Steve, I am pleased that everything is working as you hoped. It is so much better to have things lighter and easier to deal with. Best wishes this year!

Gunflint

I used a Milwaukee M18 battery with 12 AH all last ice fishing season and all this summer for my panoptix livescope. I didn’t use a voltage converter but ran it directly. Initially the voltage can be as high as 21 V. I have a note from the Garmin tech support that this would be fine. The Livescope is actually rated to run at higher than 24 volts.

I use the same battery to power my Milwaukee Drill on the Auger. Works great.

Justin Larmay wrote:

Anyone using one of these in the northern wi/ Green Bay area? Curious how they are doing in all the slush if they sink down into it or are able to float on top.

I just had a very nasty experience with slush in Northern Minnesota. We had nearly 2 feet of very wet slush and I got bogged down all the way to the ice. The Snowmobiles that came to help also got stuck. The Dog was no worse than a Snowmobile EXCEPT most Snowmobiles are not hauling things, they are just out riding. The bottom line is that slush, especially very deep slush is very bad for anything, snwomobiles, trucks and Snowdogs.

ADVICE – WORKS GREAT!!!
After I got the Dog completely stuck (and the bogey wheels were frozen solid) it occurred to me that I could actually put it inside its own sled, the one I ride in behind the handlebars. I tipped it on its side and tipped it back into its sled. Then I was able to use a tow strap to pull it out of the slush and finally to tow it to a warm garage. If I had thought about the sled option earlier, it would have been much easier. That escape option is not available to a Snowmobile or a truck.

Here is a story that happened at Lake of the Woods last weekend about a truck and trailer hitting bad slush.

Dozens Stranded on Lake of the Woods

Al Case wrote:

Who are the dealers in the Twin Cities area?
Thanks,
Al

There are none in the Twin Cities that I know of. There is one in St. Cloud. I bought mine from Kinni Sport and Power in River Falls (just south of Hudson) in Wisconsin. They were the ones who had the booth at the St. Paul Ice Fishing Show.

Don Meier wrote:

My cousin just sold his ,had about 6 hours on it. He said you really get a workout using it. He said it,s tippy in deep snow . Russian made? A snowmobile would have been my choice but it was not my money.

Don,

I was just using mine in northern Minnesota where we had 30 inches of new snow in 3 days. I had no trouble keeping the Snowdog from tipping – but I use the standing position as it is much easier to apply leverage to the handle. I think it would have been hard from a sitting position.

In fairness, the snowmobiles were also having an exciting time trying to break trails and they were not typically hauling sleds of gear.

The main issue with the deep and heavy snow was that I needed to break a trail before puling 500 pounds of gear in my sleds – but I think that a snowmobile would have had similar issues.

Another problem was VERY deep slush on the lakes. This was a problem for both the Snowdog and the Snowmobiles. The fact of the matter, however, was that the Snowdog was much easier to get unstuck in 8-10 inches of slush and could be pivoted in place to get out again. Not much fun for either vehicle, but it seemed like I had an easier time of it with the Snowdog than a single snowmobile alone and even more so a snowmobile hauling a sled.

As I am always hauling a sled, and usually have a lot of gear, the snowmobile question is more complicated and they have their own problems.

“Humminbird better get going because these live products are the future.”

The trouble for Humminbird is that the Livescope concept is covered by a strong patent. Lowrance and Garmin had a big patent fight and the result was a cross-licensing agreement. The result is that Lowrance will release a LiveView product like the Livescope next spring. Humminbird is in a difficult place as this new technology becomes cheaper and better known.

I have seen several guys who use a Clam Bag, which is in blue Clam colors. Otherwise there are lots of DIY with varying levels of finish and ingenuity.

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Sid Thaoliza wrote:

Thanks for the detailed information. I called Garmin and the guy said the unit and livescope is actually ok with an 18volt battery as it has some kind of built in regulator?

Do you have the overall weight of the setup? The livescope module feels pretty hefty!

My kit is now 300 miles north waiting for Lake Trout season to open. I never put it on the scale. It is too large to fit in a bucket, but not too terribly heavy to worry about carrying it. The M18 system takes half the weight of the lead acid battery out of the mix.

papaperch wrote:

Milwaukee 18 V 12 AH battery– 199
LifePo 4 12 V 20AH battery — 129

Am I missing something ? Not being critical just wondering.

There are 3 things you are missing.

1. At the prices you quote the M18 still delivers more watt hours per dollar.
2. You can buy the M18 12AH battery for about $120 on eBay.
3. MANY people already have the Milwaukee battery to power their drills in their augers and other equipment in their shop or garage.

Sid Thaoliza wrote:

Hi,

Any updates on how your unit is running with the M18 12ah battery? Planning to do the same setup.

Thanks!
Sid

Sid,

Things have gone perfect so far, but in truth, I have not run it much as I mostly ice fish for Lake Trout and that season doesn’t open until the first of the year. I know others are using the same approach without any reported problems. I also installed a 4 amp fuse on the main line coming from the battery connector.

There are a few people who are using a small adapter to bring the 18V down to 12v and even use this battery for other flashers! I am not doing this (the adapter is actually unnecessary for the Livescope) but it is an option.

– 5 amp output (but you adjust)

– 4 amp fixed output

In any case, I have the same M18 battery running both my drill and fish finder (so I have redundancy) and more power. The Milwaukee M18 12 AH battery is only 1/2 pound more than the 10 AH Dakota 12v lithium which is half the weight of a lead acid.

In terms of power per pound/size, the Milwaukee M18 crushes all competitors, almost double the power at close to the same weight and size.

12AH x 18 volts = 216 watt hours of power
10AH x 12 volts = 120 watt hours of power

Weight:
– The Milwaukee weighs 3.35 pounds (3 pounds 6 oz)
– The Dakota weighs 2.88 pounds (2 pounds 14 oz)
– 10AH lead acid is 6.6 pounds (6 pounds 10 oz)

Dimensions: HxWxL
– Milwaukee 3.89 x 3.38 x 5.99
– Dakota 3.74 x 2.55 x 5.94
– Lead 4.38 x 2.54 x 5.95

Gary,

I have never done it because it messes up the action. They work extremely well and almost never tangle; this ends when you tip them. If you see fish are cautious about hitting them, use a smaller size. That usually works.

I love my AquaVu micro 5 Pro. One issue that is often overlooked is the cable management. The patented cable reel on the back of the AquaVu makes deploying and storing the camera both easy and fast. The Marcum makes the user manually wind the cable and is slower to work with.

The link below is a video that was just posted by someone using a Marcum.Fast forward to 5:20 and see what he thinks about the cable management in a tight hut.

Marcum Cable Issues

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Rigid makes the Octane drill and it has 1,300 lbs of torque, 100 more than Milwaukee. Nice drill. Best warranty as well…lifetime on BOTH the drill and battery.

I have a Nils 8 inch. I bought a 6 inch Nero to use to drill smaller holes to scout with my Livescope finder.

The Nero is a great value and it works great. It is collapsible and came with the drill adapter for less than the cost of just the 8 inch Nils head.

I love my Nils (and I have 3 heads), but I will say nothing against the Nero. A better value for the money if funds are tight.

This is a page directly out of my Clam X300 owners manual. They recommend a gel product called Zipper Lube. I bought some online.

Fish Trap FAQ’s
Find parts and accessories at http://www.clamoutdoors.com
Q: The zipper on my shelter freezes up and/or sticks. Is there anything I can use to help prevent this from happening?
A: Yes, there are a couple of zipper lubricants available that our customers and pro staff have used with good results.
• Zipper Lube is one brand, often found in the camping section of sporting goods stores. This is a gel applied to the zipper.
• There are also a few silicone sprays that may be used to lubricate the zipper.

My clams, I have both a flip over and a hub, have been great with their zippers. I put the lube on them that they recommended and it fixed any icing up that I was having.

There is a good facebook group “Garmin Panoptix Ice Fishing” that deals with specific settings, etc. You might look that up.

Yup, I understand. But, their 675,000 followers apparently don’t agree with us.

New Video promoting Frostbite. You can fish with them if you buy their lures.

YOU FISH WITH ME

will drive many young people to buy to be part of the group. They have built a real brand that delivers identity. The funny thing is that the main character admits he hasn’t caught any fish the day before and that he isn’t the best fisherman. The reason to fish with him is community, not the best fishing.

New Video

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I see this whole exercise as a project put together by a caring father to channel his son’s interests to help his son and son’s friends learn business doing something they enjoy. There is a marketing person behind this (perhaps the father himself works in marketing). The result will be a boatload of experience for his son that can be used across the business world. They may make some money, but they will certainly learn something valuable even if they don’t.

Dutchboy wrote:

Do you fish to be the best or to enjoy the experience? Those that want to be the best are prime targets for the companies and marketing whiz’s.

I disagree. The brand is an identity to belong to their group. Their video says it all, “if you fish with Frostbite, you fish with me.” I doubt many on this board would consider their group the “best” fishermen of our time. Aaron Weibe is very good but most of the others are simply having fun together. Buy Frostbite and you can join their group.

It is more like your time in school when there was a fad and if you not wearing the right logo, you were not the “in-crowd.” Nothing about the Best fishing at all.

Joshua wrote:

Looking at the jigs I saw nothing special. Nothing that clam or vmc could not do at cheaper price. Hey had custom colors but nothing that excited me.

EXCEPT the brand. Don’t underestimate the power of the brand. The video is great and says it all. “If you fish with Frostbite, you fish with me!” At a certain level that is entirely true. You may not pay the premium, but MANY MANY will, especially those who have religiously followed their videos for years. I like Aaron Weibe and his videos. I would probably be willing to pay a little more to “fish with Aaron.” Not because it is better but because of the brand and his relationship with it. I just attended an ice fishing show in St. Paul that was full of people wearing expensive swag to show that they were members of some “brand” (Clam, Otter, Eskimo, etc. ). For me, I would consider wearing a brand name and promoting the brand (it is called advertising) if someone were willing to compensate me – but that has not happened yet. I now only promote my own.

Very interesting business problem.

I wish them all the best.

Does hook quality really matter on a tiny jig? How many panfish straighten a hook. Isn’t basic quality enough?

Mat Peirce wrote:

good hooks….there are a boat load of tungsten jigs out there with garbage hooks. You’re totally right, you can’t really be disruptive if you’re selling the same old stuff as everyone else – unless you have some magic marketing. They look nice and when it comes to jigs, catching fishermen ranks higher than catching fish.

rods…nothing special – nice markup/profit margin for them

I don’t use tiny tungsten jigs at all fishing my lake trout. My questions were more curiosity about the actual facts of the case. I understand branding. Never underestimate what a good brand can do. It has made billions selling sugared water (coke) and hamburgers. I have no skin in the game here, just trying to separate brand from reality.

Slabhunter wrote:

Placed an order earlier this morning, lots of jigs already sold out. I was order # 1,345 so they are doing just fine and my guess is they sold a ton of product at the Ice Show this past weekend….good for them. Can’t wait to see the quality of the jigs.

When you say “quality” is it the paint job or the foundry work at the tungsten level? What are your quality metrics for tiny tungsten jigs?

i just don’t get all the hype about “tungsten jigs.” I understand that the jigs themselves are an improvement by being denser and sinking faster. BUT, because someone can’t simply melt-up a ladle of tungsten (like they could lead) the jigs come precast from a few foundaries somewhere else in the world.

Which means…that the differences are in the paint job and packaging.

In my experience, the paint job of my jigs was of far less importance than where I placed it, how I fished it and what I put on it.

QUESTION: Am I missing something? aren’t we simply discussing who has the best paint job?

It was hidden beneath masking tape.

Not Red Lake, but this happened at Devils Lake a week ago. Great Walleyes.

Walleyes

Jon Jordan wrote:

Wonder what #36 was thinking when he decided to jump in the water and swim to shore! Testing the Striker Suit?

-J.

“The government is going to save me???” then he jumped.

Here is their booth at the St Paul Ice Fishing Show. Lots of young kids wanted to buy their swag.

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