holes every now and again. Anyone else have a better solution?

[ccarlson]

The problems you are having are inherant to ice fishing so with experience, you learn to deal with them. The thing to do is to predict and prevent. Predict that you will get a bite and that ice on the line and bobber will be a problem. Prevent it by getting in the habit of "stripping" the line between your fingers on a regular basis. Ice only forms above the water line from where it got water on it, so every few minutes when jigging, just pinch the line at the tip of the rod and strip the ice down to below water level and it will no longer be a problem. The bobber is another story. You need to find a slip bobber (if you are fishing deep enough to require it) that keeps the slip knot below water level. We have some around here in MN that are yellow foam with a red plastic catch that remains below water. Works great but I can't think of the name of them.
Hope this helps.

ccarlson

[steve(IL)]

Suffering be gone!! I refuse to suffer on the ice :-).
I'd like to suggest that a bigger shack will only compound your problems. I have a Davie Genz FishtrapII. Even in bitter cold, I can pack snow around the canvas to seal out drafts and keep it warm with a small heater and/or lantern. I normally have to shed clothes to keep from getting to warm. Be resourcefull and figure out ways to keep the warmth in(be sure to get enough fresh air in since the heater & Lantern use up oxygen).

[Pitts]

Hey the hot water idea seems pretty good along with the clean your line off and cool bobbers BUT!!! I've fished at 39 below and that's not windchill in my 4x8 wooden bottom and ends with canvas sides and carpeted house and out of the 4 houses on the ice with me, we were the only ones taking our jackets off and with open holes and free bobbers. Plastic bottoms are cold the Frabill XLT had 2 Mr. Heaters and still froze with 2' snow banks on 3 sides. They are a good heater for up to a 4x6 but with my new 8x8 I use two of them in the extreme cold and only use one door so I can bank the other door. Granted they are not as portable as the sled houses but you just have to have the ambition to move and set up 3 or 4 times a day to stay with the fish. Also all Mr. Heaters come with a grill and can be turned face up to cook on.
Hope this helps.

Pitts

[rngrfshm]

I think there called Ice Buster. Yellow with red cap.

[gertzie]

try taking a coffe can and put some rocks in the bottom to hold it,then add some charcoal lite and let burn for a while, drill ahole next to the one you are fishing in do not drill all the way through, then connect the two hole together putting the coffee can in the swallow hole (drill about 3-4inches deep) this will keep your hole from freezing up, when this happens your bobber will not freeze either,it sometimes is a pain but works really well.

[BD]

I used to fish with a couple of "old timers" (I'm one now :( geez) who used coffee can boilers to keep tip-up holes open when using umbrella stave (windjammer type) tipups. A coil of soft copper tubbing was placed inside a coffee can. The tubing from the top of the coil extended down to just below water level. The tubing from the bottom of the coil extended about a foot below water level. The coil was filled with water and the boiler was set in place. Charcoal was used as a heat source. The water in the tubing would rise as it heated and flow into the top of the hole while drawing cold water into the bottom of the coil. The holes would stay open even in zero degree weather while outside of the shanty. The jigging holes in the shanty were kept open by the old milk house heater (vented outside) used to heat the shanty.

[jimbo]

Simple solution!!!!!! Buy yourself a mr heater and a small 12 V fan. Put the fan up as high as you can in your shack. I have fished in extreme temps and it works. Do not use charcoal in your fish shack as it can put you to sleep permanently. You can get fan at auto parts house or deptment store Jimbo

[Mobydick]

Ditto on the Fan, works great. Have you ever tried spring bobbers?

[REW]

A couple of suggestions.
1. If you don't want to buy a new heater -- pick up a few plumbers candles. It is suprising how much heat a single candle gives off - if it is right at the water level, and if you bank the sides of the hole.

2. Use a small or large MR. heater - you can use a single 1 lb bottle, a 5, 10, 0r 20 lb bottle, mounted right on the tank, or use an extension hose, and put the tank outside and only the heater inside.

3. Many folks that have small houses, use the small single burner stove which mounts on the top of a small bottle.
Again, this may be mounted on the top of the small bottle, or at the end of an extension hose that is connected to a larger 5,10, or 20 lb tank, that is outside the house.

This coleman single burner is only about 4-5 inches in diameter and is thin - so if you mount it on the end of a 90 degree angle adapter on the end of a hose, that is bolted to a flat piece of aluminum, you can have the heat right next to the ice where you need it. This also gives you the advantage of heating up a coffe pot, or frying a burger, or brawt, when the wind and snow blow cold on the outside of your house. Nothing better than the sizzle of burgers and fried onions when the cold north winds are blowing.

Take care

REW

[AquaMan]

"KISS.Keep it simple stupid"...not saying you are, that is the quote.

Spray your line and rod with WD-40 and simply strip the ice off the line as suggested. All other gimics and tricks will only serve to complicate and ultimately frustrate you. Placing an open flame near the hole is a sure way to loose your line. Lighting charcoal inside a fish house is a big NO NO and pouring hot water in the hole only makes the water freeze faster since hot water freezes harder then cold water. I know is sounds funky, but that was a recall from high school science class. Something about the oxygen disolved in hot versus cold. In any event, if the shack is cold even after banking the sides and turning the heat all the way up, just keep stripping the ice with your hand. That method will never fail on you when you need it most.

A new house and heater will change that possibly. We did put a fan in our big house and that makes a huge difference, but we already have a deep cycle battery for the lights. Hauling a battery in a portable is another thing that makes it less portable.

Good luck and keep em jigging.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

[BD]

ANY heat source for an inclosed space must be vented outside or your obit will be in the paper. The coffee can boilers (reply #7 above) we used were for outside of the shanty only. The heater for inside the shanty was an old milkhouse heater that vented outside. If you start getting groggy get outside NOW. Don't fall asleep permanently.

[Chad]

I noticed that Coleman has a new Catalytic heater which is safe to use indoors. It does not give off CO, well, may just not as much as the older ones.

[bouncer boy]

what ever you do dont go pourin cooking oil or any other thing into the water. first of its illegal and second why would a fisherman want to pollute a lake.

[tpet96]

Use a silicone spray for your pole and line. Spray the eyelets, and use a large quantity on your line. Works for me. Prevents freezeup. As for the hole, the only advice I could give you is to deal with it. Invest in a light weight ice dipper and keep the hole free that way.

[vetspet(ind)]

cooking oil does not pollute...it is 100%biodegradeable....motor oil may pollute....cooking oil is made from corn....corn is a natural environmental flora....just like corn meal does not pollute....corn oil is digestable....motor oil is not....just so you realize the facts...steve

[WALLEYEDAVE]

>I am certainly no veteran, but
>here's my thoughts. I
>use a Mr. Heater with
>the tiny Coleman tanks.
>I am not sure whether
>it is a decrease in
>pressure or cold tanks but
>after an hour on a
>tank my holes freeze and
>I get ice on my
>line. So, to deal
>with this I set a
>pop can filled with water
>directly on my heater and
>dump it in my holes
>every now and again.
>Anyone else have a better
>solution?

[WALLEYEDAVE]

I HAVE THE COLEMAN CATALYTIC HEATER AND IT WORKS GREAT, WHEN TEMPS GET BELOW ZERO I FIRE UP ONE OF MY PROPANE HEATERS TO GIVE AN ADDITIONAL BLAST OF HEAT, THEN SHUT HER DOWN AND LET THE CATALYTIC DO THE JOB. NEVER REALLY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HOLES FREEZING UP, BUT STRIPPING THE LINE WITH YOUR FINGERS KEEPS EVERYTHING RIGHT. STAY ON TOP AND GOOD LUCK

[vetspet(ind)]

i agree with everything except the hot water experiment....the reason hot water will keep the hole open is that when you boil the water it is at 244 degrees F.....the unheated water in your hole is 34degrees or so....only a few degrees less than freezing......in the old high school experiment....you would heat water in one container and then let it cool down to room air and then use tap water....let it equilibrate...and then try to compare freeze time...the tap water took longer due to minerals in solution...but both started at the same temperatures....in our example we are adding water at hundreds of degrees higher starting degrees so the ice will not form as fast in this case...steve....a science fair judge....

[cisco]

...in minnesota...abeit handicapped...by inferior...quality of education...we know...that water...boils at 212 degrees...Fahrenheidt...which converts...to 100 degrees...celcius...but we're not...smart...enough to be...science fair...judges. (We also usually write in complete sentences without ellipses.)

[EAGLE EYES]

How are you getting water to heat to 244 F? Are you using salt? 212 F is boiling, can't get it hotter than that without additives. Aahh! Just messin with ya vetspet! :-) I found a trick that works really well. Ofcourse, this is for one hole. I have been using it in the one man Fishtrap house of mine. What I do is take one of those little alkaline powered bubbler(aerator) and hang it on the side of the hole. Works like a champ! The motion of water will keep the hole open. This however, will not keep the ice off your line. Simply strip with your fingers as mentioned earlier. I hate roasting inside the shanty, that is why I stay away from a bigger heater. I use just a lantern inside the small portable. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with! EE

[Brad/nd]

As far as keeping the holes open, the most sensible way I know is just the old fashioned dipper. It also gives you an excuse to move your body around, stretch out, & jig your line a little while cleaning the hole. I keep a single mr heater set on the floar on low just to keep my mustache from freezing! Leave the bottle outside, there is a lot of dynamite packed in those gas cylinders! propane gives off a lot of humidity, not to mention gases, and boiling water only adds to the humidity in a small shack.
The best suggestion for line freezing, is use a ice pole with the biggest eyelets you can find, mainly the end eyelet. This is very helpful when using slip bobbers. Nothing worse than having a frozen eyelet when reeling in a pound perch!

Take care,

Brad

[WAZ]

Never ever use charcoal in any enclosed space. The fumes will kill you! A few years ago a couple of fisherman in the dells brought a charcoal grill in their shack to warm up and never walked out.

[Minnesota]

You need to bank your portable shelter after cutting yout holes. The main reason your holes/line is icing up is because you are getting a draft from underneath the side of your shelter. Bring a small shovel out with you or just kick snow/slush around the outside of your house after cutting your holes so that you create a wind seal. I use a Shappell S4000 that is 5' by 8" and I can keep my holes and line ice free with a single burner sunflower style propane heater on its lowest setting when I bank the house. I would also buy some Cabela's "ICE Buster" bobbers. The point where your line makes contact with the bobber sits under water and never freezes up. These bobbers also work great fishing outside.