# Rock salt to keep holes from freezing



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I was thinking about ways to keep the holes in the ice from freezing over while fishing and had the idea of putting a little rock salt in a sock and hanging it down in the hole. Anyone ever tried this and had success with it ?


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## nixmkt (Mar 4, 2008)

Saltwater can cause major headaches with gear and tackle. While far from being saltwater fishing, seems like that could still produce enough saltwater to be more of a pain to have to flush off everything later than benefit to keeping the hole open.


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

yonderfishin said:


> I was thinking about ways to keep the holes in the ice from freezing over while fishing and had the idea of putting a little rock salt in a sock and hanging it down in the hole. Anyone ever tried this and had success with it ?


Just catch fish and you won't have to worry about it.... 

But really, I think it might do more harm than good.....


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Best way to keep holes from freezing is buy a shanty and heater problem solved


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

tho I've never tried it myself I have heard that you can use rv antifreeze in your hole.
sherman


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## Cajunsaugeye (Apr 9, 2013)

Although never ice fished(just got 2 rods and a couple tip ups to try it as warm spell hit),couldn't you just use a stick or something and agitate the water every few minutes? I would think the motion would keep it from skimming over if done periodically.Again,coming from someone who's never done it.

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## ballast (Sep 15, 2011)

Take your heel and clear the hole, fastest n easiest way. It has never let me down and requires no extra gear to drag a half mile.


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## Toad Man (Oct 8, 2013)

Get some ping pong balls and paint em black, throw a few in the hole and the sun will do the rest.


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## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

mr buddy heater in the shanty will do the trick...or your heel as mentioned lol


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Normally in the shanty its not a problem its on the days i dont have that with me for some reason that it can be a problem. Last tuesday for example i had my doubts about the ice ( and the fish too actually ) so i didnt want to drag everything out there with me so i just sat on a bucket with my back to the wind. The darn hole was freezing over every couple minutes. Just want to be prepared for that next time


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## Wormdunker69 (Apr 8, 2004)

Pour some cooking oil in it.


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## PARK92 (Apr 21, 2012)

doesnt anyone use a scoop?


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## Bluegillin' (Jan 28, 2009)

May be more effort than it is worth, but I remembered a coffee can setup that supposedly works. See the following:

http://www.idofishing.com/forum/sho.../fpart/1/keeping-your-hole-from-freezing-over


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## whjr15 (Jun 16, 2005)

PARK92 said:


> doesnt anyone use a scoop?


I was wondering the same thing, while reading everyones different methods lol!!


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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

PARK92 said:


> doesnt anyone use a scoop?


To obvious my friend..... Come'on now!


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## EitherFishOrCutBait (Apr 20, 2008)

I've done this before and it helps. After drilling the hole I take and build a mound around the hole with snow and slush to block it from the wind. It really cuts down on the amount it refreezes. 


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## Wishiniwasfishing (Apr 1, 2012)

yeah probably shouldn't put any harsh chemicals in the water on purpose... rv antifreeze? come on and salt? just scoop out the ice man kinds laziness has already created enough environmental hazards. 


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## sam kegg (Jun 23, 2007)

I like the old fashion scoop! chemicals? bad idea!!! also I wonder how the fish would act around it? might make a taste they cant stand thus leaving the area near your hole!!


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

PARK92 said:


> doesnt anyone use a scoop?


Yes but you gonna sit there and scoop the hole every 30 seconds or so while trying to fish? Were talking extreme circumstances here , not every trip out. If its really cold and you arent in a shanty you can literally sometimes watch the ice form over the hole just as soon as you finish scooping.


Chemicals arent a good idea but a little salt wont hurt anything. And fish are even usually attracted to it. I was just curious if the slightly higher salinity would keep it from freezing.


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## sam kegg (Jun 23, 2007)

I understand ! we need to invent a hole heater!!! lol lil rod that floats in the water maybe runs off of a batt and just keeps it warm enough!


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## Gills63 (Mar 29, 2012)

I would think the rock salt would sink as soon as you had open water. Even if it had time to dissolve it would be diluted to the point of ineffectiveness. And if neither one of these option s occurred, what's stopping it from melting the ice around the hole and underneath you?

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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

they make these battery operated hole warmers that draw up warmer water from down deeper in the ice hole and it gets circulated near the surface, that is probably the best solution. if its that cold out im not going without my shanty. that's the whole reason I bought a shanty. if its safe enough to walk on then its safe enough for a shanty.


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## lonewolf (Mar 4, 2010)

I have never ice fishe'd , but I use a air bubbler to keep the ice from forming solid on my fish pond. The bubbles keep the water circulating. 

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## icebergy (Jan 21, 2012)

lonewolf said:


> I have never ice fishe'd , but I use a air bubbler to keep the ice from forming solid on my fish pond. The bubbles keep the water circulating.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


like an areater for a minnow bucket.


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## lovin life (Jan 2, 2010)

Take a 5000w generator out with you. Buy one of those elec barrel heaters and put it in your hole. Heck, in no time, if you get cold you can just slid into your own personal hot tub.  

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## lonewolf (Mar 4, 2010)

Ya the ones that take the 2 d cells should work fine. I use one of the cheap ac ones for my pond with 2 of the cheap ends.
My fish pond is about 800 gallons and I keep a 2 foot hole in the middle all winter.
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## foundationfisher (May 12, 2008)

pee in the hole!


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Dry cells on ice usually fade PDQ. Learned my lesson trying to run an old time flasher on two dry cell six volts wired in series. Did not even last an hour. Don't know if the D cells would run down just as fast in those hole heaters ? But since similar construction and material would expect same kind of problem.


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## lonewolf (Mar 4, 2010)

They have 12 volts with camps for regular battery. Had to use on when power was off for 4 days

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## Wishiniwasfishing (Apr 1, 2012)

there's an invention out that's a bubbler that fits perfectly to your hole. 


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## Erieangler51 (Sep 24, 2012)

Ya if you don't wanna bend down to scoop out the hole use your minnow bucket areator. Small, light,and compact. Should be enough to keep a 6"-8" hole open. I use the long handled frabil scoop about 3-4 ft long so I don't have to keep bending doe and doing it.


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## fishin 1st (Dec 23, 2009)

keep it simple. scoop, or shanty with a heater.


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## PARK92 (Apr 21, 2012)

Catch fish. That'll bust the skim ice out of your hole!


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## trapperjon (Mar 11, 2008)

PARK92 said:


> Catch fish. That'll bust the skim ice out of your hole!


m80's work good too, but if it's real cold ya might need to jump up to an m100 or 1/2 stick,


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## lovin life (Jan 2, 2010)

Cordless blender. 

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## Perchy101 (Apr 14, 2004)

lovin life said:


> Cordless blender.
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L710 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


AKA an auger?


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## Reel em In (Jun 20, 2004)

I always just scooped it regularly when I was in Ohio and iced fish. Now that I'm in Florida, I carry a freezer along to make a spot where I can drill a hole. Works great.


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## SeanStone (Sep 8, 2010)

Aereator, black ping pong balls, and a scoop have been my favorite choices thus far.

Anyone ever utilized hothand packets in this situatuon? I feel like two of them in a small floating container should keep the ice off. Maybe a small plastic bowl???? 

Do hothands work out of their packet? If so someone could ******* a contraption to take the hothands material for this purpose. Floating shotgun shell....hot hands material would add enough weight to keep it upright...drill a few holes in the top to allow oxygen to get in and your set. 

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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Hot hands packets sound like a good idea never thought of that and the ping pong ball idea is good too if there is some sun. The scooping thing is a no brainer but my question is for the times when its freezing so fast that scooping while fishing means continous scooping , to the point where its just ridiculous. When you see the ice form before you can set the scoop down there has to be a better way. Most of the time its not an issue but on a day when you dont have a shanty with you and its like 18 degrees with overcast sky any open water can ice up fast as you can clear it.


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## whjr15 (Jun 16, 2005)

yonderfishin said:


> ...when its freezing so fast that scooping while fishing means continous scooping.....and its like 18 degrees with overcast sky any open water can ice up fast as you can clear it.


Doesn't sound like much fun to me! Which is why I never leave home without my shanty now, lol. Flip it over, then take off my coat! I'm warm, and my holes are "warm"!! Kills two birds with one stone.

Other than that, I have no idea. I used to just deal with it, while trying to keep my line moving so it didn't freeze to the skim ice... Then when you catch a fish, scoop it out before you put your line back in, and repeat!


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## ballast (Sep 15, 2011)

Teaspoon of sodium hydroxide- chemical reaction heat's the water to all most boiling, I'm not a big fan of clutter in my hole or in the icehouse


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## bassmastermjb (Apr 8, 2004)

Just break down and buy a shanty. Why wait, if your into ice fishing you'll eventually have one anyway............Mark


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## Photog (Jun 18, 2010)

Salt water is also more dense than fresh, that is why you float better in the ocean. The salt water wouldn't be in the hole too long as it would drop down in the water column.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Photog said:


> Salt water is also more dense than fresh, that is why you float better in the ocean. The salt water wouldn't be in the hole too long as it would drop down in the water column.


Good point I didnt think about that. But I guess a sock with rocksalt hanging over the edge "might" keep replenishing it slowly over time. I dont know , it was just an idea. The salinity may attract fish though , too much salt being used like that might have an adverse effect on the ecosystem in the body of water but small amounts wouldnt hurt anything. I may try it sometime out of curiosity but most of the time Im in my pop up shanty when on the ice so I guess it dont matter much.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

a little bit of salt in a sock....its not gonna hurt anything. think of how much salt they dump on a causeway over the course of a winter, and all that salted road runoff draining to a low point, which is the lake. tons and tons of salt.


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## hunt4smallies (Feb 4, 2009)

anything added to a animals diet thats not within some sort of constraint is prolly no good fur it, i agree that all u need is a shanty and a lantern or heater, even though all that salt from roads goes there doesnt mean it is ok, imo


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## Phish_4_Bass (Sep 18, 2008)

The hot hands won't work in a sealed container, as it takes air to make the powder heat up. On the other hand, if you open a pair and only use them for an hour or so, put them in a baggie or tupperware and you can use them again


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

I used to leave the "volcano" mound from drilling hole before having a shanty. Scoop out hole but leave the mound.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

Yep very simple, no wind.


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