Looking at atv for next year.
Yeh next year.
I here all kinds of things. What actually works to get the most from an atv on the ice?
Size, chains, weight, tires?
I don’t want tracks, heard they are hard on the atv.
Don’t want a snowmobile, atv is more usefull.
Thanks for your input, Doug
500 class or bigger and a “good” pair of chains if you travel some off the plowed roads.
Four wheel drive is a must. I have a yamaha 400 kodiak 4×4 and that gets me where ever I need to go on the ice while hauling portables around. Never needed chains
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Looking at atv for next year.
Yeh next year.
I here all kinds of things. What actually works to get the most from an atv on the ice?
Size, chains, weight, tires?
I don’t want tracks, heard they are hard on the atv.
Don’t want a snowmobile, atv is more usefull.
Thanks for your input, Doug
New or used? To plow or not?
I have a 500 x2 Polaris,works great. I have never had chains,and I probably never will. We pull a Frabil Preaditor full of equipment. Never been stuck. The whole thing is buy yourself a new one if you can afford it. Take good care of it and it will last for years. And never lend it out. I know to many people who have lent there atv out,and it never ran the same.Put the best gas you can find.and the oil and filter that they recomend. It will be your best fishing friend. Jerry
A lot of guys will point you to big units…. and that can be fine, as there are some beast out there that will go through almost anything. Consider how you plan to transport it. I still put mine in the back of my truck, and with the mid-sized box, I can close the tailgate. I have a 450cc Yamaha… but anything larger, or with larger tires closing the tailgate is no longer an option.
Unless you are really going to pound the unit with thousands of miles, or heavy off-road use, it is hard to buy a bad new atv now days. If time is on your side… looking for a slightly used model shouldn’t be too hard either. A lot of us guys out there that use them a half dozen times a year on the ice, and take good care of them. Mine didn’t see dirt for the first four years I owned it.
While a lot of the non-current new stuff has dried up, there are still some great deals out there at dealerships. Years ago when the economy first tanked, there were a ton left over. Through auctions and manufacturer dumping, some huge discounts were around… and some of those are still available. I work with a couple dealers that occasionally still get these new units even now.
Another thing with big size wheelers if you do happen to get stuck or hung up they are pretty heavy to lift and move yourself. I used to run a arctic 400 4×4 worked well for me. Dad ran a honda 300 powerful and light weight. Not as much clearance with the 300 but it was a work horse.He now has a suzuki 250 4×4. Same thing light weight and powerful. For my next machine I would look at the honda rancher or yamaha in same size…My father in law has the sportsman 500ho by polaris it is a beast HEAVY ,lots of go though
I bought a pair of Arctic Cat MPRs (400 and 500) back in 2004. I choose Cat because they were the only unit that had a true 12″ of clearance at the time. I don’t know if that is still the case.
Not sure who goes with you but you may want to seriously consider a two-up machine. 400cc minimum. 500cc would be better.
With the right tires, snow should not be an issue (to a point). Chains make a huge difference on bare ice. 4×4 is a must.
Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
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Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
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Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
That’s what people were saying when they started to put it on cars in the 60’s…you sure don’t see very many today without it.
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One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
Thats kind of a pessimistic outlook isn’t it? If a guy was gonna spend all that money on an atv he might as well get one thats easy to steer. Seems like a no-brainer.
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Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
I would say get power steering. Especially if you are an off road (“mudding”) kind of rider. I have hurt my forearms and wrists from the handlebars being ripped out on my hands by a high speed collision with a rock or tree root. For ice fishing and plowing, I don’t see the need for that add on.
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Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
And if it goes wrong you are back to where you would have started if you bought one with no power steering. Better to have power steering and have it fail than to not have it to begin with.
Nothing runs like a honda. only problem is you want EFI and they dont offer that except in the Rincon 680 i beleive. Its a must in the cold wheather.
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Whatever you get make sure it has power steering. My dad’s 550 Sportsman is so easy to drive compared to mine without power steering.
One more thing to go wrong if you ask me.
Very true im not used to all the new stuff out there on the newer machines.thought my buddy was nuts for buying es when it first came out but now he has just under 15k on it never an issue with his rancher other then set of bearings.alot of miles!
That’s what people were saying when they started to put it on cars in the 60’s…you sure don’t see very many today without it.
I thought the same thing when it first came out but everyone I’ve talked to with it won’t go without now. I always wanted it on my snowmobile when I used to ride, eventually it will be standard on everything.
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Nothing runs like a honda. only problem is you want EFI and they dont offer that except in the Rincon 680 i beleive. Its a must in the cold wheather.
Nope a friend of mine just a bought a rancher and it has fuel injection, pretty sweet machine 
Other than thinner ice 4×4 trucks will go more places on a lake than a quad.
If you can afford it hands down the best ATV for ice fishing I’ve ever used is the tracked Polaris ranger that I got to use while fishing with James a few times this year. That thing is a beast and goes just about anywhere.
However, if you can’t afford to go tracked my reccomendation is to chose a lighter weight machine. Unless you plan on using it to pull a permanent fishhouse or wheelhouse out there is really not much benefit with a bigger machine to pull any sled style portable fishhouse. I’ve got both a 350 Honda Rancher and 450 Honda Foreman and for sneaking out to hidden lakes I actually prefer the 350 because it’s lighter. The reason I say this is that, I do quite a bit of off the beaten path fishing and invariably I will find a location where I’ll get stuck. I actually have gone many places where bigger machines are a problem because I can pretty much bury that machine, step off to the side while still holding the handlebars, give it a little gas, and it will almost always drive itself right out. If that doesn’t work it only weighs about 350#’s and is 10 times easier to get out then a 600+ lb machine which is the approximate weight of most 500 or bigger class ATVs.
EDIT – However if comfort comes into play the bigger ATVs win hands down.
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Other than thinner ice 4×4 trucks will go more places on a lake than a quad.
If you can get there with your truck you’re usually too late or it’s too easy to get to 
Exactly!
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Other than thinner ice 4×4 trucks will go more places on a lake than a quad.
If you can get there with your truck you’re usually too late or it’s too easy to get to
Other than thin ice (like I mentioned) where would a quad get you on Mille Lacs or any other lake that I couldnt get with my truck? I’m talking about snow power. Quads get stuck before trucks do. I think it might boil down to safey as people dont hesitate to break new ground with a quad or sled but wouldnt do it with an auto. Is that the kind of access you guys speak of because otherwise it doesnt make sense?
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Other than thinner ice 4×4 trucks will go more places on a lake than a quad.
If you can get there with your truck you’re usually too late or it’s too easy to get to
Other than thin ice (like I mentioned) where would a quad get you on Mille Lacs or any other lake that I couldnt get with my truck? I’m talking about snow power. Quads get stuck before trucks do. I think it might boil down to safey as people dont hesitate to break new ground with a quad or sled but wouldnt do it with an auto. Is that the kind of access you guys speak of because otherwise it doesnt make sense?
I’m just saying I like to spend as much time as possible on early ice and after using an ATV to get to lakes/areas that aren’t accessable by truck.
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