I am planning a trip to LOW in late February this season, but this trip I am going to try it in portables (previous years I have always rented a shack on the lake). The question I have is the style of portable to use? “Suitcase” like the clam 6800, flipover clam yukon, or a popup tent style? Looking for some advice. Thanks in advance for any tips.
Flipover unless you plan on sitting in one or two spots all day. Much easier to move with a flipover behind a sled or ATV. Good luck !
Flip over x2 lIke big_g said they are more portable a hub is not difficult to setup and take down but doing it over and over again on the same outing can be exhausting so if your searching for lots of different spots and moving often flip over for sure if you know where you are going and planning on staying put a hub is the way to go much more space inside and like I said setting them up is easy just not over and over again every 30 minutes.
Do you have all 3 options or are you making a purchase? If you have a flip and a hub I would bring both. The hub will give you tons of room and if you want to move more you always have the flip. I have an x2 that I use for behind my wheeler hauling gear and for a shelter but I throw the hub on it for when I have the family out. Doesn’t take much room for one.
LOTW can be very very hard on your equipment.. I have have fished up there a couple of times now and each time I have put my gear thru some rough conditions…
Give a very serious look at the Otter XT650 and XT1200 series houses.. They are a rough and tough house that will last you a life time..
On another note.. any ice house is better then no ice house so my intentions here are not to get into a My House can beat up Your House discussion..
I have wanted to do portable fishing up their for Years. I for sure would only do it in a flip over. Alot easier to manage, throw all your gear, put on the cover and move. you can get some high winds on the lake at any time. I trust 2″ poles over “tent” rods any day.
Question I have is, where do you park or enter the lake on sleds?
If you do go with a flip I would consider drilling a couple holes on the back of the sled up high and have a small loop tied on in those spots. Get a couple ice anchors and that way you could anchor your tub to the ice if winds are high. I’ve seen plenty of videos of hub shacks in super high wind they held up very well also.
i go up there a few times each year with my brother and we always use his Clam Jason Mitchell X2. it stays nice and warm with a big buddy heater even in the -20’s. I just bought a Otter XT1200 Lodge that im going to try out this year. im sure it will be similar to the clam but ive heard nothing but awesome things about Otter houses. I would highly not suggest a pop-up up there. They aren’t very good in the wind and it tends to be windy every time i go up there. Stay with a insulated flip over and you will be happy.
I think the biggest factor is how you plan to get to your spot. If you plan on driving a vehicle onto the lake and only fishing in locations you can access with your vehicle any of the houses will be fine… If you plan on using a snowmobile or ATV to stay mobile there is no question that the flip over is the way to go.
Additional unsolicited advice if you are planning to go mobile with an ATV/snowmobile make sure that your gear is well packed so that it can handle a potentially bumpy ride… I use an auger cover, pack my sunflower heater in an old larger soft sided cooler to keep it from being damaged, an use and Otter Rod Box. Also make sure you’ve got a durable bait container that won’t tip over… Nothing worse than a 12 mile ride only to find out your bait is spilled all over in the sled – I use a small hard sided square cooler that won’t easily tip over.
Will
I think the biggest factor is how you plan to get to your spot. If you plan on driving a vehicle onto the lake and only fishing in locations you can access with your vehicle any of the houses will be fine… If you plan on using a snowmobile or ATV to stay mobile there is no question that the flip over is the way to go.
Additional unsolicited advice if you are planning to go mobile with an ATV/snowmobile make sure that your gear is well packed so that it can handle a potentially bumpy ride… I use an auger cover, pack my sunflower heater in an old larger soft sided cooler to keep it from being damaged, an use an Otter Rod Box. Also make sure you’ve got a durable bait container that won’t tip over… Nothing worse than a 12 mile ride only to find out you bait is spilled all over in the sled – I use a small hard sided square cooler that won’t easily tip over.
Will
Will and Dave both speak the truth! Big water and longer distances make people heavy on the throttle. And by people I mean myself. 
I’ve ruined my fair share of gear up there, so keep those tips that Will mentioned in mind. There’s lots of rough ice just outside of Pine Island this year I’ve heard, though I know the resorts have been out shaving it down as best they can. If you plan on staying mobile in an ATV or Snowmobile, I’d just plan on taking those precautions.
Joel
x1000 on flip-over shacks, Otters are the house of choice up there because of the heavy duty sled.
Definitely spend the extra 5 minutes to pack your sled right if going for a long ride. It’s not uncommon for us to drive out 7+ miles to get to a spot and you’re normally not riding on a groomed snowmobile trail.
Make sure everything in that sled is packed in tight, give your sled a few shakes and if you see stuff moving around a lot, you can bet it’s going to find a new location/orientation in your sled in the long ride out.
Lastly, make sure your cover is on completely and tight! It’s amazing how much snow can end up in your sled if that cover isn’t on right.
This is all great stuff, thank you and keep it coming. This all helps for a better trip. Answers to some questions that came up:
-we are going mobile, getting out onto the lake on snowmobiles.
-I have my old clam 6800, but am considering all flip overs and or pop ups. I am not a “brand” guy, I go for features of the product, not the color or the name. So keep the advice on different products coming.
Again, thank you all for the input. I have fished LOW for quite a few years, but never in portables, so this will definitely put my equipment to the test.
Like I mentioned before, Otter has the more durable sled, I know a lot of Clam guys who switched to Otter after they started fishing LOTW frequently.
That said, if this is going to be a one time thing, or an infrequent occurrence, any flip-over will probably be just fine.
I’d recommend having a handheld GPS with you as well. A good friend of mine has been fishing LOW for 20 years and he got lost trying to ride back in a whiteout last year at -20, his GPS ran out of batteries. They had enough propane for a few hours of heat but it wouldn’t have lasted them the night.
Depending where you are fishing, if you get turned around you can drive for 10+ miles at a time without running into land…
Don’t mean to be all doom and gloom, but every year people get put in dangerous situations on LOTW, or any other large body of water.
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