ATV for Ice Fishing - Large Fisherman

Twenty-three more months until retirement.

I have a home in northern Wisconsin that will soon be my year-round residence. I live about one-quarter mile from a lake and maybe one-half mile from where I intend to ice fish. I don't intend to have an ice shanty.

I'm interested in buying an ATV (old or new) for ice fishing. For many, many years I used to walk (pulling a toboggan) but that was 30 years ago and I'm not a young man anymore. Besides, I think I would fish more often if ice fishing wasn't such an ordeal.

I've never operated an ATV (or a snowmobile, for that matter) in my life. I have numerous cars and trucks and can drive a manual transmission no problem so I don't think I'm a total dunce with a motor vehicle. I simply have no idea what kind of ATV to get.

I'm a somewhat LARGE fellow (6'3", 300#) so I'm thinking I need a somewhat POWERFUL ATV. Is this a reasonable assumption? I'm thinking a 4x4 (with rear chains, from what I read) would be preferred for ice fishing.

I've seen numerous "side-by-sides" and that is NOT what I would prefer, since I probably wouldn't fit on one side and have no projected passenger for the other side (maybe a dog). Are there many decent used conventional 4x4 ATVs around these days, replaced by side-by-sides?

Any advice appreciated.

RR

Well, OK, thanks for the intel Dude. I ask these question because "I do not know".

Lakewood Motorsports and then there's a place in Crivitz and another in Beaver. I'll just have to go around a ride a bunch of them to decide. I'd prefer to "buy American" if at all possible, but reliability is paramount. I want to play with the ATV, not be wrenching on it all the time.

I've stopped to look at a bunch of ATVs (and snowmobiles) that were parked by the side of the road (fairly common, in NE Wisconsin) but they all seemed to be fairly well beaten. I'd like to inflict all the damage myself.

RR

I have this "image" in my mind of a giant dude riding on a struggling tiny ATV. Maybe that's what is completely unrealistic.

Not maybe unrealistic.  It is flat out unrealistic.  I'm 6'3" 180.  I can't tell the difference in power of my Grizzly 550 when it is just me or my wife is on the back, which puts us over your weight range.  And I've never felt under-powered.  The only thing I was told was that if you plan on plowing snow, don't go under a 500.  That is what I lived by.  I was fortunate to find a gently used quad (I purchased a 2009 3 years ago with 300 miles on it).  I absolutely love it.

There is a good point below about service.  I'm guessing Lakewood Motorsports is going to be your closest dealer and they carry Polaris and Can Am.  They are all nice machines, but I do prefer Honda and Yamaha.

Well, OK, maybe I don't *need* a 1000cc ATV. I honestly have no idea. I have this "image" in my mind of a giant dude riding on a struggling tiny ATV. Maybe that's what is completely unrealistic.

Once upon a time my buddy suggested I try riding his Yamaha 500XT dirt bike. Never having ridden a dirt bike, and believing that it was going to be incapable of moving my significant mass, I revved the engine pretty high before popping the clutch. Needless to say, the front wheel shot skyward dumping the rider (me) backward right onto his head. Maybe I'm not as massive as I think I am.

Used or new? I'm at the point where I believe buying used machines (without a warranty) is just inheriting other people's problems. Trust me, if I could find a nice, gently used ATV (any size) I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I don't have money to burn, but I'm not exactly poor either.

Now I'm right back where I started. I guess I have to go to a dealer and ride a few of them.

Hopefully I'll keep all four wheels on the ground.

RR

Why would you honestly need the 1000cc other then, "because I can"?

The extra cost between that and a realistic machine which will do whatever you need it for will pay for the track kit.

I guarantee you will loose traction in all cases before you can put that many CC's on the ground. I'm your size and have a 2003 Polaris Sportsman 700 Twin. Plows great, pulls great, and faster then it needs to be.  You will spin tires pushing or pulling before you lug the machine. 

Brand wise, they are all decent I think, go with what will be serviceable close to where you will live. It's a machine, odds are sooner or later it may need attention. My 15 year old machine was in the shop one time, and that was for brakes after my wife drove it around the property with the parking break on. Most will choose the brand they have as "the best".

I have a 1992 honda  four trax 300 with chains and a winch , It is all I need 

Regarding buying one of each, it sounds like you're looking to buy new, or pretty new. Again, no personal knowledge of sleds, but I do know you can find them pretty cheap on Craigslist. Yes, it's buyer beware, but if you were only going to use it on the off chance your ATV wouldn't cut it due to super deep snow, you don't need a newer (i.e., pricier) sled to get you on and off the lake. If you were going to take up trail riding, sure, get as new/nice as you can afford, but that doesn't sound like a hobby you're looking to take up so older might be an option. Especially if you can find a nice deal on an ATV to save a little to put toward a sled. 

Boy it's easy to spend other people's money. I think I might be a Socialist lol

I would go ATV all the way.  My Yamaha 550 with a plow does amazing work and I've never gotten it stuck.  Throw tracks on it in the winter, and you are set.

I'd also suggest Yamaha or Honda for reliability.  I love Polaris snowmobiles, but when it comes to quads, you just can't beat the dependability of Yamaha and Honda.  

Looks like fractured pelvis (for me) FER SURE.

I printed out the snowmobile and ATV literature here at work but weirdly nothing came off the printer. Then this morning one of my colleagues appeared at my office asking "are you looking at buying a Polaris ATV?" LOL. Somehow the literature got tangled up in the print queue.

My colleague is retiring within the year and has also purchased land in the north for retirement. His thinking was ATV all the way, since it is useful 365 days per year, and is useful around the property for chores and such.

I considered buying both an ATV and a snowmobile but that might be a touch "reckless", financially. I think I could best afford only one or the other, on a retirement budget. Or else I'd have to give up beer + booze.

I'm going to look at one of these 1000cc Polaris mofos.

I'm excited.

RR 

I don't own either, but for someone like yourself in a setting like yours, I would go with the 4 wheeler. If you can swing tracks for it, even better. But the idea of near year round use plus the winch seems like a pretty big pro in my book. 

But here's a thought no one suggested yet...get one of each 

Or you can get a SnowDog. This is what I'm looking to get some time since I don't have a place to put a 4 wheeler or sled.

Snowmobile?  sheesh.  ATV will give you year round use and pleasure although the snomo will be superior for moving around in the winter.  
Most choices like this boil down what is practical and what is affordable. Choices like this make life difficult

I meant to ask, don't many snowmobiles have little carbide wheels that allow crossing roads? I would have to cross one two-lane highway to get to the lake.

Hopefully won't get mashed by the occasional milk / logging truck.

New ATV with tracks probably run you in the 8k range, put the tires on in summer and you have a year round machine.

New snowmobile like listed is 12.5K and limited on when it can be used. Probably don't want to be running it down the road to your fishing spot either.

Really? The Honda FourTrax 300 is powerful enough even for larger personnel? They sure are a lot more "cost effective" than the larger 600-1000cc machines.

Trust me, I have no interest in "going fast" on either an ATV or a snowmobile. In fact, I'm afraid of going TOO FAST like I learned (brutally) on a certain motorcycle I had in my younger days. No, slow and steady gets the job done for this large and ancient ice fisherman.

I kind of dig the green Honda FourTrax Foreman Rubicon. And I love my four-stroke Honda snowblower. God knows I've gotten plenty of use out of that lately.

The cost isn't a huge concern because I have a very modest home and a very modest lifestyle. I would like to supplement my food supply with some delicious through-the-ice fish, however.

Thanks for the comeback.

I have a 1999 Honda Fourtrax 300 4x4 that I bought new and use it for hunting and ice fishing. I am about your size and that is plenty of power and speed for me. That Honda motor fires up every time even below zero temps. 4x4 is a must and I put a power winch on mine and have used it a few times. I have a plow on it and I use the winch to raise and lower the blade. Works awesome! I would recommend Honda because of the great engines.

The Polaris Sportsman XP 1000 is only 83" long, which means it might fit in the storage shed I have available (garages are all packed with trucks and cars and boats and such). That was my first thought; to buy a big ol' ATV with a front and back rack to pile my augur and buckets full of tip-ups and bait and so forth.

Another handsome machine.

With a useful winch that I could use around the property in summer.