Looking to Buy My First Shelter

I’m looking to buy my first shelter and just wondering if anyone has any good advice or websites that do. For anyone willing to provide free advice, a little about me that may help customize the advice:

– While I’ll ice fish with a few friends and relatives, most of my hardwater fishing is done alone, so I’m maybe looking at a 2-man shack?

– I don’t own a 4-wheeler so I’ll have to transport a shack myself.

– Due to Cabela’s points I’ll most likely be purchasing from there.

– Any ideas on cheapest time of year? I’ve most likely missed out on the early season sales, so I may have to wait until the end of the season when they’re trying to reduce inventory.

I’m a total novice on shacks, most of the people I’m around have hardly ever used them, so I mean it when I say that ANY advice will help and will be appreciated.

So what style of shack are you most interested in? Flip over, hub, suitcase? Do you like to just sit down, grab a beer, bs with your buddy and relax? Or are you moving around trying to find fish hopping from hole to hole? Do you want one you can stand and move around in? Do you care if it’s insulated or not? What are you willing to spend? Have you stopped in anywhere and checked any out? If so what are your thoughts or questions? Do you have any size restrictions because of a smaller vehicle or storage location?

Just a few things to help begin to narrow your search.

As far as flip over, hub, or suitcase, I guess I’m really not sure, I’ll have to do some researching.

I’m not relaxed unless I catch fish. I know a lot of guys in my area that love to just go out, drill a few holes and drink beer, but I’d rather find the fish.

As far as insulation, I read about that in a different thread. Being that I’m going for a shelter I might as well get a warm one, so I guess I’d probably go for insulation.

As far as price, I think I have a decent amount of Cabela’s points so I’ve got some money to spend.

I have an Otter cottage 650 and i love it when I’m moving around a lot. Its fairly light and you can fit 2 people in it. I also have an eskimo fatfish 949i and I like that if I’m going to be in one spot for a while. You can fit 3 people in it and it’s really roomy for 2 people.

Insulated and side entry flip would be my preference, and additional consideration on the quality of the them tub or sled and the seats.

you will want to build a smitty sled for hauling around on foot. if you arent aware of what that is just google it and you will find lots of designs. Most fish houses you buy will be decently well made. I think most people, including me, are of the opinion that otter makes the best fish house. They are the most expensive, but in some cases the difference is night and day. I have an otter cottage 1200 and a polarbird 4T hub. If you like to move around maybe check out the otter hideout. its a one man shack. I fish 2 out of the cottage but its tight. An otter cabin would be the bees knees.

Otter cottage xt. It has a bench seat which is heavy but in my opinion you could fit 3 guys in it. You can very easily fit 2 guys in it. Its a lot bigger than i thought it was going to be

What kind of vehicle will you be using to get to the ice?

I prefer the flip overs. I set mine up as a windbreak most often, as I move around a lot. (If?)when I’m on a hot hole or two, it’s nothing to slide the flip-over in front of it and have a seat out of the wind…rarely do I ever actually flip it all the way down. That’s just me.
I’m also foot travel only…@crappie55369 is right-go ahead and blow $5 on a pair of Goodwill skis and build yourself a smitty sled, you’ll appreciate the huge difference it makes pulling your gear around when(if?) the snow comes.
As for size? Mine’s currently a two man, and holds all my gear and keeps it out of the weather while I hop around. It’s nice if I actually sit in it to be able to have my stuff and a heater off to one side while I fish. That being said, I’m pondering getting a one man just to lighten up the overall load. I’ve done a lot of sled pulling, and I don’t think I’d want to pull a 3-man or anything bigger around on foot on anything but skating rink ice.

Lots of good info in this thread already. Crappie mentioned the smitty and so did reverend, it is a must for pulling by hand. I made mine from some scrap 2×4’s and 2×2’s and an old pair of ski’s from craigslist.

Weight is a huge factor when pulling by hand, even with a Smitty. Otter makes the most robust and durable shacks, but that comes with much greater weight. Clam will be your lightest, but the quality is inline with the weight…I prefer Frabill shacks as they sit somewhere between Clam and Otter in weight and quality. Flip overs will be the easiest, IMO when it comes to pulling by hand and staying mobile.

Head to the ice show this Sunday and see what Reeds or Thorne Bro’s can do for you on price. They will have houses they don’t want to haul home and will give you very good pricing on one. I bought one of the first insulated Frabill shacks about 10 years ago from Thorne Bro’s at the ice show and they tossed in a Big Buddy, Marcum VS380 and 2 St. Croix ice rods. They wanted it GONE.

You’re in luck!
This weekend is the ice show, one building will house every portable known to man, plus, you’ll find some good deals.

I would take Francis up on the FREE Eskimo shelter in the classifieds right now. Put a quick fabric patch on it and you should be good to go. Use your points on upgrades to your other gear

https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/eskimo-flip-over-free/

Will Roseberg wrote:

I would take Francis up on the FREE Eskimo shelter in the classifieds right now. Put a quick fabric patch on it and you should be good to go. Use your points on upgrades to your other gear

https://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/eskimo-flip-over-free/

Dang! Why do I always have to be so far away?

Look at the Cottage or Cabin, I have the Otter cabin and fish by myself all the time and it is a roomy 1 man, but I have the room to take someone along also. any bigger and I would not be able to load it and pull it with any show on the lake. Was thinking about a 3 man pop up to be able to put a cot in there and sleep overnight if I wanted. I have a med Jet sled and it would be lighter then the cabin but the sled is about the same size.

Merican is 100% right about the weight factor. If you’ll be pulling it by hand, keep weight in mind. Cuz once you load up whatever you get with gear, auger etc. – and trudge through snow etc. – you’ll want the lightest option you can get.

I’ve actually considered switching from my flip over Frabill to a hub style for this reason.

Btw, the ice fishing show in St. Paul this weekend is a great place to check out options – and often there are great deals to be found.

Weight is a huge factor. I have a Clam 2 man flip-over, a very nice shack. Easily fishes 2 guys, can do 3 as well although that gets a little crowded. When taking it out just by myself, it can be difficult to pull sometimes. Added an ATV for this year, so the weight won’t be an issue for me now!