Snowmobile or ATV help

[Sebastian]

Hey guys,

 

I am looking to buy an ATV or snowmobile for ice fishing. I have fished with my buddy and his 2012 Honda ATV which runs great. I love Yamaha and Honda products. The ATV is nice for year round use and i like the idea of putting a plow on it to plow the driveway. However, with heavy snow fall and drifts on the lake, the ATV can struggle. I have no experience with snowmobiles but they seem to be great in heavy snoW.

 

I mostly need it for simcoe ice fishing. Any help with peoples experiences, maintenance, preferences, brands would help.

 

Thanks.

[chris.brock]

For sleds we've had good luck with Yamaha. An older Enticer, Bravo, Ovation or even a Phazer would suit your needs. Smaller, lighter fan cooled models are better.

 

Slush can still screw you up. I couldn't get my longtrack Bravo out of deep slush yesterday.

[mr blizzard]

If your leaning toward the sled line just for fishing the older air cooled tundras with the long track were great for us on Simcoe esp. if there was overflow on the ice. It would stay on top the majority of time while our liquid cooled would get bogged down.

 

If you are patient enough you could score a good deal on a cheap machine and still be in the budget for a used atv which you could use for plowing or summer trails

 

8 years ago I looked for just over a year on kijiji for an atv. Finaly found one on a farm in Callender, got it for under 2,000, not a scratch on it, used it on Simcoe and Joe, still serving us well up in Yellowknife

 

With Simcoe some years we just used the atv for ice fishing other years u needed a sled, it was all up to mother nature, combined our tundra and atv was 4,000

[Sebastian]

Ok thanks guys. Looks like my friend and I will go half/half on a newer Tundra.

[wormdunker]

Sebastian - I'm in the same boat right now - I want a sled for the present snow conditions on Simcoe. I've never owned a sled, ATVS yes! There is a very good post right here - OFC. Title is "your sleds" by Rod Caster. Lots of very good info available for a newbie. I've been reading the added posts every day for 2 weeks. I'm still looking on Kijiji. Lottsa sleds 4 sale. Also google "snowmobile compression test" Lottsa videos how to inspect a used sled, changing parts etc.

[Sebastian]

Thanks

[fishindevil]

Slush doesn't even exist at 60mph !!!! Lol ... A big 137 long track all studded ... Might slow me down abut but no issues when you hammer it !!! 128 studs up the middle of a 1.25 inch ripsaw 2 track pretty much does it !!! Need something with a bit more power & the track makes a huge difference if you sink into the slush and find the hard ice surface that's where the studs come in and will carry you out !!! Ran slush many tunes for a mile and it was past knee deep !!!! Don't stop !!!!!! Keep the fun flipper pinned and ride through it

[fishindevil]

Buddy's have said they have seen a few quads froze in some back lakes that have been there for a week or 2 and now they are starting to get covered on snow and hard to spot !!! He put spruce bows out to mark the obstacle !!!! Snow is really deep on some of the back lakes as well up in the highlands & even our area lots of drifts on the lake you don't see till your in them !!! (

[Big Cliff]

There is no "one size fits all" solution. Sleds are good at some things, ATVs are good at some things.

 

I do find that I get a lot more use out of an ATV than I ever did out of a sled and as long as you don't get an ATV hung up they will dig their way through a lot of crap. Put a plow on it and you can even handle the deep snow, you don't have to plow right down to bare ice, just close enough that your wheels still contact it.

[wormdunker]

Fishindevil - I fully understand your statement re lottsa throttle, ripsaw track etc. What about my flip over type hut/plastic sled being towed behind the snowmobile? Is my gear going to be spread all over the ice?? This would be a concern. OK maybe 50 meters of 3/8" rope to tie my gear down.

[chris.brock]

Browsing Kijiji, there's some ice fishing transportation coming up for sale. I think the first listing sounds sweet.

 

 

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-snowmobile/oakville-halton-region/great-for-kids/1053982160?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

 

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-snowmobile/oakville-halton-region/1987-skidoo-tundra/1054399685?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

 

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-snowmobile/oakville-halton-region/1986-polaris-sprint-one-owner-sled-700/1054253662?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

[Fisherman]

Ya that first one does look nice, too bad no pic for the tundra.