The Joy of a Smitty!, What every ice fisherman should have!!

Added a few more goodies to the fishing gear this year. It had always been a bit of a tough haul dragging it across the ice, but with the added weight (now well over 100lbs), the first time out trying to pull it I just about had a heart attack. A buddy who was with me (at a social distance) had a smitty, and suggested I try his. I had seen other guys with these devices, but never thought much of it. Wow, I couldn't believe the difference! So did some research, whipped one up for myself in a couple of hours. Went from killing myself each fishing trip to literally being able to pull this puppy with my baby finger. So for anyone who doesn't have one of these devices, all I can say is build yourself one. Its one of the cheapest equipment additions you'll ever have and it makes life on the ice soooooo much easier. With the lockdown, this might be a perfect project for people to work on during the downtime and its really simple. While my design is effectively a copy of what others have done, I will put the dimensions below in case it helps anybody. I had a hard time finding the measurements when others were doing builds. Also, as a point of reference, this build is for a 60" Pelican sled, but likely would be the same for any size sled (other than ski length). I've also added in costs if that helps. If you have scrap laying around you can use, obviously no cost!

1.) Base is made by 2 x 8. You can save a few bucks going 2x4 or 2x6, but the extra height offers better assurance for clearance against deep snow. The dimensions are 15" on the bottom, 9" at the top. Cost was $15
2.) Cross braces were made from 2x4. I made it 31" wide, which is wider than the sled. I purposely made it wider than the Pelican so my ice hut could be also lay directly on the cross brace, as could an ice auger if desired. Makes it lower profile and less likely to have stuff falls off than stacking it up high. Cost was $5
3.) I cut a notch in the top of the bases for the cross brace. This is necessary to prevent twisting and torque. If you try to screw in the brace without doing this, you run the risk of the screws eventually pulling out. I used 2 x 3" deck screws at each contact point. This makes it permanent. Another option is rather than use screws, drill a hole in the base, then insert 2 x 1/4 inch carriage bolts (4 to 6" long) or 1 x 3/8" carriage bolt through the cross brace into the holes in the base. The cross braces can then be popped out and the sled broken down if you want to minimize the profile while storing. btw - the horizonal cut in the cross brace can easily be achieved by drilling a pilot hole in the corner of the cut out and then using a jigsaw to cut.
4.) Skis were 178cm. I wanted around 18" of extra ski at the front to make the pulling easier. Each base was attached to the ski with 5 x 3" deck screws. Lots of skis available cheap on Kijiji and Marketplace. I picked mine up for $10.
5.) Drill holes directly in the front of the skis to put pull rope through. The longer the pull rope the better, makes pulling easier
6.) Screw 2 x 1 5/8 or larger eyelet screws in each base to attach cambuckle tiedown straps to. 8 pack of these at Home Depot (part 1000773829) was $3.
7.) Attach 4 cambuckle straps (Cdn Tire sells 4 pack for $22. Part number 040-2616-8)

Anyway, hope this helps anyone who is interested in building one. Like I said, once you've used it, you'll be asking yourself why you didn't do this years ago!

Second Pic

I agree, nice setup.

Looks great, I’d love to see more pictures of the cross bracing etc. I think I’d like to try and build this.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and plans. It’s appreciated.

Game changer for sure. Walked way out in deep snow one time fully geared.. Came back built this!! Mine can be dismantled so I can fit it in the car. Will not walk on snow without it.

Save weight and build it all out of abs pipe.

I have build a few and each one I have stood in and bounced on. The abs pipe build has held my 250lb buddy in the sled no problem. Strong and light.

You have pictures... I think I need a new one. So I might try the ABS pipes

You have pictures... I think I need a new one. So I might try the ABS pipes

Sure no problem.

The build is really easy.

Here’s the starting point.
Save the binding screws from the bindings.

Drill a hole in the abs caps and use a large washer and the short binding screws. Pre drill your ski a couple of mills smaller than the diameter of the screw. I mark my drill bit so I don’t drill through the ski all the way. Just wrap a piece of masking tape on the drill bit at the depth you want to go to.
Before you screw down the cap put 2 part apoxy on the cap so you have it glued and screwed down.

The rest is easy.
Pics.

Second pic

This third pic you will see where I was pointing to a joint.

If you want your smitty to come apart for storage or transport in a smaller vehicle then do not glue this joint. You can drill a hole right threw the joint and use wire lock pins. You can find them just about anywhere. Use stainless as they won’t rust.

Wire lock pin.

For securing your sled to the frame I just used self tapping screws and made sure they went through the joints in the frame as that’s the thickest point in the abs.

If you have a flip over and want a smitty do exactly the same thing except the top frame tubes you surround the whole tray of the flip over so you drop your entire tray into the frame.

There you go! As I said, you can either screw in the cross braces which makes it permanent, or drill holes into the base, and then screw carriage bolts into the cross braces that then can be dropped down into the holes in the base. That allows you to remove the cross braces and break the sled down. I've seen it done both ways.

I find with all the weight of my gear, my smitty sled digs into deep the snow/slush more than my utility sled does. if its not too deep, it pulls a lot nicer than the utility sled.