Homemade Ice Fishing Sled

Carrying around your ice fishing gear can be exhausting. When you’ve been out on the ice all day, you need a simple solution that won’t wear you down. A homemade ice fishing sled can help make lugging your rod, reel, traps, bait, and equipment around a lot easier.

How to Make a Homemade Ice Fishing Sled

First, you will need some basic materials:

• A snow sled
• Bolts
• Screws
• Waterproof adhesive/buttons
• Drill
• Waterproof cloth
• Skiis or snowboards

1. Creating the Design

As simple or as complex as it can be, plan your equipment the way you want it. Consider what you will be hauling inside of it. You may want to build your homemade ice fishing sled solely as mobile storage for your equipment. Maybe you want a more complex one which will serve as a shelter during cold winds.

When planning the design, it is also important to know how far you go for ice fishing. What are the temperatures like? How is the snow at your regular fishing spots? Knowing these answers will give you an idea on how you should build your toboggan.

2. Buy the Necessary Equipment

You can get a basic plastic sleigh if you want to use it just for storing your things. However, if you need one that you can sit on or use as shelter, opt for a larger sled.

Whatever type of toboggan you buy or build, get a waterproof cover to keep your equipment dry. Make sure it can cover all the gear that your sleigh will be carrying. The best way to make sure the cover will work is to measure the base of your sled. You want your waterproof cover to be twice as big as the base.

The Deluxe Universal Ice Fishing Sled Cover by Trophy Angler will easily cover a Frabill 2110 with measurements of: 83 x 58 x 61.5 inches.

If you want to attach skis or snowboards to the bottom of the sled, you have several options. Some builders will buy used snow skis on craigslist for example. Another option is to buy some plastic sledding boards.

The skis or boards will make it much easier to haul your sled. This is especially true if you’re going to be weighing it down with lots of gear.

3. Assemble the Structure

Many builders use 2×4 sections to attache the skis to the sled. This helps list the sled up off the snow to reduce drag. If you’re going to be walking through deep snow with your sled, raising the sled will save you alot of effort.

1. Cut a 6 inch section of 2×4 and attach it to the skis and sled. This is where bolts and screws will come in handy.
2. Screw the skiis from the bottom up into the 2×4 sections.
3. Countersink the screws into the skis so that they don’t catch on anything.
4. Place the skis and 2×4 assembly under the sled. Position the sled so that it is well balanced.
5. To mount the skis and 2×4 assembly onto the sled, simply screw down through the sled into the 2x4s.
6. Make sure you fasten the skis, 2x4s and sled securely.

4. Add the Cloth on the Sled

You may want to attach your cover by putting on a waterproof adhesive or screw the cloth around your sled as your cover. Leave one end open for you to load and unload your equipment. For a better and more optimal cover, you can have buttons attached to your sled and cloth to cover your sleigh or leave it wide open without a covering cloth.

5. Accessorize

To make it more personal, you may also want to mount a large storage bin or a cooler to your sled. Whatever accessories or mountable equipment you add, make sure you have them placed at the right corners to keep your sled balanced.

Wrap Up:

You don’t need to buy an expensive sleigh in stores. You can make a durable homemade ice fishing sled for yourself at a lower price. When you opt to make your own equipment, personalizing becomes a lot easier.