Setting Up For Winter - Dusting off the Shack | |
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| This picture (left) shows us taking our ice fishing shack out onto the ice early in January, 2001. We use the tractor because this shack is 10 ft. long and 5 ft. wide and it's weight puts too much strain on the snow machine. |
| We use this shanty as a home base and if the fishing is slow, we then use a more portable model hauled behind the snow machines to fish other locations. I know that this sounds like duplication, but I enjoy the comforts of the larger hut and secondly, I have portability that allows me to easily go to those other locations on the lake or to go to other lakes. The larger hut can also be a good place to return to if the weather on the lake gets nasty. There are 4 round ice fishing holes in our ice shack into which we have inserted ice cream pails with the bottoms cut out. There are a couple of good reasons for this. | |
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| It has been my experience that the space between the floor and the ice is the area where the fish will often kick up a real fuss. The fish can jerk itself right off the hook or it can hit the floor and come off ending up either back in the hole or somewhere under the shack. What a nuisance ! However, the pail becomes an extension of the ice fishing hole and the nuisance is eliminated. Also, because the pail fits snuggly into the floor and because it reaches and fits nicely into an 8 in. ice hole, a lot of cold air is prevented from coming up into the shack. If you normally cut a 10 in. hole, then you will have to get a little larger pail. If you place some kind of solid cover on top of the pails when you leave for the day, this will help to reduce the amount of ice that builds up in the holes between visits. Better still is to cut a piece of styrofoam to fit the ice hole at the bottom of the pail. | |
| It is a really good idea to bank snow all around the outside of the shack to further prevent cold air from blowing underneath. This will further reduce the amount of ice build-up in your holes and combined with the use of the pails will require less energy to heat your shack. |
| I would also recommend that you put your hut up on blocks. I use 4 in.x 4 in. pieces about a ft. long to get the skis up off the ice so that when the weather gets mild and cold again the skis don't melt into the ice and then freeze solidly. Some water will also accumulate under your shack from drilling and cleaning out your holes plus a limited amount of thawing caused by the heat of the shack. If the skis freeze into the ice, it can be a big job to free your hut if and when you have to or want to move it. If you notice a lot of water starting to form and freeze around and under your shack, it might be a good idea to move it onto fresh ice. It should come off the blocks without too much effort. There are a number of different ways to heat an ice shack but I like to use a 2-burner propane stove attached to a 20 lb. propane tank. This provides me with a good heat source and also allows me to heat up soup, chili etc. to go along with the sandwiches. I also set up a small plastic tub with warm water heated on the stove to be used as a washing station for my hands or rinsing dishes etc. Although there is some degree of risk of theft involved even though there are a lot of huts on the lake, we leave our heating unit and a number of basics (couple of small pots, a few cheap plastic dishes, soap towel etc.) in the hut so that we don't have to haul this stuff out each time that we go fishing. Where there are a number of huts on a lake, other fishermen get to know you and tend to keep an eye on other people's stuff. Usually a good lock on the door will keep unwanted snoopers away. For the portable hut, a 1 lb. propane tank attached to a tent heater will keep things warmed up nicely. Also, you can use a small one burner camp stove and this can also be used to heat soup etc. You can make any fishing trip as creative and homey as you like and the important thing to me is that the experience be a lot of fun and not a lot of work. Then, if you catch some fish, that is a bonus. Next time I will talk a little more about the ice fishing experience and remember, if you have a comment or idea that you want to share , go to the “Feedback” section and send it along. | |
| Click here for tip #3 on enhancing the taste of your fish. | |
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