I’m stuck in a little debate between a snowmobile and a wheeler for ice fishing. Once the snow gets a little deeper on the lakes, do the wheelers just get stuck and become useless unless you stay on packed trails, or can you add chains to the tires and be just fine?
If you have a big wheel kit. That helps. But generally, you aren’t going to be able to go cross country like you could on a snowmobile.
Wheelers can be used 12 months of the year, snowmobiles maybe 3-4 months if you’re lucky.
I’ve got a stock CanAm 450 and only been stuck in the snow twice that I can think of, and both were because I was going too slow over a drift and high centered. A few minutes of shoveling and I was going again. Just can’t be afraid to keep your speed up in deeper snow. I cross country on Mille Lacs and other lakes frequently.
You can always get a track set later on if you like.
Like Munchy says, ATV 12 months a year.
I have a 700 Griz and chain up all 4, works pretty good for me.
It is amazing how much snow you can go through when you have chains on a wheeler. I only have them on the back, but I don’t think I would ever get stuck with them on the front too. Would only be when hung up on a drift and all tires of the ground.
ATV is a far better investment in this day and age. Deep snow is so inconsistent during our winters now its just too big of a risk. Heck, there are some winters you can’t even use one. An ATV will get almost a full year of use, go that route.
Depends on what area you are going to use them in . Up north where I live the bikes are useless from mid December till April on a normal year.
Mostly the metro area, maybe up around mille lacs. Bring it with on whatever ice trip we go on though.
A wheeler, and a good used sled, they are out there, fishing a river a sled is almost a must have. or on a real large lake. DK.
As soon as you encounter snow that’s drifted and wind-packed so the 4 wheeler rides up on it, it’s game over. Doesn’t matter what tires or chains you have, the machine sleds up on the snow and the tires don’t bite. Game over, get out the shovel.
Now in the metro area, you may never encounter this. We get so little snow down here these days, you might go 10 years and never have an issue.
Up north at my hunting property, I get enough snow to stop me using the 4 wheeler about 50% of the time. The problem is you can’t count on going anywhere because you just get going and then you hit a low spot or drift and everything stops. Then you have to find a way around that one. Only to be stopped 50 yards later by another drift…
Wheeler would be more versatile, but it won’t reliably take you anywhere regardless of drifting or snow depth like a snow machine will.
Grouse
Actually you can find sled`s so darn cheap you could go for one of each, that way nothing stops you year round..
I’d 100% agree an ATV is best all around but the OP stated ice fishing specifically. I own both and use my snowmobile almost every time. Way more versatile on the lake and safer IMO (saw a few ATV roll overs on bare ice). Slush will disable both but it’s winter time and there’s typically gonna be snow.
Bought a used two up snowmobile last December after thinking long and hard about that vs a 4 wheeler. Don’t really have a lot of room for storage so it was one or the other. Sled worked out really nice last year fished with it from about mid December until almost the end of March. Bonus was wife and I would go for our lake cruises on the sled, without the cocktails, like we do in the summer with the boat.
Use the riding lawn mower for most other things around the house in the non ice fishing season.
Both!
You can get sleds fairly cheap now days. ATVS for the early ice no snow, once it starts snow your going to want sled, also sleds are design to be started in colder weather.
ATV. more storage, more versatile and more reliable (generally). Snowmobiles are great when needed, but a pain when not.
I’m stuck in a little debate between a snowmobile and a wheeler for ice fishing. Once the snow gets a little deeper on the lakes, do the wheelers just get stuck and become useless unless you stay on packed trails, or can you add chains to the tires and be just fine?
ATV+Tracks=Problem Solved.
ATV+Tracks=Problem Solved.
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I agree BUT, $$$$$$$$ and where do you store them in the summer?
I run a snowmobile, problem being at this point in the year, there isn’t really enough snow to use the snowmobile, if you have the space to store I would opt for a cheaper but reliable snowmobile and a cheaper but reliable atv. I fish enough spots that are not accessible by atv that I like having the snowmobile, and most of the year there is enough snow to use one. But most places I do go could be accessed by atv. Take a long hard look at where you go and the snow conditions of where you go and the decision hopefully will get easier.
You may find that sleds require more maintenance. Especially a used one. I spend more money keeping my sleds running 3 months of the year than my quads running 8. Sleds are more unique when it comes to wrenching so you may find yourself taking them in more often as apposed to doing it yourself adding even more expense. I have a 2015 tore apart in my garage right now doing routine maint. I’m several hundred into shock rebuilds, bearing replacements, hyfax, carbides and misc suspension parts. And this is a yearly thing. I haven’t even replaced the tires on my 2006 quad yet. Basically just oil change once a year. My trail quads require more expense but still nothing compared to my sleds. Granted we ride our sleds many more miles trail riding than one would just fishing.
As others mentioned, wheeler is more useful for more months.
Snowmobile will undoubtedly get you places that an ATV just won’t, however the way I look at it is if the snow is too deep to 4 wheel where I want to go (more than 2 ft), it’s going to be a pain fishing there anyway with all the shoveling, etc. Also the snow that deep doesn’t seem to be lasting long. Fished out of the wheeler until I could bring the truck out, now just walking if it’s somewhere I can’t drive to.
I have been having this debate with myself everyday for the last month because of all the snow my Ranger side by side is useless on the lake. I have a 2015 Ranger 900 XP hard cab, heater, stereo, winch and the new Otter lock and ride flip over that mounts on the Ranger box. Mean ice fishing machine right? Only if you can get around on the lake!
So I might as well bite the bullet and get tracks for it to keep this ice fishing machine on the lake right? Well a couple things with that. First is the cost of the tracks themselves four to 5 grand minimum unless you can find a decent used set which you can but there are reasons people are selling them. They don’t solve every problem and nothing does.
Tracks add length, width, height and weight to your wheeler. In my case that would have meant a trailer upgrade as well. More $$. Ok now I need longer push tubes for my plow to get my plow out in front of the tracks. More $$. Not to mention you lose a good deal of turning radius with tracks which would have made plowing around my house nearly impossible.
Finally adding the additional height to the wheeler it would no longer clear the entrance to my garage unless I removed the light bar on top which I was not going to do. And where do I store them in summertime.
So too many hurdles and too much $$$ to go the track route.
Next up snowmobile. Buy a used two up for when the snow is too much for the side by side on the lake, problem solved right? Ok that sounds like a reasonable solution. Ok now I got to buy another flip over on a sled because my flip over is only good for use on the Ranger. Oh, the tangled webs we weave. 
Lots of cheap sleds on CL for sure but I’m not mechanically inclined to do my own work on these things so I don’t want to buy a bucket load of someone else’s problems. So now I’m spending nearly as much as I would on a set of tracks and I still have to buy a new flip over. So the $$ are ratcheting up. Add to the fact we are not snowmobilers otherwise, it would sit in the garage, oh wait that’s another thing I don’t have room in the garage to trip over a sled all year. Not to mention we could go another 7 year stretch where there isn’t enough snow to need a or use a sled. Ugh, what’s the solution to this problem?
Well this whole thing has led me to another consideration that I’m starting to like the more I think about it. I like going up to Red. It’s just under a 3 hour drive for me. I seem to do well up there or at least I can’t remember leaving there skunked. So I’m thinking about buying a skid or smaller wheel house I can leave up there as a permanent. Just like snowmobiles there are a lot of cheap skid or wheel houses right now. Cost about $300 a year to leave it up there all year plus they pull it on and off the ice for you and will plow you a clear path to it.
Now when conditions allow I can use my wheeler locally for fishing or take it up to Red and use it up there while using the permanent as a base to sleep in and drop rattle reels. Plus I can always move the permanent with my wheeler while there if I want. And when conditions like we have now that keep the wheeler off the lake I still have the permanent I can go up to for a couple days and wet a line.
Now I will add I’m retired so I can run up there anytime I want for the most part and spend a couple days so this may not be a viable solution for everybody but I think it may just work out for me! 
So, anyone got a nice used skid or wheel house they want to part with??
Buy a cheap used sled and then a giod wheeler. Problem solved
X2
Tracks put on for winter ,we have used them first time this year. They have been great on the four-wheelers. Going to need them this week at Devils. Lodge called Saturday and told us people are cancelling need tracks to travel the lake or you will not make it too far.
Wheels go back on this spring.
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How do those tracks do in deep snow? Not the hard pack in the pic that anything could drive on.
How do those tracks do in deep snow? Not the hard pack in the pic that anything could drive on.
Other than running through deep slush, I’m not sure it’s possible to get them stuck in powder. They sink about 4″ on fresh powder…That’s it.
That’s impressive!. I would add that tracks float over crusted snow where tires will break through and your SOL then
Lots of cheap sleds on CL for sure but I’m not mechanically inclined to do my own work on these things so I don’t want to buy a bucket load of someone else’s problems. So now I’m spending nearly as much as I would on a set of tracks and I still have to buy a new flip over. So the $$ are ratcheting up.
I must be the luckiest guy in the world because I have not put a penny in any of my sleds. I have one that is 25 yrs old and runs like a top. I’d trust my life with it any day. The other two are almost 20 yrs old. Add gas and oil, then drive it like you stole it. They are so nice to have around. I use them for ice fishing all winter and now also pulling kids around on a sled. Personally I’m in my boat all summer so an ATV would get very little use. Everyone is different but this works for me.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
How do those tracks do in deep snow? Not the hard pack in the pic that anything could drive on.Other than running through deep slush, I’m not sure it’s possible to get them stuck in powder. They sink about 4″ on fresh powder…That’s it.
My buddy has an 800 with tracks and it defiantly does not go everywhere. He’s gotten it stuck in snow and also slush. He pushes snow with the front all of the time and you would need some hard snow to only sink 4″. Heck my snowmobile sinks 12″ in this snow.
Another guy I know also dropped his in 4′ of water in a bad ice area. The snowmobile went right over that area without issue. Each to his own but I’m not driving a wheeler on any ice I’m not very familiar with.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Angler II wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
How do those tracks do in deep snow? Not the hard pack in the pic that anything could drive on.Other than running through deep slush, I’m not sure it’s possible to get them stuck in powder. They sink about 4″ on fresh powder…That’s it.
My buddy has an 800 with tracks and it defiantly does not go everywhere. He’s gotten it stuck in snow and also slush. He pushes snow with the front all of the time and you would need some hard snow to only sink 4″. Heck my snowmobile sinks 12″ in this snow.
Another guy I know also dropped his in 4′ of water in a bad ice area. The snowmobile went right over that area without issue. Each to his own but I’m not driving a wheeler on any ice I’m not very familiar with.
I just got done riding for 3 days straight through 3’+ of powder. Where snowmobiles got stuck I could stop 5’ away and take off now problem. Never plowed snow once. The only time I got a little worried was on the lake where I hit a deep slush pocket. Even then, it got through it.
The weight distribution for tracked vehicles versus snowmobiles is so much greater.
I’m not sure what brand of tracks your buddy has but they don’t sound like the work very well.
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