Fishing

i need some help on what make of ice
shelter to buy.i will mostly be fishing the gorge,and
i am new at ice fishing any help would be good.i
have a ATV to pull it with i was thinking a 2 or 3
man.Thanks for the help.

I would look at the Otter brand. They cost a little more than Eskimo and some of the others. I have had some others and they are nice. However, for the extra money I would go with Otter all the way. I have one and would not have anything else.


I was Cabelas yesterday and noticed a shelter that Cabelas has put there name on it. I looked at it and it looks like Otter and Cabelas went together to make one for Cabelas to put their name on.


Live like you were dieing!
Today is a gift, Tomorrow a dream!
Rocky Mountain Tackle/ Radical Glow mountain West Factory Rep

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Thanks RILEYFISH I will look into one,what model is
the one at cabelas? I was thinking about the Eskimo
Quickflip 2 or 3 I like the idea off the bench or seats
all in the sled with the shelter.

This is the unit I have.

http://www.otteroutdoors.com/icehouse.html

Go and check out the site and surf around through it. I had the whole set up sent to me through this site below. They were the cheapest,

http://www.thornebros.com/.../shelters_otter.html

Great to work with. you have to get the tent and sled seperatly, the seats also. I bought a combo deal from them and saved about 150.00 bucks last year. You wont regret spendingthe extra money for one of these.


Live like you were dieing!
Today is a gift, Tomorrow a dream!
Rocky Mountain Tackle/ Radical Glow mountain West Factory Rep

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I have a Quick Flip II for early season (a little lighter weight when the ice isn't thick enough for a machine), and a Quick Flip III for when we have the 4 wheeler or snowmobile to pull it. Great ice tents in my opinion. I love being able to move to a new location without even folding the tent down. We just tie up the part of the tent that would otherwise drag, and then off we go. Makes moving around very easy. We've been using the II for around 5 years, and the III for 2 years. Both have held up very well.

Here are some down sides I've found over the last 5 years of using these...

First, the bench seats suck. They felt great in the store, but after a few hours of fishing they really got to me. We tore them out and put some bucket type seats in (easy to do, you just remove the cushion and back rest, and screw the new seats to the aluminum supports).

Second, the sleds seem to be too square in the front to me. They drag fine, but they both have a tendency to get pretty beat up when dragged behind a machine. We bulked up the Quick III by adding a metal plate to the hitch assembly. The II seems to hold up much better because we're hand dragging it mostly.

Third, they are both a little heavy (not such an issue with a machine... but hand pulling even the II is a bit of a pain).

Fourth, the shelters with the sleds in them, waste a lot of space because the sled is in there with you at all times.


So, the sleds that I've seen that seem to have solved these issues...

For pulling with a machine -

The Frabill tent they have at Sportsmans Warehouse in Riverdale, UT. This shelter is very similiar to the Quick Flips, but has bucket seats (either two, or Three). It also has a sled that kind of has molded runners so less surface area is dragging. Also, less area is getting pounded by clumps of ice, etc when dragging.

For hand pulling

Eskimo makes another model called the Quick Fish. These are just tents with light weight poles. No heavy sled, poles, seats, etc. You just throw it in a Jet Sled, or even a backpack, and walk out. This would also allow you to use a lightweight, and comfortable lawn chair. You can also leave the sled outside and have more room inside, if thats something you want. Obviously you wont be as mobile, but when walking youre not that mobile anyways.

Hope that helps you think about some more of the issues. Nothing is worse than buying something and then regretting it. I'm sure you'll gain your own personal preferences as you use your new shelter, but hopefully some of our experience can help shorten the learning curve a bit for you.

Good luck, and as always, additional questions are welcome.

Thanks bkidder for your input.I called Sportsman in
Riverdale today they have the quickflip 3 for 399.99
and Frabill Trekker 3 for the same price if you were
buying one which one would you pick. One more the
quickflip 2 was 299.99. I'm calling Smith and Edwards
tomorrow. I looked a the Frabill Trekker DLX on the
net the list price from Frabill was the same as the 3
there price was 449.99 the DLX has 600 Denier tent
and the seats are swivel boat seats it also has front
and rear doors. Sportsman in Riverdale do'nt carrier
them.

Don't get me wrong, I love my QuickFlip III and the bench seat problem was easy to fix by removing the cushion and backrest and putting in boat seats. Go to Sportsmans and compare the 2 in person. Honestly the Frabill is very tempting. Also, if you're looking for a lot of room, look at the Quick Fish 6 they have set up in Midvale sportsmans. Very nice tent as well.

Most new ice shanties have pros and cons based on individual preferences for various types of ice fishing. Rather than buying a new one and modifing it, I decided to make my own flip over type. It has old snow skiis for runners, a study plywood box to store everything....including the dog, a buddy heater with a small propane tank, and an old Lund boat seat for maximum comfort. I bought the flip over canvas from Clam for $75. It works great for me and is easy to load into my truck.

Nice sled there Big! Looks like it does the job. Does allof your gear, Auger and such store under your seat?


Live like you were dieing!
Today is a gift, Tomorrow a dream!
Rocky Mountain Tackle/ Radical Glow mountain West Factory Rep

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Great timing for this post. I'm a similar situation, fairly new to ice fishing, mostly plan on fishing The Gorge.
I found a good deal on a gas powered auger over the summer, have a lot of misc equip, but the shelter is the one essential thing I'm lacking.

I don't have an atv or sled to pull them with, and I really don't want to spend $$$. So, I had maybe a really stupid idea. I have a big, maybe 10' X 18" X 7' tall tent that I bought at Costco. I was thinking of cutting the floor out, possibly leaving a foot or so and running some velcro around it so I could put the floor back in for summer camping, and then bringing along a cordless drill and some 6" cement anchors and possibly a few extra ropes to hold up against wind.

Has anyone ever tried it ?





It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat.

But the man who's worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat...

-Judge Smails

I've seen wall tents out there before. One issue I'd have is mobility. With a wall tent you will be stuck in one place. I don't think I could stand to fish like that. Thats why I prefer the flip shelters. We are very mobile in our shelters.

Nice looking shelter. The one issue I'd have is that plywood is not only heavy, but it gets heavier when it gets wet. Do you seal it or anything? Obviously if it works for you, great. Probably a lot stronger than my plastic ones!

Danny,

I had that same idea last year of cutting the tent floor but my large dome tent was pathetic in the wind, so I ended up buying a QuickFish III at Sportsmans. Very mobile as it just springs open in less than a minute. I don't have a ATV and have to drag around a sled, so this setup bungie-cords with the rest of my stuff nicely and meets my needs. Best wishes

I have done the cabin tent with holes cut in floor. but i agree with bkidder on you lose your mobility by doing it that way. the only time i have used one was during the derby on sulfer creek resevoir. i didnt plan on moving anywhere and it worked fine. if you are worried about cost you can find used shelters for a resonable price.
now if you plan on fishing the gorge i would definitely look into a mobile shelter. i use a frabil one, and mostly just to fish at night. is nice to have someplace for heat..good luck

Everything fits in specifically sized compartments in the sled box except the auger and the catch of the day. The auger mounts on top and is tied down so it can be pulled with a wheeler at a decent speed. All slimey burbot are put in 5 gallon buckets on top of the canvas. The bottom of the sled box are old aluminum signs cut to fit with a few holes in it to drain. If weight is an issue, I would use 1/2" plywood rather than 3/4". I had some used 3/4" that needed a new home.

All right then...

Lack of mobility, and sturdyness in the wind were my two concerns. I'll just keep the tent for camping.

Is the Eastman Ice Cube 4 the best / most economical choice ? They sell for around $150 new. It claims 4 man capicatay which I'm assuming means 2 man.

Even the pics on the Eastman website dont show the inside. Is there any floor at all or do you just pop the thing up and secure the corners.

The real reason I was thinking the tent is because of the lack of room in traditional ice shantys. I looked at something called the Quickfish 6 which looked awesome but spending $400 on an ice shack just aint gonna happen right now.

I have the same worry someone else had with the plywood floor. Though I'm sure it's sweet, I want to keep the weight to a bare minimum.

Any cheap, light shacks anyone would suggest over the Ice Cube 4?





It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat.

But the man who's worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat...

-Judge Smails

i have the eastman ice cube for 2 men you can fish two men in it but it gets a little cramped. as far as a floor goes there is no floor it just pops open and you secure the corners and also each side has lanyards that run out from it if its really windy. I have never had any problems with mine other than a little small at times.

well I landed a quickflip2 for christmas,I was surprised
to see 2 seats in it not the bench haven't got it together
yet thats tomorrows to do.Do you use ice stakes
with this shelter.Thanks for your help.
HAPPY NEW YEAR

No stakes needed for the QuickFlips. You can shovel a little snow around the edges to keep any wind from getting under, if you want.