One of the main attributes of an ice fishing lover is a winter fisherman's box. This simple device creates comfortable conditions during fishing (serves as a seat, is a storage for fish, protects the hole from the wind), and is also designed for easy storage and carrying of gear.
Of course, it is easy to buy in many specialized stores, but industrial models can not always satisfy the desires of the owner. Therefore, many anglers make their own ice fishing box. You can ask more experienced comrades about materials and manufacturing methods.
Equipment Requirements
Experienced anglers advise you to choose the size of the ice fishing box for the equipment already used, and not at all in reverse order. Therefore, it is better to first collect all the equipment necessary for fishing, estimate their volume, leave more room for the future catch - this will be the necessary carrying capacity.
A fishing box, like any other device, must meet certainrequirements:
- It should be light in weight, as the angler sometimes has to overcome several kilometers on snow-covered ice, and it is not very pleasant to carry the extra weight on your shoulders.
- The practicality of the drawer should ensure both the free placement of necessary things inside the device, and the ease of taking them out.
- Based on optimal capacity, a handmade ice fishing box should be designed to store all the necessary gear.
- Any box should not creak under the weight of the human body, so you need to ensure sufficient structural strength.
- The carrying strap of the fishing box should be wide enough to make it comfortable to wear. It should be adjustable in length and not twist during use.
- The bottom and walls must be sealed to prevent moisture from entering the device. If there are gaps, the seams must be coated with a hermetic agent.
Types of boxes
Mostly homemade ice fishing boxes, like industrial models, can be conditionally classified according to the nature of the material used in their manufacture.
Most often anglers prefer the following designs:
Metal boxes. They have pretty good reliability and durability. Anglers are attracted by the excellent stability and long service life of metal structures. But in a big frost, the metal can become supercooled, which can even lead to hand injuries
Plastic constructions. They have become very popular lately. Moreover, modern craftsmen use various types of plastics to make a box for winter fishing with their own hands. This material is much lighter than metal, but often there is a problem with the low stability of a plastic product, so you have to increase its bottom area
Wooden structures. They lose their popularity a little, since their weight is quite large, and the wood has low moisture resistance, so you have to apply a large layer of paint
Making DIY boxes
Such devices can be seen not only in novice anglers, but also in experienced, seasoned fishermen. And it’s not at all about the cost of the device, it’s just that industrial designs do not suit many in terms of their functionality. After all, it is much more pleasant to use a box in which each element is specially tailored to your own desires and needs.
The very process of creating a box for winter fishing with your own hands depends entirely on the imagination and material capabilities of the owner. Recently, models made from a freezer from an old refrigerator, a large plastic canister, and various types of foam plastic have become very popular. But the old, reliable wooden structures have not lost their relevance yet.
Canister product
The canister ice fishing box is a very practical, light andcapacious, however, in severe frost, the case may crack, which is its main drawback.
It is based on the required capacity of the box that the size of the canister is selected. The order of operations is as follows:
- To form an open container, first cut off the top of the canister.
- Then you need to strengthen the top of the box, for which you need to attach a metal strip along the cut.
- Insulate the canister body from the outside to avoid cracking the material in the cold.
- The lid can be made from a piece of thick plywood. For a comfortable seat, you need to glue a sheet of polyurethane or foam plastic on the cover, covering it with a pre-soft cloth.
- Using small furniture hinges, attach the lid to the body with rivets or bolts.
You can make a lid directly from a canister. To do this, one cut is made in the center of the upper part, and then two parallel cuts on both sides. In this case, the top of the canister will be divided into two parts. The stopper of such a cover will serve as a wrapped cork. The seat will have to be made removable, with Velcro.
Inside the case, partitions are installed that will divide it into several functional compartments, while creating structural stiffeners.
Box from an old freezer
A popular item is a freezer ice fishing box from an old end-of-life refrigerator. This design is not afraid of rust,is light weight and strong enough. To make it, you need:
- Remove the freezer from the old refrigerator, having previously disconnected all the working elements of the device. Such a chamber is already 70% ready for the case of the future box.
- Next, we make the bottom of the device, for which we cut a workpiece of a suitable size from a sheet of galvanized steel or aluminum, leaving allowances for fastening. The bottom is fixed with a bolted connection, and even better - with rivets.
- At will, the required number of partitions is made, from the same material as the bottom.
- The lid of the box can be made from either metal or plywood. For a comfortable waiting for a bite, the seat must be sheathed with soft material.
- With the help of furniture hinges, the cover is attached to the body with rivets or bolts.
- The final step will be to attach a wide strap to carry the product.
If desired, to avoid spontaneous opening of the box, you can install metal fasteners on the body and lid.
Foam fixture
Modern materials that are light in weight, high strength, resistance to moisture and temperature extremes are widely used. So, a box for winter fishing made of foam plastic in the summer can be used as a refrigerator due to the excellent thermal insulation properties of the material.
To make a box, you will need to cut blanks for the side walls, bottom and lid from foam sheet. To producereliable fastening of these parts, you need to make grooves in them. Moreover, in the blank for the bottom, it is necessary to cut recesses on all four sides, and for the side walls, a groove is enough only on three sides.
Then, with the help of liquid nails, reliable bonding of all surfaces is carried out. To strengthen the structure, you can fix the workpieces between themselves with self-tapping screws.
The lid is also made of foam plastic, having previously made grooves. To attach the belt, you will have to insert two pieces of thick plywood in the middle of the end of the box, placing them outside and inside the case.
Wooden box
The availability of modern materials has slightly overshadowed the use of wooden structures. A hand-made ice fishing box made of plywood is heavy and poorly protected from moisture.
Making a carrying frame is not particularly difficult. Prepared to size blanks are fastened together in any way possible (screws, nails). To install partitions, you need to cut grooves in the side walls.
The lid of the structure is hung with hinges using small diameter screws.
Additional items
To prevent the box from slipping off your shoulder when carrying, you need to glue a small piece of rubber or polyurethane mat on its belt.
A very convenient rod holder is a soft rubber holder,attached to the inside of the lid.
For a canister box, you can attach a pocket made from a smaller canister to the sides.
Remember that a self-made ice fishing box is a functional device that will help the fisherman to deliver all the necessary equipment to the place of fishing, while saving a lot of energy, as well as an ideal storage for the caught fish.
