Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Ice Buoys

I built these markers last night. They are made from 1.5” ID PVC and are 5 feet long. They are air tight so they will float. Each contains 6 inches of water as weight so they will float upright in open water or in an open bored hole in the ice.

The black bands are for visibility during the day and the spiral reflective tape is for visibility at night.

To install them, all I have to do is bore holes in the ice and drop them in. They will bob up and down until the ice freezes them in place.

I am going to place them on the Xs, The Corona Reef (by the Blue Buoy), and by the geese repeller.

In the spring when the ice pack disintegrates they will float to shore so I can retrieve them for the next winter.

This photo was taken in the dark to show the reflective tape in action. That is why photo color and sharpness are not the best.

Neat markers Dwight, what's the purpose?

For me to ice fish next to and not run over with the truck

Dwight -- those are much better markers for ice fishing structure than the peanut shells I have been using.

Don't let him fool you. He's trying to lure in a UFO for an ice landing!

I thought they were toothpicks for Darlene and her sisters.

in case he can't find his icehole with his own 2 hands

That's cold.

GPS is nice for re-locating your hot fishing spots, best underwater video locations, and deepest water where you take your weekly pond readings.

Markers are even better:
Park, Drill, Fish.
Park, Drill, Video.
Park, Drill, Take readings.

A marker by your Goose Repeller keeps semi-conscious ice fishers from using it as a homing beacon and/or breaking it off.

The Markers went in today.

These mark the two Xs, the far one the goose repeller.


One of these marks the west end of Corona Reef, the deepest area of the pond, and the weekly monitoring area. The far one is the goose repeller, as above.


The open water area is pretty small. I may need to increase the circulator run time if the below zero temperatures continue.

Do they move with the ice ?

Yes, they will move with the ice. I don't expect the ice to move anymore until spring, though.

Did I miss a story?

Well JHAP, you probably can't be expected to know. Ice fishing requires a certain amount of mental adjustment during the process. Generally speaking the adjustment is afforded by liquid means.

Makes sense to me Dwight. After looking at Natester's ice fishing photos I'm quite certain that it would take two St. Bernard kegs of Captain Morgan to put me in the right attitude to walk out onto an ice covered BOW, drill a hole, use a very unmanly small pole, and hope that a fish swims by for a frozen snack. Three kegs if you expect me to have fun in the process.