Ideal Ice Fishing Rig- Snowmobile

I’ve been kicking around the idea of buying an older sled with the main purpose being ice fishing. I’d use it for some trail cruising I’m sure as well, but thats less of a concern. Dont have hardly any experience with snowmobiles so I’ve got some questions for those that may know more.

– Many different variables, but how many miles is too many in your opinion?

– Is it okay to be running snowmobiles on straight black ice or do they require a good layer of snow?

– I understand there are different types of sleds with different length of tracks, but would most sleds fit in the back of my short bed pick up with the tailgate down? I do not plan on buying a trailer.

– Is asking arctic cat/Skidoo/Polaris the same as asking chevy/dodge/ford? As mentioned I’m going to be purchasing an older sled with a lot of miles so does one generally hold up better than its competitors?

– Recommend a sled with a hitch or would tying a rope from an otter sled to a bar in the back of the snowmobile be good enough?

A sled with electric start and reverse would be ideal. Probably looking for a 600 or so. Thanks!

tbro16 wrote:

Recommend a sled with a hitch or would tying a rope from an otter sled to a bar in the back of the snowmobile be good enough?

The Otter hitch is like $30. Just bolts to the back grab handle of the sled. You wouldn’t be happy with a rope as they slide into the sled when you stop.
DT

I’ll be watching this thread also.

I don’t think you will be finding one that will ride in your truck. Maybe.

Mileage, just like with vehicles, really comes down to how the unit was maintained and ridden. You’ll see some rental sleds with diligent maintenance schedules go well into five figures and keep purring. I’ve got about 5k on a 2001 ZL 600 and it does the job. You can run on glare ice, but can get a little loose without studs. Also, some say liquid cooled is more of a problem without adequate snow, but if you aren’t driving 15 miles on glare ice I don’t think it’s a huge issue, and scratchers can help if it makes you feel better. My old ZL is a 121 inch track which is about as short as they get today, I believe. Great trail rider, but shorter length means less rubber on the snow, so not as capable in the deep stuff. The biggest things I’ve noticed in the various generations of sleds are the ergonomics. The 90s/early 2000s era tend to put the rider in a more laid back position, sort of like you’re leaning back in a chair. Since then, most have gone to a much more ‘rider forward’ position that I feel is way more comfortable than my old girl (I was playing around on a buddy’s ’11ish Polaris Iq when I discovered that difference). I’ve always trailered so I can’t speak to the truck bed. Brands – generally come down to preference as you alluded. One thing about the older gens is that I believe AC was the only one to have EFI back in the day, and that makes a huge difference in starting, especially pull-starting (two pulls from cold no matter what, vs. a ’98XC I had that took forever to turn over). They all seem good now. I used to just use a rope to tow but didn’t like how the sled tracked, and on hard pack or ice it was almost impossible to stop without having the sled crash into the back, so I’ve gone to an actual hitch and it’s nice. I’m certainly not an expert, but have been looking at upgrading recently and been doing a fair amount of research. With no budget the Switchback Assault 600 144 would be my dream, but overkill for my 1-2 mile commutes for fishing. Would definitely get me more interested in riding recreationally with a machine like that, however. Good luck with the search!

If you’re just using for ice fishing you could consider a snow dog. Bought a used one last year. Basic Briggs and Stratton motor. Super simple to service. Compact. Fits in my pickup bed with flip over shack. Have pulled 3 grown men and gear couple miles at a time without issue in a “sled train”. Plenty fast for me.

No it’s not for everyone but for the average fisherman will fulfill 90% of your needs

The biggest issues I see with a short bed pickup is will the machine even fit skis-forward how are you going to load/unload it?

You don’t need a 600. 440 is plenty, honestly even 340 would be enough.

Grouse

I run a 600 Polaris switchback and 600 AC crossfire. Both sleds have longer tracks than standard and have been reliable (knock on wood). I chose the longer track 600’s to ensure I could pull a heavy sled though a foot of slush and get anywhere on the lake, while still having a fun trail machine.

Related to running on ice, my sleds will overheat in 5 minutes if I don’t have snow. Scratchers help, but I think you are taking a risk running any liquid cooled sled on low to no snow. If that’s your plan then get a fan cooled 440 or 550.

It all comes down to defining your objectives and budget – it will be tough to find anything newer than 2010 with reasonable mileage for under $4000. Obviously you want the best cared for machine with the lowest miles that fits within your budget.

I’ve been working on mine for a few years now. It’s a 600 xlt. My main goal was to build it for ice fishing and specifically to go through slush. The fist thing I added was electric start and reverse. Then I replaced the track with a inch and a half rip saw two and extended the track from 121 to 128 , and added a tunnel extension that I will mount a auger carrier to. I then had all shocks rebuilt and put on extra wide plastic skis. I’m still thinking about some sort of box maybe on the back but I’m still in the pondering stage on that . Finally I removed most of the 1997 colored stickers I could not stand. If I did it again I would have just bought a sled with all these additions already in place. The sled was in like new condition with only 1700 miles on it so I went for it

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Ski doo skandic, or find a older bearcat. Both great utility sleds.

Other then that. Find a air cooled 440. More then enough power.
Good luck hauling a sled in a short bed and then gear. Too much of a pain. But a trailer for under a grand and be done with it

Unfortunately a trailer isnt an option in my situation so I’ll have to make due. I’ve got a small clam nanook flip up that should be able to fit alongside a sled in the bed. Otherwise I will have plenty of room in the cab to fit a hub, drill bit auger, propane tank, fishing gear, etc.

Appreciate all the responses so far! Will be digging into much more info soon.

Little pine, what do you mean by “AC”? I will have to look more into the electronic fuel injection (thanks google) as I have absolutely no idea what that means. I never claimed to be handy Any idea what year those switched from AC to EFI?

I’ve also never heard of fan cooled, so again- thank you!!

Gino- you’ve turned that into a real nice looking rig! Good work!

Sorry, AC = Arctic Cat

tbro – I think Little pine was referring to Artic Cat being the first manufacturer to introduce EFI tech. That was around ’06 I believe.

A short track 121″ will fit in the bed of your truck, a 137″ or 141″ will definitely have some overhang but could still work.

I’ll try to answer but keep in mind I’ve got a Yamaha slant to my opinions. Specifically ’97-’03 2-stroke Yamaha’s.
1. How many miles is too many? For a 2-stroke sled I start to get nervous around 4000 miles regardless of brand. Bushings, shocks, pistons and rings should all have been serviced by this point if you want to have a reliable machine. Always exceptions though, my dad has a ’91 polaris indy 500 with 9000 miles that has been completely neglected but keeps on truckin. I owned a ’01 Yamaha sxr700 with 8500 miles and the engine was never touched either when I sold it.

2. Running on ice.
With my Yamaha’s I’ve never overheated running on ice and they have all been liquid cooled machines. My biggest concern with running in low snow conditions is melting the hyfax (sliders). You can absolutely ruin a new pair of sliders quickly this way. Watch your speed and look for snow drifts to run through.

3. Loading in the bed of a truck.
I wouldn’t personally have a problem with a 121″ sled. I loaded an old polaris tx 440 for years with nothing but well positioned snowbanks, no ramps! That sled is only about 390 lbs. so you could horse it around pretty easily.

4. Different brands.
All brands had great sleds and all had some pooches. Gino’s XLT is one of my all time favorite sleds. I like the Yamahas from ’97-’03 because of their ultra reliable 600 and 700 redhead triple engines. That being said, my current fishing rig is a 2001 Yamaha vmax deluxe 500. Electric start, reverse, HOT handwarmers and plenty of power. Remember, snowmobiles have a cvt transmission. If you have some mechanical ability you can clutch it and gear it to put the power in the speed range that works for you, regardless of engine size.

5. Absolutely go with a hitch, no question. Good luck!

Keep in mind

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I’ve got an 87 Arctic Cat Super Jag 440 with less than 400 miles that is the bees knees for a fishing/utility rig. Two-pull starts in -20 degree weather. Runs like a champ. That being said, I’ve never really been into trail riding sleds, so there are definitely some better (more comfy) sleds out there if you plan on doing any trail riding.

hdog3385 wrote:

Keep in mind

hdog3385 wrote:

Keep in mind

it already feels like that and I’ve barely prepared to buy one! Appreciate all your tips hdog. It sounds like ditching the sled and hiking my crap out onto the ice might be the best option when there isn’t much snow. Tugging out my hand isn’t too bad with good ice.

Is pulling a 400-500 lb sled out of the bed of a pick up fairly easy to do? I don’t know if an older sled not having reverse should be a deal breaker for me or not. I’m young and in decent shape. I’d like to think I can get it off the truck alone with a decent ramp but I’ve got no idea.

If you are not mechanical then a sled is a terrible idea. Ive had many sleds in my time and wrench on them as much as I ride them.
Just a thing to think about

mnfisherman18 wrote:

tbro – I think Little pine was referring to Artic Cat being the first manufacturer to introduce EFI tech. That was around ’06 I believe.

It was actually in 93 or 94. I know I had an ext with it in 94. Polaris had the first EFI machine in 91 with the RXL, but Arctic Cat pioneered the technology with batteryless efi in 97. Which was awesome!

Bearcat89 wrote:

If you are not mechanical then a sled is a terrible idea. Ive had many sleds in my time and wrench on them as much as I ride them.
Just a thing to think about

X2 , definitely not like owning a Honda four wheeler, or a can am ( for Glenn)

tbro16 wrote:

it already feels like that and I’ve barely prepared to buy one! Appreciate all your tips hdog. It sounds like ditching the sled and hiking my crap out onto the ice might be the best option when there isn’t much snow. Tugging out my hand isn’t too bad with good ice.

You are going to struggle with even the lightest of snowmobiles in a short bed truck. First you would need a ramp to get it up and out so you have to plan on where that will be stored in transit unless you can always depend on a back to back up to.
The snowmobile will stick out past the end gate as well because they are around 8 feet long if not longer if you get a long track. My bearcat is 11 feet long, but I have a 14 foot trailer.
They certainly make moving around a lot easier, but I think you will end up very frustrated trying to do this without a trailer.
Here are some other details that you have asked about:
— EFI — electronic fuel injection, just like all the newer vehicles. No choke, no primer, etc.
— Fan cooled — the motor is cooled by a fan mounted to the motor — you can run these machines more easily in marginal snow conditions provided you get enough lubrication to keep the slides on the rear suspension cool. They do not handle warm temps well however!
— liquid cooled — motor is cooled by a radiator/heat exchanger (located under the tunnel) — These rely on snow dust to keep the heat exchanger cooled. Its similar to a radiator in a car, but these are located underneath the tunnel vs under the hood to use air to dissipate heat. They need snow dust thrown up to them to cool. In low snow conditions they will overheat unless you have ice scratchers. They handle warm temps much better than fan cooled.

Bearcat89 wrote:

If you are not mechanical then a sled is a terrible idea. Ive had many sleds in my time and wrench on them as much as I ride them.
Just a thing to think about

There’s only one way to learn and avoiding them isn’t it. As long as the issue occurs at home and not several miles out on the ice lol

This is the sled I was talking about loading in the bed of my truck, no ramps. It’s a 1980 Polaris Tx 440 free air sled. No radiator, no fan, no electric start or reverse. Basically as light as you can get. The owners manual says it’s 376 lbs. and 103.75 inches long. I’m not claiming it was easy or fun, but with a little planning it could be done.
The second pic is what I use now. 2001 Yamaha Vmax deluxe 500. Electric start, reverse, liquid cooled. Owners manual says it weighs 499 lbs. and is 105″ from ski to bumper. No chance I’m trying to load that thing in a truck without ramps.
Third pic is what I use now. 4 wheeler for low snow conditions and sled for the deep stuff.

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sorry, here’s the Tx

Don’t know why that pic won’t load but oh well. As some of the other guys have said if your not mechanically inclined or don’t want to be then a snowmobile is not for you. I do road construction so I’m laid off in the winter and have plenty of time to dink around with this stuff. I also enjoy it. Most of these older sleds will cost you as much as the sled is worth or more to keep running if you have to pay a mechanic to do it.

Bearcat89 wrote:

If you are not mechanical then a sled is a terrible idea. Ive had many sleds in my time and wrench on them as much as I ride them.
Just a thing to think about

I would agree with this. Or at least make sure you know a gearhead or two. I have an 88 Indy 400 that ran like she was new for the first two seasons I had it and last season left me stranded twice. Still working on it. I’m not mechanical but have two buddies who work on sleds all the time helping me out. I make a point to learn as much as I can from them so one day I’ll be able to do it myself. Luckily sleds that old are pretty simple.

I’m learning alot here!

1) Rent if possible.
2) If unable to rent, walk out on the ice.
3) If unable to walk-out, stay on the couch and read about it.
4) If not willing to stay on couch, sit on pail on the ice. Stop at McDonalds on the way home for Fish Fillet.

X2 the snow dog option. Pulls good and you can ramp it up onto the truck.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The biggest issues I see with a short bed pickup is will the machine even fit skis-forward how are you going to load/unload it?

You don’t need a 600. 440 is plenty, honestly even 340 would be enough.

Grouse

C’mon man, this is IDO! He needs a Yammie two up 1000 four stroke!

Forget the sled and get a wheeler…