How to Keep Your Ice Hole from Freezing

Some days are just cold out on the ice. It’s mid-winter and the wind is howling, the snow is piling up. A common problem on these very cold days are the ice holes freezing and closing up on you. 

If you are looking for solutions to this problem you have come to the right place. Here are some tried and tested methods some ice fishermen have used to keep their holes from freezing over.

Ice Hole Covers

These Northeast Therm-a-Seat’s do a good job keeping an ice fishing hole from freezing over. The best part is they are a very affordable option. All you do is place them over your hole and pit your tip-up through the middle opening. You can conveniently purchase them on Amazon.

Northeast Products ThermaSeat Ice Fishing Hole Insulator/Cover, Black, Single, (501)
  • COVERS AND INSULATES ice fishing...
  • EASY TO INSTALL; Simply set over...
  • Works like magic to keep your ice...
  • Features SOFTEK CLOSED-CELL FOAM...
  • 12 inches in diameter and 0.75...

Hot Water

Well, it’s hard to argue that this method won’t work. If you have a propane stovetop you could easily boil some water and periodically throw it in the hole to keep it from freezing over.

Bring A Spoon

Some ice fishermen use a spoon to keep their holes from freezing over, especially if they have a lot of tip-ups set up. Occasional go around checking on your tip-ups and stir the hole with a spoon to break up any ice that has begun to form. This can be a good practice as you should regularly check on your bait with tip-ups to make sure no fish have gotten away.

Ping Pong Ball

Take a ping pong ball and paint it black. Then place it in your ice hole. The black paint will absorb more heat from the sun than the surrounding ice. Because ping pong balls float they will stay bouncing around the hole and will keep the ice from closing the hole. 

Fish Oils

This trick has been around for generations. You pour fish oil or codfish liver oil into your hole. I’ve heard many people claim to have success with these products. The only problem is that these oils tend to get all over your lines and reels, which creates more problems. Another problem is fish oil and codfish oil has gotten very expensive in the last two decades.

Do you have another method you use to keep your ice holes from freezing over? If so, comment below and share your tips!

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.