I bought one a few years back from a guy on craigslist who told me it wouldn’t run. I bargained him down to $75 since it “didn’t work.” Turns out he never flushed the fuel line before it sat in the garage for a year. I ran some warm water through it when I got home, filled it back up and it’s started right up ever since. These things are great and easy to carry around. I highly recommend them.

Any suggestions on a place to go in the Metro that has the thickest ice? I really don’t care where, I just want to get out and do some fishing. I usually go to Prior but I’ve heard that it isn’t ready.

There are plenty of options out there, just depends on how much you want to spend. The first question is: do you have to watch the game in the fish house? If not, you can rent any shack that doesn’t have a TV and head to the local bar and watch the game, either in Isle, Garrison, etc. But, if you want to be able to fish and watch the game, you’ll have to spend a bit more, especially because you’ll be paying weekend rates. Look to places life Fishermen’s Wharf Ice Cabins or Appeldoorn’s 22 Hole cabin. All of these are a little spending with a few people but become much more affordable the more you have. If you’re only heading up with 6 people I would suggest a skid house through Appeldoorn’s. You could get a 6 man-8hole premier house that comes with a TV and generator to run it. Check with them first though to make sure they actually get service out there. You mentioned Hunter Winfield’s and yes, they have DirectTV to every wheelhouse. However, the small ice castle houses are much longer than they are wide you you guys might be tripping over each other a bit. Those houses are best for 3-4 guys.

So, the moral of the story is: the cheapest is obviously go to the bar and, being Packers fans I assume all of your group enjoys plenty of beer. But, if you want to fish too, get a set number of guys that are going and look for larger skid houses that are large enough for all of your guys and that have a generator provided to run a TV.

Hope this helps.

Space is not a problem. I’ve got a short bed Dodge Ram so anything I get can just sit in the back. Ultimately I’m looking for which style will survive the winter better and last the longest.

Thanks a ton for the information. I’m glad to hear that both outfitters are top notch. Now, if only December would roll around!

I had the same problem deciding when I got my first house. Initially I went cheap and bought a little buddy heater. It was the kind that screwed on top of the 16.4oz tank. I think it had a max BTU of 3,000. It was nice as long as the outside temperature was above 20. It probably kept the house about 25 degrees warmer than the outside temp. But on those cold nights it just didn’t do the trick. I also got really tired of buying the little tanks. Some places were asking up to $5 a piece for them. So I finally broke down and bought a big buddy heater and, I must say, it’s awesome. It zaps the 16.4 oz tanks so make sure to buy the hose to run to a 20lb tank. I bought a 12 foot quick attach hose from Fleet Farm for $20 bucks and it’s been a life saver. I keep the 20lb tank outside and run the house under the house. If you ever get a permanent you can just run it straight through a wall into the house as well. The 20lb tank costs me $15 to fill up and it lasts me over a month, even running it for 8-10 hours a day on the weekends. One of the best things about the big buddy is that it has 3 different settings (low, medium and high). Low is great on days where it’s 25-35 degrees and high makes you sweat no matter how cold it is. While it’s an expensive initial investment, it is totally worth it. It’s really nice to have the piece of mind when going fishing that you have plenty of propane and a heater that can handle any type of weather.