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All the info and have been stuffed into their Bass Pro bags, and are ready for delivery to tomorrow’s seminar. Kind of feel like Santa at Halloween. I did manage a trick so some folks can get some treats. That was not easy to type, or say, regular tongue twister.
Have got to thank the following: Frank’s Great Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops, Northland Tackle, Mustad Hooks, Power Pro Line, StrikeMaster Augers, St Croix Rods, Vexilar, and Shappell for all contributing to the success of the evening.
Whether you drive a snowmachine or quad out onto the ice, equip it to carry the maximum amount of gear. Utilize all the space available to enhance your fishing experience. Many of these pics have been posted before at one time or another, but since I won’t be taking everything to the seminar coming up, this gets covered now.
Start off with a blank slate
The first thing I did was install my auger rack from MadDog on the front. I looked in a lot of stores, and quite a few websites, and Kodiac Outback was the most reasonable on their prices when it came to this companies products.
Next I wanted a tote on the rear rack to store some gear. I have to admit that some folks call me “frugal” in some cases. But, honestly have you seen the prices on some rear storage compartments? That bad thing about it was that none that I found that were even priced reasonably would actually store the gear I wanted. I am talking in the 60 to 70 buck range. Some that I could actually use were well over $250. So being the cheap pup that I am, I improvised. I had a old Rubbermaid green and tan tote with some nice locking buckles in the front. Perfect, but wrong color! Last year I just used plain ol shiny Rustoleum. It had a flaking and peeling problems, then I learned about Fusion, from the same company. Specially made for painting plastic, and it seems to work quite well.
Its funny that you can’t black bungee cords, so I used what I had already to secure the tote to the back rack. Once you open it, there is my Vexilar FL-20 and Aqua-Vu camera, plus plenty of space for tackle.
Next up was a tote that I could use up front under the auger to store more gear. What I did was take a Craftsman combo box that came with a drill, light..etc and hollowed it out. Using a dremel tool (rotarty) I cut out all the molding to make enough room for more STUFF.
Inside went my first aid kit, auger repair kit, more bungees, portable light, some tools….STUFF!
So far so good, but as you can tell, I like stuff. The more I take, the more I won’t miss when out on the ice. Isn’t always the case, something happens, and you start thinking, “Why don’t I have this with me?”
So I went back to Kodiac, and looked at these bucket racks I had seen before.
Once I figured out that it would be easier to remove the rack and then place the bucket rack on, things started to come together.
My final piece to the puzzle was to get a travel cover to protect my investment while traveling in the utility trailer. Polaris makes a fine cover for this, and I picked on up from Ebay for only 40 bucks, and easy 60+ dollars cheaper than the dealership’s price.
Finally put it all together, and you be fishing on Michigan’s greatest waterways. In style no less.
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