A snowmobile is a fantastic tool for ice fishing. It’s substantially lighter and more affordable than a side-by-side and much more universal than a four-wheeler. That’s why the minute I moved to northern Minnesota and KNEW I’d be dealing with more snow and bigger water, I didn’t hesitate to buy one.
However, a snowmobile is only as efficient as you make it. With endless gear, making room for it all (and making room for it efficiently) can make or break your ice fishing trip. That’s why when I decided to buy my sled, I didn’t want to buy just any accessories, but instead create ones that are custom fit for my specific needs. Thankfully, I have a handy husband who able was able to draw up the perfect vision to hold my most important accessories.
Below I breakdown the details of my products, both custom and standard, that make my snowmobile a killer fish finding machine.
All prices below are prices I paid.
- My Snowmobile: Polaris Indy LXT 550
I didn’t want just any snowmobile. I needed practical features that would fit best with ice fishing. For me that meant 2 must have features: be a 2 up and be fan cooled.
Having a 2 up sled would allow me to bring friends and family along fishing. Having a fan cooled sled would allow me travel with limited snow (or none at all) and not worry about cooling.
Finding a fan cooled sled is challenging to begin with but it’s even MORE challenging during a supply chain crisis, which was exactly when I bought it. Hence the brand new sled. It was well worth the wait and the price however, which came in at roughly $9,600.
Shop the sled here.
- Auger Holder: Digger Mount
Because the box on the back of the sled takes up so much space, I knew I was going to need an auger mount up front. That’s why I opted to go with the Digger Mount. It’s been an OK mount so far. It mounts a little goofy on the front of the sled, and if you don’t get your auger just right it sometimes doesn’t stay mounted. Although it isn’t perfect it’s worked fine for me so far, but I’m sure there are better options elsewhere.
At the time, I paid roughly $130.
Shop the mount here.
- Chart: Helix 7
The Helix 7 is an old unit we had on our old G3 (before we had the Polar Kraft). I don’t use it anymore so we have found more use for it on the sled. Its size works perfect mounted to the dash. I throw my Lakemaster chips in it and I’m good to go. As for power, after initially connecting it to the starter batter (mistake!) we ended up running a line back to a battery in the custom box which proved to be much more efficient.
$500
Shop the graph here.
- Custom Built Box
This box my husband custom built for me is made to fit my accessories (heater, chairs, lunch, etc..), my Livescope, Engel, as well as being able to hold a house on the top. It indeed does all of these things, making it the most efficient addition to my snowmobile setup.
Less than $100.
- Snowmobile Hitch
A hitch is necessary if you want to pull a flip over which we do regularly. I figured I didn’t need anything fancy, so I found the most affordable hitch I could at a local snowmobile dealer. Many snowmobiles come with this but many don’t – so do your homework before hitting the water to decide if it’s needed or not.
$30
Shop the hitch here.
- Auger: Strikemaster 24V
I’ve been a huge advocate of the Strikemaster 40V since it came out. For someone who NEEDs something as light and efficient as possible, it felt like the fish gods answered my prayers – that was of course until I tried out the 24V with Ana last year. Its compact size and lighter weight is truly a game changer for anyone who wants to run and gun ice fishing.
$350 (bought on sale)
Shop the auger here.
- Garmin Livescope
The Garmin’s biggest benefit on the ice comes when you can be mobile with it. Obviously sticking it on a snowmobile is a great way to do that. However, my biggest question was “where on earth do I put this thing”. It’s big and heavy and doesn’t exactly fit well anywhere. Thankfully, my husband had a vision and created a compartment for it. It allows me to drill a hole then drop the transducer down straight from the sled, without ever having to move the unit. This was a total gamechanger for the livescope. Not to mention, I can fish straight from the snowmobile if I want to.
$3500
Shop the Garmin here.
- Engel Bait Cooler
It sure is nice keeping live bait “alive” on the ice. That’s why Matt built a compartment specifically designed for the Engel. We love the practicality of this bait cooler, especially how it’s setup for aeration and how its basket is made to keep your hands dry.
$99
Shop the Engel here.
- Rod Holder
This simple addition makes grabbing a rod on the go a breeze. I don’t know how much time I’ve wasted in the past trying to get all of my rods in and out of a traditional rod case. Now I just store them on the sled on the go.
$20
Shop the holder here.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of great accessories out there and I haven’t seen a setup that didn’t look intriguing. However, finding a setup that works for the way you fish and the gear you need is key to having the most efficient setup. That’s why it’s important to take your time, weigh your options, and get ideas from other anglers as well.
1 Comment
Nice set up. Would have been much more helpful to have clearer pics of the set up of each item – e.g. showing how you mounted the Helix. You mentioned problems with wiring direct to the battery, but you don’t state what the problems were. Just some thots. Thanks for sharing.