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I encountered the same issue. The new X1 from Clam is designed specifically to go in the 5 ft bed of the newer trucks. Check them out. I sat in one recently and they’re pretty sweet.
They’re actually designed so that TWO of them will fit in the bed at the same time…. 
-Munchy
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This is just my opinion or thought proses on swivels with ice fishing. When using small presentations there is not enough side resistance on small jigs to hold them true and let the swivel do it’s job with line twist. And even with the inclines if you have a finesse tail on that is not centered you will get line twist as the jig falls. JMO
BINGO!!! 
-Munchy
Yes, these are designed to work with hand auger bits.
-Munchy
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You must be mistaken, according to the marcum bashers vexilar’s don’t break.
Try vexilar directly.
Unless, of course, someone hits them with a rock, whch was the original theory. 
Also, I’m pretty sure The Motor Clinic and Vexilar HQ are one and the same, so the original recommendation of The Motor Clinic is a good one.
-Munchy
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Yeah right. Fishing all day in a crowd of people for 16 4″ fish is not my idea of fun. I’d rather sit by myself on a brush pile and catch some nice fish and enjoy the day.
Yeah, just look at all those 4″ fish…. 
2012 NAIFC Championships Results
-Munchy
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Is this a 12v or 24v system?
40 volt.
-Munchy
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Munchy,
Sorry but I’m more of a hands on style teacher… I’d love to show you sometime though!
Not necessary. I don’t have the issue with my ION or StrikeMaster and I don’t need to do anything special. Just drill & pull the auger out when done. Thanks for the offer, though!
-Munchy
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Not if you know how to cut a hole.
Can you please enlighten us then? Thanks!
-Munchy
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swing your transducer in the hole. side imaging brought to you by Shane123
-Munchy
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I’ve been ice fishing with spinning reels for a long time, didn’t have any problems catching fish in the past and I don’t forsee any problems catching fish on them in the future. A simple small barrel swivel 2-3 ft. up from the lure doesn’t hurt a thing if your worried about line twist. I’m with you on this one Chris. I just don’t see the need
The issue with your solution here is your swivel adds weight in between. On the lightest finicky bites or up bites you will see nothing here. The fish will nibble or lightly inhale the tiny jig and spit it out and you will never see it cause you got a swivel in between your tight line and jig. Plus the swivel doesnt always do the greatest job of stopping line twist.
PRECISELY! 
Well said, F-A. Often times, the jigs we ice fish with are so light (realtively speaking) that hey can’t overcome the stiction in most swivels.
-Munchy
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As for the bands shown above. They look great but the reels end up shifting on the rod and IMO are uncomfortable.
Not so sure about that. Their on pretty tight and dont shift anymore then one taping their reel on tightly. One ay not like the feel of the wraps but feels just fine to me.
Yup. Exactly what Andy said.
-Munchy
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either the red line is gonna smash your jig or it isnt….. doesnt matter what brand you use.
True enough. As a matter of fact, that “red line” may even smash your jig if you’re not using a flasher at all.
-Munchy
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I did not need to adjust and re-adjust the power to make if function.
Can you please point out in the clip where he is adjusting the power?
You’re not mistaking adjusting the gain as adjusting the power, are you? In all but a few exceptions power is fixed on all flasher units. Adjusting the gain changes how the unit “hears” or receives signal, but has no affect whatsoever on the power of the outgoing signal.
So what separations did you arrive at for each unit when you ran the test?
-Munchy
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Have you seen the split shot test Tom Zinanko has made? Tells you to compare the Vex, Marcum and Humminbird with each other but during his test he never shows the Marcum or Humminbird in action. I have talked to Tom in the past. Great guy but I think this was just cheap advertising scheme.
You are more than welcome to run the test and report back the results. That was kinds the whole point of the clip. I’ve seen Tom do the test twice now in person, and what he says happens is exactly what happens. The whole point of the video is to give you all the information you need to run the test yourself and see the results with your own eyes. The reason he doesn’t even show the other 2 units in operation is becasue they would sue the pants off of Vexialr. It was risky enough even having the other 2 units in the clip.
-Munchy
One of the things I always look for at the show are the seminars done by some of the best and brightest in the industry. Getting to hear from folks like Dave Genz, Jason Mitchell, Jason Durham, Nate Zelinsky for only the price of admission?!?!?!? YES, PLEASE!!! 
-Rod
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Most Hex nymphs actually spend around 2 years in the lake bottom mud before they ascend to the surface and metamorphose into a dun. Then withn 24 hours or so, they metamorphose into the adult mayfly, that most of us see them as.
-Munchy
Thanks for the ID Rod!
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Chris,
That looks like a Wiggler (Mayfly Larvae)
X2 i catch a lot of late ice pannies that are stuffed with them
Well there you go!! A trout fisherman I am not. The mayfly larvea apparently are out in February!?! Geez is that a long wait until the July appearance on Rainy Lake.
Most Hex nymphs actually spend around 2 years in the lake bottom mud before they ascend to the surface and metamorphose into a dun. Then withn 24 hours or so, they metamorphose into the adult mayfly, that most of us see them as.
-Munchy
Any fly fisherman worth their salt knows that one. It’s the nymph stage of a Hex (Hexagenia) Mayfly. You can “Google it” for images. 
-Munchy
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If you want to run a poll on quality pop-up houses you’ll need to put Otter up as a choice.
I know Otter makes flipover houses, but wasn’t aware that they are making pop ups now too.
Do you have a link, James?
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What kind of power auger do you have that weights 15#
Modified Fish Trap Pro 45#
Nils auger (6″) 22#
Vexilar FL-22 Lithium Ion 10 amp batt. 5#
4 Thorne Bro. rods, 2#
Tackle 3#
Thermos of coffee 3#
Buddy heater and extra tank 6#
Mics. 5#
—–
Total 61#Being on the ice PRICELESS
Do you mean 91 pounds???
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I have been using my Fish Trap since before Otter even made fish houses.
My vote goes to the good old Genz fish trap.
I have to agree with you, Derek. My Fish Trap isn’t built like a tank, but it also doesn’t PULL like a tank. It’s small enough that it keeps me honest about what gear I bring with me. This keeps me form overloading it and makes it easier to pull even in snow. Often times all
I need are my flasher, 3 or 4 rods and a couple of jig boxes.
When I start using a mchine rather than walking out, since it weighs less than 50 pounds, I can actually carry my Fish Trap in a rack on one of my machines rather than towing it behind and damaging all my valuable gear that it holds. 
Speaking of weight, I’m sure they could have also built my Fish Trap from 4-gazillion denier canvass, but who wants to drag around all that extra fabric weight? Canvass is HEAVY!!! All I really need is a canvass heavy enough to keep the wind off of me when I’m inside.
I also like the fact that there are no poles to extend on my Fish Trap….just flip it over and I’m fishing. Extending the poles is an extra step that I just don’t want to have to deal with. I don’t care if you have the best pole system on the planet, eventualy they all bind or catch, and EVERY extendable pole system can be a hassle deploying in the wind. 
My Fish Trap is also small enough that I often don’t even need a heater to keep it comfortable. Now I’m not one of those that like to maintain shirt-sleeves temperatures in my shelter, mind you. Just warm enough to fish without gloves. If I get too toasty and comforatble, I’m likely to camp out rather than go out and hunt the fish I’m after. With its insulated cap, my fishtrap can maitain these type of temperatures solely form my body heat, on all but the most miserable of days.
Looks like things are headed the right way, Jim. LOVE the hat.
-Munchy
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They will inspect your sled/shack and you have to fish out in the open you cannot be inside a shack.
Actually you CAN fish inside a shack. It’s right in rule #1 on the website for those that are curious. No one is to be inside a shack until the 8:00 a.m. starting gun, but shacks are very welcome as long as they are a portable and not a hardside, permanent, wheelhouse….or whatever elso you’d like to call them.
Good thing, too. The South Dakota NAIFC event last year took place during a blizzard, so it was nice to be able to escape the elements in side a portable shack.
-Munchy
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Guys that walk out on Superior for lake trout carry small tee-pees with them. I imagine this would be an upgrade.
You bet they do.
Clam was going for several things with these tipi units.
First is that they are lightweight…even lighter than their previous hub houses…by as much as half. When I picked up a collapsed one in bag for the first time I was blown away. I honestly believe it weighs less than my Vexilar. I feel safe in saying that it’s probably the lightest shelter on the market. We’ve even heard of college kids keeping them in their dorms or apratment dewllers using them to walk from their apartment to a nearby metro lake for a day of fishing
Second is that these are MUCH easier to setup and tear down than the 5-hub houses. when it’s really windy out, it seem like it takes forever to get all 5 of the hubs popped out and up without getting blown away. With only 2 hubs to pop, setup is even faster making the wind even less of an issue. Also, for some reason, a lot of folks just can’t figure out how to get all 5 hubs collpased and get the shelter folded and back in the bag. On these 2-hub models, if you can close an umbrella, you can collapse and store this shelter.
Third is cost. The low price point of these shelters are great for folks just getting started. Or someone who is a bucket fisherman, but wants just a little something for a windbreak without breaking the bank.
I must also add that I was truly surprised at how roomy both of the 2-hub houses are. All that I had seen were photos, and they truly don’t do them justice. I was skeptical just like you, until I actually got to sit in one.
Now, obviously these don’t fith the style of fishing I do, but I know there are people out there looking for at least a couple of the advantages that these 2-hub shelters have to offer.
-Munchy
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Hi Rod,
I’m interested in why you can’t split the support between the shaft of the auger and the handle. This seems as though it would help minimize overall wear and tear on the handles of your auger??
I presume your are referencing the inability to lay a 4 stroke auger sideways on both handles due to the oil reservoir being positioned incorrectly during transportation. Still a Shaft + Handle hold seems as thought it would greatly reduce the strain on the handle versus the system in reference where it is only supported on the handle.
On the contrary of your experience I have had handle issues, and though not something that can be attributed to transporting via Auger Rack; It is something I’ve considering during the design phase of my personal equipment racks.
Oh, you could add some support for the shaft if you wanted to, but based on my experience it isn’t needed. In my current configuration there isn’t even really any room to support the shaft between the auger and the hood of my sled, save the 1 support at the far end of the shaft. I don’t know of any other “store bought” auger systems that do both…..they either do one (Digger/StrikeMaster mount) or the other (Mad Dog and similar mounts).
There’s quite a difference between the force a handle mount rack exerts on an auger handle, and the force encountered in the most common types of handle breaks. Your usual breakage results from a sudden stop at the end of a short period of acceleration…such as dropping the auger on its handle or sliding it out of the truck and the handle catching on something. F=M*A, right? The forces encountered in a handle-mount rack are more of a twisting, rotational or torque. Since the handle is secured in the bracket itself, there really is no acceleration followed by a sudden stop. Even in jack-rabbit starts and stops, the linear acceleration/deceleration of the sled is translated into torsional movements of the auger head. These torsional forces are no greater than the torque placed on the handles through the high-torque act of drilling holes through the ice….which is kinda what they’re designed to do. It would take 1 HECK of a stop to create a torsional force equal to the linear accel/decel required to break a handle. If that type of accel/decel were to occur, trust me, a broken auger handle would be the least of your worries.
-Munchy
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Supporting the auger by just one side of the handle is asking for trouble in my mind.
I’ve run mnine that way for about 4 years now without any hint of an issue…..Pack ice on Superior & The Apostles, Mille Lacs, Waubay, Okoboji and portages in Northeren Wisconsin and Minnesota, so it’s been through some rough territory. If you run a 4-stroke auger, it’s the ONLY way to carry the auger.
-Munchy
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The FL-22 only goes to 60 ft. I have the 20 and 12 and only purchased the 12 because when I fish deeper than 60 feet, I don’t use the zoom. On the great lakes, you pretty much need the whole water column anyway.
Good call. I totally forgot about the newest unit. The 22 is geared towards shallower water panfishermen, so anything over 60′ is overkill. All the rest of the vexilar units will go to 200′, however.
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vexs werent left out intentionally, just the one model I looked at didnt exceed 60 or 80 feet so it wouldnt work if I wanted to fish the cheq bay up north.
I’m pretty sure that ALL Vexilars will got to 200′ and there is even a deep water option specifically for places like Chequemagon Bay that goes to 300′. There are places where we fish for lakers in the Apostle Islands that only a 300′ range will allow you to see the bottom.
To my knowledge, Marcum does not offer any unit that goes deeper that 200′, except for the new LX7, maybe?
Not sure on the Hbird depth ranges, but you have obviously been VERY misinformed on the depth capabilities of the Vexilar.
You may want to closely re-examine the spec’s of all the units before you pull the trigger on one.
-Munchy
The Yukon was available in both standard and thermal (designated with “TC”) models last year. We won’t know what they have up their sleeves for the coming season for a couple months now, but I’d be very surprised if the Yukon isn’t available in both configurations again.
-Munchy
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BTW, it was packed full of dryer sheets, so I guess we can call than myth busted…
Just any old dryer sheets or was it Bounce dryer sheets. There is a BIG difference.
-Munchy
