How many of you guys often fish without a house? James Holst, you seem to be fishing outside of a house unless the weather is awful. Curious if that is for videoing purposes?
I need a new ice suit. I love everything about the Predator Striker Ice Suit. Wondering if it’s worth the money. If I could sit outside comfortably with it, then I’d highly consider it.
I cant speak for striker but i have the grey clam suit and if you layer you could easily sit outside most days any of those suits nowadays i believe are worth the money.. like i said just layer bc often times i find myself sweating bc i over dressed….usually just some under armour 3.0 leggings w sweats under my bibs and a thermal top w a lighter sweatshirt is what i get by with
I dont think you could make a bad decision on a striker clam or frabill suit…if i had to do it over i would have gotten a flotation one
If you are the outdoors type those suits are amazingly warm. Big thing is getting a wind break of some sort.
Striker hardwater suit changes everything. I can literally sit outside through anything. Your hands are the only weakness. Shake up hand warmers and good gloves. I still use my shanty for an all day event, but that suit is truly amazing. I have a battery operated rechargeable hand warmer that I have high hopes for this year. Layer up and you really don’t need the coat until the wind kicks up.
I find myself fishing in a shack unless it’s REALLY nice out. And believe me, it isn’t because I can’t take the weather. I just prefer to not deal with my line blowing around, snow filling up the hole, building up ice on my line and in the hole, etc.
If it’s calm out and warm or sunny enough that I don’t get line and holes icing up I will fish outside, but otherwise I’m in my Otter.
Tucker
Almost always in my insulated otter. I fish mainly lake trout, eyes, and tip up pike. Set up, make fresh coffee with lake water(one of life’s finer simple pleasures), and relax. I work all week, so my weekends are not about running/gunning anymore……they are for recharging MY batteries!
House. I’m getting old and get cold faster.
Heck when I was a young Buck I could fish out on the ice all day in shorts and a wife beater.
52 years old and i am almost never in my house-i go outside to be outside.
It really depends on why I go fishing on a particular day. Sometimes I go to relax and maybe catch fish (sit in the heated house). Other times I go to catch fish at any cost. (then I sit outside and hole hop) IMO you will almost always catch more out in the elements moving around.
If you sit in the house it’s like anchoring in the summer. Sure you can catch fish but I can all but guarantee on average the guy looking for fish will do the best.
I wear my heavy SnoSuit when I plan to be out all day. plenty warm. From what I’ve heard they’re similar to the Striker suit. Have a good ice season.
I fish out of a Firebrand fishhouse trailer, but it’s usually for an entire weekend…it’s my motel room out on the ice. I still fish outside mostly and move around chasing the bite. Just because you have a house out on the ice whether it be an Ice Castle or an Otter it doesn’t mean you have to be attatched to it with an umbilocle cord
For me it is really about the water I am fishing. Most lakes I find that if I can get on some structure and hole hop, the fish stay in the specific area relative to the structure, jumping around is the way to go. If I am fishing more of a general area, or a river, I feel like I can pick my spot and the fish kind of come by in waves and I get the feeling if I move around a lot, they are under my house more often than not.
This, like many other things, is probably dependent on the type of fishing you do.
If you’re chasing panfish/perch and are looking for big numbers, it’s almost mandatory to move around.
Personally, when fishing walleye or big pike, I pick a piece of structure that I’m fairly sure they’ll relate to at some point, and let them come to me. For example, yesterday afternoon I set up fairly shallow knowing (more like hoping) that the fish would move in to feed shortly before/after dark.
I feel like I’m maximizing my chances that way. I know I’ll intercept a school at some point. Hopping around outside and hoping to stay on them all day might result in finding nothing, or finding negative fish. Then, I’m dealing with additional time spent keeping holes from freezing, fumbling with gear, drilling, etc. Sure, there are days where tje guys pounding the ice all day will produce better numbers….but just as often not. Especially after first-ice, when metabolism starts to slow down, these fish aren’t feeding all day. There will be long periods where you may find them, but they’re not in feed mode.
Also, it sure is nice and relaxing after a long day at the office to set up, get warm and settled, have a couple beverages, and sit and wait for my for the inevitable: my flasher lighting up like the lights on a police car when the schools start moving in.
I’ve caught my biggest fish this way (typically on the slip-bobber dead stick, which I probably wouldn’t have out hole hopping). I feel like you’re more likely to get a good reaction more often if they come to your subtle presentstion, as opposed to drilling a hole over the top of a 32″s head, and dropping s hunk of metal in its face. But, the lake I frequent is also extremely shallow, nearly structureless, and I have nearly a lifetime of reference points. Every body of water is different.
No house for me. If I wanted to sit in a house I would of never left home. Seems a fish house does nothing but slow a person down. How are you going to fish effectively even 20 holes let alone more towing a fish house around. Even the most fit person will get worn down. Maybe if we are going to sit and watch tip ups all day a house may be usu full. If the kids are with or some folks that need a place to warm up.
Spend the money and get some warm gear. That will be the best portable fish house you can get.
Started off ice fishing only a few years ago out of a truck. Since then have spent way more money and got way more stuff, but still find it the least hassle not having to pack up just to move about on even a small piece of structure.
Dragged the Otter around behind the wheeler all last season fishing mostly Mille Lacs, flipped it over once and that was only because it was raining. And that was during 10+ hour days/nights on the ice. While I did have times where my chair would blow across the ice as soon as I stood up, I was perfectly comfortable in my ice suit and gloves. But knowing you could flip the house over and start the heater if you really wanted was a comforting thought during the longer sessions.
I have a flip over clam that is almost 20 years old. Very seldom do I have it set up. My gear is organized in it, and it mostly serves as my generic sled or a seat sometimes. If I need a beark from the wind, I will sometimes just put the firsat set of poles in so it is just a verticle wind break. I’m hole hopping most of the time, so its pointless to mess with. I would opt for warm clothing before a shelter if this is your style of fishing
I enjoy my Fish Trap II for moving around on the ice. Light enough to stay portable (Even with a 4 year old riding on it) yet provides good cover from the weather. One thing that concerns me about getting a newer house with thermal fabric that is much bigger is that I will lose some of that portability.
The flip up style houses have a little more versatility to them as others have pointed out. Be it a sled for your gear, a simple windbreak if watching tip ups, a warming house in between hole hopping sessions, etc.
The other side of the coin is the added production of using them: Set up, take down, towing, loading, etc.
I’ve always thought the best thing to do is start with your fishing style and work from there. If it’s 100-hole run and gun you’re venturing into the law of diminished returns. If it’s a set up and relax with maybe only a move or two (or short moves) there should be some good house options.
My ideal setup for Gil fishing is a small plastic sled to pull my limited gear (the one in this link)
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1443984&KPID=1242457&cid=CAPLA:G:Shopping_-_Toboggans/Sleds1_-_New&pla=pla_1242457&k_clickid=db48dc54-f732-49c7-b556-3370f6332b9f
I pull with a long rope around my waist so my hands are free to hold my spud. (early ice only) I wont fish Gils if I must use a house anymore. I like to hole hope too much. If its too cold to fish outside I do something else. I have 3 portables and maybe use one of them twice a year. I know, sounds lame but I dont like sitting in them unless I absolutely have too. One more year like this and I may have to sell the Otter I didnt need.
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