Debut of the new sled

We finally have fishable ice througout much of the state. It looks like it will be a great weekend..

I had been playing around with some ideas of modifying my sled to better suit my fishing when we travle light. I solicited  the help of  good friend that runs a countertop business, Dan Luisi. With his tools and experience, it took no time at all to make. He got all the pieces cut and I took it home to paint and slapped it together. This morning was the maiden voyage. I gotta say, I’m loving it so far!

Mike, Steven,Josh and I all met up at Connecticut Outfitters a 6 for bait and headed down Rt 2 to Mono Pond. There was a solid 4 1/2″ everywhere. 3 Nils augers made quick work of the early ice and we were set up in no time flat. Flags started popping before sunrise. Josh didn’t bother with the tip ups and went straight to jigging.  I think I was setting up my second flag when he scored on crappie.  I finished setting up and broke out my Humminbird flasher and started jigging. I found a few crappie in 6 feet of water. Certainly not big for around here, but it was fun teasing them up on the Lindy Frostees.

It stayed pretty busy for the entire time we were there. Lots of small bass and crappie. I had to get to the shop for 10. The guys stayed a bit longer and left to check ice condition in some other areas. Here are a few pics from the morning:

The sled worked out great. It allows me to travel light while still having everything I need for setting up in the morning. It holds 6 Heritage tip ups and 5 jigging rods. The Frabill bucket sits snug in the middle. There is plenty of room for my tackle box and a shelf for my flasher to sit on. Very mobile with a low center of gravity for hauling through the woods. I have a couple of other ideas but want to see how thi version works out for now…