With the temps we have had before today, all I could think about was the upcoming winter. Give me a frozen lake to cool my heels anyday. As I was straightening up some of the items in the shop today, and seeing my buckets of ice rods, my thoughts returned to wandering the frozen lakes of Michigan and the rest of the Midwest.
How soon is too soon to start getting ready for the upcoming winter season? Well, July might be a lil’ premature, but is actually a good month to start planning and prepping for the ice season. Why wait until you need your tools for ice fishing, and then find out that an item needs to be repaired or replaced.
Here is a short list of things to do before the fall hunting season consumes your time before the start of the ice season.
Charge your Batteries: Actually it is reccomended and a good idea charge your 12 volt batteries on your flashers and underwater cameras once a month during the off season.
Test your Augers: If you use a hand auger all season, this can be put off for obvisious reasons. Check the blades regardless, look for nicks or cracks that can effect their cutting ability. Order new blades now, or have a check list ready for when your local retailer starts to stock the shelves.
Power augers, get them down and fire them up. Again, check your blades, but look over your wires and check the spark plug. They may need to be replaced or simply cleaned.
Inspect your Shanties and Sleds: Now is the perfect time to look over your sleds and shelters. If your shelter/shanty has a rip or hole in it, repair it now. You can often find tarp material in local shops for patching, and even better if you contact the manufacturer directly. Definitely reccomend using 3M #77 adhesive spray, has worked really well for me the last few years. The warmer weather helps in the application, too cold and the material will not work.
Look for holes in your sleds, if you see them try some of these ideas. If the hole is small enough, apply resin to patch. Larger holes are a bit more tricky, you may have to patch them with other plastic materials. Often you can find a repair kit in a shop like Murrays that will work.
With shanties and sleds, you may want to look into installing runner kits to help preserve their bottoms.
As the winter season comes a little closer, I will have a lot more on the subject of runners, flashers, tubs and coops. I have the Ice Team championship the weekend before Christmas in Minnesota, so I will start shopping and getting ready somewhat earlier than most folks in the Monroe County area.
Stay cool.