We have all run into this while fishing away from our ice fishing shelter.  You are fishing and catching fish, but your hole continually freezes over.  Often in order to keep the hole open we just break up the ice in the hole and remove with a skimmer.  This is a pain in the rear, however, and usually sends us back into our portable shanty before we are ready.

I have heard of two ways to keep the hole open that are both simple and inexpensive.

1. Take a cloth, fill it with rock salt (like the kind you would use on your driveway), and tie it shut.  Place the salt filled cloth down the hole.  That is it.  The salt mixes with the water and creates a much lower freezing point allowing it to remain ice free.

2. This option is a bit more involved, but yields better results, especially when it is really cold.  drill a second hole adjacent to the hole you are fishing, but not completely through the ice.  Make sure that water can make its way over to both holes.  Place a metal coffee can (or similar metal can) in the hole filled with charcoal.  Light the charcoal and let it burn while you fish.  The burning charcoal keep the water warm enough to not freeze.

What ways do you use to keep your ice holes open when it get cold outside?