Really curious to see how much room there is in that Ranger house. Seems like it could be a pretty slick setup.

They sell 4x8ft sheets of HDPE plastic at Menards for $60. That’s for 1/4″ thick, they also have 1/2″ available.

People keep mentioning mobility as a reason not to use one, but I would think a skid house would be much quicker to setup and tear down than a portable. Basically reel up, kick in the catch covers and go. Leave everything where it is. With a portable you need to put away your rods and tackle, pack up your heater, take the house down, and put on a cover so snow doesn’t cover your gear.

I’m building a skid house currently and one of the reasons I wanted one was the ease of moving around. Maybe I’m wrong.

Bring rubber boots, cleats, and lots of extra socks. Looking at the forecast it will be a sloppy, watery mess like last year.

When I went theft was a big concern of mine, but after a few drinks that concern weaned. We left a lot of stuff outside and never had a problem, even cases of beer over night. I’m sure things get stolen, but it’s not as much of an issue as I thought.

I would head further west to the Waubay area in South Dakota. Lots of excellent choices and variety of species.

I second the 13 Wicked. I wanted a cheap rod for pike so I bought a 31″ MH, for the money its a real nice rod. Nothing else in that dollar range feels as nice, IMO.

bassh8er wrote:

Can anyone give me an idea of what I should expect to pay for the Baffin Impacts or Arctic Mucks? I’ve seen a variety of prices and would appreciate any tips on where to get a decent deal.

Use Amazon. I bought Muck Artic Pro boots for $90 from there, although that’s not typical. Most of the time their $115-130. Much better than a store where they’d be $165+tax.

I’ve also used both Trufuel and VP for all my 2 strokes. It really seems to help with starting after long periods of inactivity. It’s expensive, but I figure the ~$15/year I spend more than makes up for fixing the carb due to bad gas.

If you’re going to get a cab I would look at a Polaris Ranger or Can Am Defender. Both use a special profile tube for the ROPS that allows the cab to be put on in a matter of minutes. It’s very slick.

The Pioneer is a nice unit, but the transmission is too jerky in my opinion. It’s also a pretty heavy unit so it will be easier to get stuck.

I’ve never owned a wheelhouse so this is purely based on what see, but the Ridgeline looks awesome. I love how quickly the setup and takedown. The only thing I would question is the durability. The tires seem awfully small considering the weight if you carry an atv inside.

I’ve had the same issue with mine since it was new. I’ve heard it had to do with the pitch as well, but have never had mine fixed. I just lift the auger slightly as it cuts through the last couple inches.

I’ve used this one from Cabela’s for hunting out of a turkey blind. They’re not cheap and are somewhat bulky, but they’re very comfortable. They also make one with arm rests, but it’s quite a bit more expensive.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Comfort-Max-Original-Blind-Chair/1408096.uts?searchPath=%2Fbrowse.cmd%3FcategoryId%3D734095080%26CQ_search%3Dchair%2Bblind%26CQ_st%3Db

That’s good to hear. I received them earlier this week and they are very comfortable. Almost as important is they slip on and of very easily. Time will tell if they’re warm enough.

The Electra is terrible. I had one and it was painfully slow and, if you had the patience, would only cut about 8 holes before it started to lose power. It put a bad taste in my mouth about electric augers, but I used my brothers Ion last year and it was amazing. It wasn’t as fast as my Lazer Mag, but it was close. I was very impressed and the reverse feature was great for cleaning slush from the holes.

Well I just lucked out big time. There was a pair of Muck Arctic Pros on Amazon for $90. Hopefully they live up to the hype.

I have the Trekker as well, and as you’ve probably experienced, the fabric starts to wear through after a few years. It would add some weight, but I’d recommend a full thermal as it seems the canvas last much longer.

I actually bought the Baffin Titan last year, but had to reform it. I wear a size 14, but it was way too tight and they don’t make a larger size.

Check out the Clam auger. I believe it’s basically the same as a Lazer Mag, except it has blue plastic. I don’t know if they’re being discontinued by Clam, but I’ve seen them for $240 recently. That’s a hell of a deal. I paid $370 at the ice show a few years ago and thought that was a great deal, at $240 it’s a no-brainer.

Hope they consider a winter version.

How much ice is on Bitter? Heading out there for the weekend, hope the bite picks up with the warmer temps and pressure dropping.

onestout wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mozy wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>norge wrote:</div>
I have an ’03 Rincon that has 17,000 miles on it. It has been a dependable machine for me. The one thing that can be a bit of an irritant is that in cold weather it requires a several minute warmup before the transmission operate normally. It will seem to “slip” if not warmed up. Once warmed up everything is fine. My Honda Rubicon with about 10K miles on it works fine right away in the cold. Fire it up and go. Not a big deal but a minor irritant at times.
Lloyd

I came to post the same thing. I own a 2007 Rincon. The transmission uses the same oil as the motor and it takes a few minutes to warm up enough to move. I wouldn’t let it stop me from buying it, but you should be aware so you don’t think something is wrong with it if you go that route.

I love mine, but for the most bang for your buck go with either the King Quad or Yamaha Grizzly/Kodiak. As mentioned, they have front lockers, low range, and available EPS, none of which are available on the Rincon.

Honda has lockers, EPS and such as well.

Not on the Rincon, which is what he was inquiring about. You are correct that they offer it on the 420 and 500’s, but not on their flagship model Rincon. Doesn’t make sense, but that’s Honda.

norge wrote:

I have an ’03 Rincon that has 17,000 miles on it. It has been a dependable machine for me. The one thing that can be a bit of an irritant is that in cold weather it requires a several minute warmup before the transmission operate normally. It will seem to “slip” if not warmed up. Once warmed up everything is fine. My Honda Rubicon with about 10K miles on it works fine right away in the cold. Fire it up and go. Not a big deal but a minor irritant at times.
Lloyd

I came to post the same thing. I own a 2007 Rincon. The transmission uses the same oil as the motor and it takes a few minutes to warm up enough to move. I wouldn’t let it stop me from buying it, but you should be aware so you don’t think something is wrong with it if you go that route.

I love mine, but for the most bang for your buck go with either the King Quad or Yamaha Grizzly/Kodiak. As mentioned, they have front lockers, low range, and available EPS, none of which are available on the Rincon.

Maybe a little super glue on the outside of the tube before you shove it back in?

We’ll have guys from all over MN, SW MN to the cities. Will be heading up to the Eel Pout Festival on Leech.

I bought some fast snaps off Amazon and figured the small would be best, but they are too small in my opinion. I’m guessing medium would work best.

I would never use these for jigs, but for spoons or jigging minnow type baits they are the cats meow.

Have 4-5″ in west central MN and fished for the first time today. It got down below zero last, so it made some good ice last 24 hours.

I went ahead and bought some 20 lb Suffix ice 832. So far I like it. We’ll see how it works on ice. The way this winter is going I don’t think I’ll have to many issues with the line freezing up.

Have you considered Webster, South Dakota? Lots of nice walleye, pike and perch and the action is usually pretty good. The bite shows down at dark, but you’ll still get some walleyes roaming throughout the night.

Shave off 10 lbs? How much does a typical auger bit weigh? Seems like a stretch, but if I could get my Lazer Mag down into the 15 lbs range I’d definitely consider it.

schoff wrote:

It sure looks like a couple more duck hunts will be in order instead of early ice over here in SD. Best case almost feels like it should all just melt off and start over, ice will be sketchy all year at this point.

My thought as well. In western MN we had an inch or so of ice before the snow hit. Ice will be terrible if it doesn’t all melt and we get a redo.The 10 day forecast is calling for upper 40s so I think we’ll get a fresh start.