Truck on lake erie ice driver fishing5/29/2023 In addition, I occasionally adjust it for sight-bites in down-view mode. On most excursions, while the Helix helps navigate to spots and switches to sonar mode for active fishing, I use the Aqua-Vu underwater camera to confirm the presence of vegetation, rocks, and other cover, and also identify fish species. ![]() While driving from lake to lake, I can pop the Micro cam off its mount and charge it in my truck with a USB cable. The Helix plugs into the ATV's auxiliary power port, while the camera plays off its own power source - an internal lithium-ion battery that runs for days of intermittent use, barring bitterly cold weather, which drains the battery faster. Of course, they also pop on and off in seconds with the twist of the RAM. Side by side, the two LCD screens are not obtrusive, and they're light enough to stay in place, even in rough terrain. In addition to a Humminbird Helix 7 sonar/mapping unit secured to the forward gear rack with a RAM Mount, I also run an Aqua-Vu Micro 5 underwater camera, also on a small RAM Mount. Hook-sets were clumsy, and grabbing fish at the hole required an odd contortion of your body.įor most of us, rigging begins with electronics. With fishfinder balanced between steering wheel and dashboard, you awkwardly jigged out the door while eyeballing the sonar. I first recall seeing this mode of fishing while hanging with Zippy Dahl and the original Devils Lake, North Dakota, Perch Patrol guys back in the day. It's an easy mobile approach that keeps you out of the wind. That reminds me of "car door fishing," a laid back method of driving from hole to hole with the truck door open without even setting foot on the ice. It's the reason a lot of anglers mount portable GPS and sometimes sonar systems on the dashes of their trucks. In North Dakota, Minnesota, and the Canadian North, we're often driving full size pickups and SUVs after about January 1. During the past few seasons in much of the north, we've had so little snow that running an ATV all season has been viable. The main issue in the ice belt is ATV versus snowmobile - which one to run based on snow depth, slush, or lack thereof. His machine is fully enclosed and heated, and rigged with Mattracks, a rubber track system that grips ice and hugs deep snow as well as a snowmobile. If budget and garage space weren't concerns, I'd likely opt for a utility task vehicle (UTV) - something like the Polaris Ranger Crew run by my friend and frequent on-ice companion Bill Lindner. It's quiet, efficient, and plenty powerful to pull a large, wheeled fish house. Other big factors are power and reliability, and for these reasons, I prefer the Rubicon, which has a 475-cc four-stroke engine. I've also run Yamaha and Polaris machines in the past, and love the performance of the Yamahas and some of the Polarises for their 11-inch ground clearance - key for powering through deeper snow and slush and for climbing over smaller heaves or rough trails in the woods. ![]() For each of the past two seasons, I've run a Honda Foreman Rubicon 4x4, a generous-sized ATV with an ample 9.4 inches of ground clearance. For big waters with shifting currents, airboats or similar rides like a Wilcraft could be the safest of all - perhaps even the future of safe ice-time navigation. Besides piloting a chopper into remote Canadian lakes (I once had the opportunity to fly onto an untouched frozen lake in Northern Ontario) you mostly can't beat ice travel with an ATV, UTV, or snowmobile. Which in no way describes adventures in an airboat, an exhilarating if slightly terrifying experience as you approach and traverse patches of open water on the likes of Saginaw Bay and Lake Erie. 'Bears can be slow-going and a little noisy, but you never even have to step outside if you'd rather not perhaps the ultimate in luxury. ![]() I've spent plenty of days, too, buzzing around in Guide Tony Roach's SnoBear - an ice utility van that doubles as a heated shelter, complete with holes in the floor. His rig is unstoppable in all snow conditions, and awesome for shuttling parties of 3 to 4 anglers around the lake. Piloting one of my favorite mobile mods is Guide Brian Brosdahl, whose Toyota FJ Cruiser becomes a tank when tricked out with conversion tracks from American Track Truck. In the inexhaustible quest for ice fishing ecstasy, I've been lucky enough to hitch along with folks who run some killer ice rides.
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