This may not sound very manly…. My wife turned me onto meditation. Turning on a meditation in the middle of night really helps put my mind back in the sleep zone. There are varying lengths, play around with different lengths to determine what works best.
I would say meditation is similar to white noise, but the words of the moderator makes you check-in with your body and relax more, IMO. This really helps me.
I’ve fished for many years out of both types of boats, there are pro and cons of each. IMO, if you’re going to get a console boat, you might as well get the full windshield. They take up nearly the same amount of room and the benefit of a full shield wind block is priceless. What’s the point of a counsel boat without a full windshield?
Comparison:
Full Windshield – I spent years on Mille Lacs with a full windshield boat. It is great for cold/windy days. Being able to tuck behind the windshield is invaluable on these days.
Tiller – Fishing machine! The amount of room you have for fishing is night and day compared to a full windshield or counsel. Boat control is everything for fishing walleyes, tillers are top notch here. Cold/windy days can be brutal in a tiller, but the fishabilty makes up for it.
I switched from a full windshield to a tiller about 10 years ago and I’ll never look back. Good luck on your search!
I’m prepared to spend $700-1000. I would order one online but I’d prefer a Lund branded chair. Also if I order online I’m not sure if I need to purchase the base or if it will fit on my current base?
I’ve left messages at a couple Lund dealerships but haven’t heard back. I’m hoping for some sort of catalog of different styles/colors to choose from. So far, no luck…
My first question for you would be simple, what’s your age?
If you’re young or not nearing retirement, I don’t believe you need a financial advisor. If your income is significant, a good CPA is more beneficial. There are many low-cost diversified portfolios available at large brokerage firms. Some basic knowledge of taxable vs tax-deferred brokerage accounts is easily obtained online. Decide what is right for you and your financial situation.
If you’re nearing retirement or expecting a significant financial windfall, a financial advisor can be very beneficial. As mentioned earlier, do your homework. https://brokercheck.finra.org/ I’d personally choose an advisor licensed and backed by a large, well-known, financial organization for reputation and security purposes. As with most things, you get what you pay for.
This is only my opinion.
Recently purchased a seasonal spot in the Wabasha area. Appreciate all the reports. I mostly fished pool 3 and St. Croix River area, sounds like the pleasure boats are about the same. Wake up early and get off early.
Sounds like most people are using cranks, crawlers, or leeches. How about minnows (fatheads)? Fatties are usually my go-to when fishing the river to the north.
My wife and I are right on the edge to receive the full amount. We really don’t need it as we are both salary, still working, no kids, and we’ve always been frugal with our funds. Who knows what the coming months will bring, hopefully we both still have jobs. I feel for the people living paycheck to paycheck, they need it most. I remember those days and can’t imagine what they are feeling right now.
Although I would love to spend it on toys, my wife and I have already started cutting back on non-necessities and shopping at cheaper grocery stores given the uncertain times. Now is a great time to re-assess your monthly expenses.
We’ll most likely throw it in savings or invest it until we need it.
It’s been mentioned already but this seems like your best bet. It’s priced right, cheaper and more practical fuel source you can get at most gas stations. Great for frying brats, burgers, fish, etc.
I have used this in the duck blind, deer stand, turkey hunting, fishing trips, etc. I also have used a Jetboil for BWCA trips. Those work great for backpacking type trips but fuel is harder to come by.
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We are still collecting sap and cooking in the north metro. Been a very good season so far. Will be approaching 10 gallons of sap made by the end of the day. New evaporator is doing well with evaporating up to 10 gallons of sap a hour. Thinking we should still have a couple more weeks to go.
We had a great year for sap. It’s still flowing but we have plenty for gifts and for ourselves. And frankly, I get sick of collecting/boiling after a while.
Sugar content seemed very high this year. We had 6 taps in 3 trees.
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Just picked up our 2021 Limited Edition Ice Castle yesterday. It’s very basic house, $15k brand new. Tough to find a used one cheaper. I looked at used houses for a while, depending on how many bells and whistles you want, it made much more sense for us to go brand new.
Outdoorsman
Can I ask where you picked it up at, I’m in the market now or soon.
Thanks
I ordered mine from Milaca. As I mentioned earlier, we stripped expensive items like the AC (window AC worked fine in my last shack and I wanted NOTHING on the roof), we went with standard grey paneling instead of full cedar.
Just picked up our 2021 Limited Edition Ice Castle yesterday. It’s very basic house, $15k brand new. Tough to find a used one cheaper. I looked at used houses for a while, depending on how many bells and whistles you want, it made much more sense for us to go brand new.
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If you choose to continue to fish above the confluence,I hope you have the same experience that I had,30+ years ago.I was fishing the Mississippi,above the confluence,under the same pretext that you are claiming.A Mn co approached my boat and informed me that I was in fact,fishing on inland waters.I apologized and expressed my confusion as to the specifics of the regs and he told me to wind in my line and retreat to the confluence.He cautioned me that he’d better not see me fishing above the confluence again and let me go.
It’s really not that hard to understand if you simply remember this,if you are on the Mississippi river and the state of Minnesota is on both sides of the river,you are on inland waters.If you are on the Mississippi river and Wisconsin is on one side and Minnesota on the other,you are on border waters.
The regulations are pretty clear. Wonder why he didn’t ticket you? If I were ticketed below Hwy 10, I’d plead not guilty. I can almost guarantee you it would be dismissed.
I do plan on fishing above the confluence in a week or two. No where in the regulations is confluence mentioned in relation to this area. Downstream of Hwy 10 in Prescott, Wisconsin is pretty clear. I’ll let you know the outcome if I’m ticketed.
Downstream of Hwy 10 is the St Croix. Fishable all year.
Once a person goes past the confluence on the Mississippi, it’s inland waters and closed at this time.
Huh? Now I’m really confused? Once you’re downstream from Hwy 10, past the confluence, you’re clearly on a border water between the specified train tracks. Also fishable all year. Upstream on the Mississippi is closed
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Mr.Beads wrote:</div>
It’s open downstream of hwy 10 at the Croix and RR tracks in Hastings? That’s my interpretation.NO
I’m with Mr. Beads on this one. I’m not sure if the language changed but we’ve fished north of the confluence to the railroad tracks many times. I don’t recall the reference to highway 10 bridge, is this new? Thought it only used to reference the railroad bridge in Prescott.
Key word here is and
“Mississippi River (downstream of the Highway 10 bridge in Prescott, Wisconsin and all waters between the Burlington Northern [Wisconsin] and Canadian Pacific”
The way I read the regs, you can fish downstream of hwy 10. It’s right there in plain English… What am I missing?
Duplicate post
That’s a great deal if it had insulated floor and spray foam walls. Those add on’s are expensive.
I did add the spray floor for $400, so it was $15,300 total. We skipped many amenities that add cost and weight. Non-RV model, no AC (window AC worked fine in my Sport Angler), paneling instead of cedar/pine interior, no TV hookups (nothing on the roof, hopefully never have to worry about leaks).
I have wanted a wheel house for years. The itch has been real bad after 2 different weekend rentals this winter. In looking through craigslist and dealers websites, I have noticed a few things. Unless you come across a rare deal, there is not much incentive to buy used than new. Even dealerships do not seem to have a lot of used units available. Does that mean they hold their value or is it just the fish house market? Dealers still seem to sell a lot of new units so does that mean there are that many more consumers entering the market?
They do seem to hold there value well. Given the explosion in popularity, it wouldn’t shock me to see a significant drop in value in a few years when the market is flooded. I bought two used Ice Castles and ordered one new one. I’m glad my wife and I tried the cheaper used models prior to buying new. We figured out what we wanted/needed.
When we bought a used Ice Castle last spring and the deals seemed better. That shack was rear-ended three weeks ago. When I was looking for a replacement I noticed there were plenty for sale but not much for deals. They will eventually come down in price, some have been for sale for a long time.
…if you were smart enough to buy one with full bath…
I’ve been camping my entire life, bathtub = storage. Never once has my family used the tub in our camper. And we only started using the toilet a few years ago (#1 only). We use a bucket, now a composting toilet, in the winter ice house.
Most summer campgrounds have restroom and shower available… Does no one remember using a tent? How do people even camp in tents?
You got a new custom 8′ X 16’/17′ house for less than 14-15K? Cause that’s the going rate for almost brand new.
I ordered a 2021, 8 x 16 for $14,900. Granted it’s more like $16k after tax, title and license. I saw many used (2015 – 2019) houses on CL and FB for more, which you still have to pay tax.
I purchased three Ice Castles over the last few years. One I bought used in November, terrible time to buy and I paid to much. It was a cheaper Ice Castle Scout to see if we’d like it.
The second house I bought used last spring, got a great deal. The house was totaled after being rear-ended a couple weeks ago and I received about 20% more than what I paid for it, after I used it for one year (summer and winter).
The third house I just ordered from a dealer and I feel I got a really good deal. My wife and I wanted a simple 8 x 16/17 model without the bells and whistles (AC, sink, etc.). Plus it will weight much less.
I’ve been looking since early November because I wanted to upgrade from our 6.5 x 14 Sport Angler prior to being rear-ended. I feel people are asking WAY to much for used fish houses. We got a new “custom” house for less than what most are asking for 3-5yr old houses.
Check dealers inventory online, there are some good deals out there.
I always have mine on manual depth. It helps reduce any bottom bouncing and lets me have the screen set up the way I want. Also if you hit the “check” button (It think that’s the right button) it will cycle through all the IR settings, in case you hadn’t tried that yet.
Thanks for the tips, I’ll give those a shot this weekend!
Hope the system works better than last year… I haven’t attempted to login yet, trying to get my wife on board with the trip I have planned.
Are you on auto depth or manual? If you are in 47ft. of water try setting your manual depth at 50 to 52 feet. Which cone angle did you have selected? Try changing cone angles but make sure Chirp is off when selecting different cone angles then rotate through your Chirp settings to see which one works the best.
I was on auto depth. I will try manual this weekend. I did try different cone angles but I believe my Chirp was on when selecting different cone angles. Didn’t know you should have Chirp off when selecting cone angles.
I should note, I have a Helix ICE 5 as well and for whatever reason this unit performed much better (interference wise) than the 7.
I think the concern is that many wheelhouse fisherman are not as consciousness about the health of a fishery as you are. Certainly there are some good fisherman with wheelhouses but its clear to me that the rise in wheelhouses has brought out people that don’t respect the outdoors or the rules in place to maintain stability.
Individuals not respecting the outdoors or abiding by the rules has been a problem long before wheelhouses. I remember seeing tons of trash left by portable houses and plenty of over limit cases. If anything, many wheelhouses are filled with families just teaching their kids to fish and hopefully teaching them to respect our natural resources.
Overall I think it’s great for the sport, it’s great for families, and it’s great for getting everyone (including newbies and kids) into the outdoors. However, I do believe the DNR will need to put more restrictions on winter harvest.
Living near the St. Croix a common summer activity is for boaters to moor up and overnight on the sand islands. I doubt there is an extra fee based on the size and amenities of your boat. Maybe I’m wrong…
This has been my thought exactly. Are they going to start charging fees for all the houseboats anchored on the river for weeks on end?
This is only my 2nd full year with a wheelhouse and I absolutely love it. I was a hard core portable guy, fishing nearly every weekend with an occasional trip to LOTW in sleeper shacks.
My first thought is most new wheelhouse owners are not hardcore fishermen like some of us, maybe I’m wrong. Many simply throw rattle reals down and begin drinking, playing cards, poker, etc.
For me, as a devoted fisherman for decades, the transition to my wheelhouse has changed my strategy when it comes to keeping fish. When portable fishing, I would head out early am shooting for my limit of crappies or walleyes to bring home and freeze. In a wheelhouse, I’m extremely picky about the fish I decide to keep, I rarely keep a limit and usually just keep enough for a meal or two out on the ice. It’s much more satisfying. I have yet to freeze a bag of fish since purchasing my wheelhouse.
I can’t believe the amount of people who finance recreational toys. I personally have never and would never finance a toy (or want). It’s not a question of if the economy will take a turn, but when. When this happens, these financed toys will take a huge hit in value on an already depreciating asset. From my understanding, only credit unions will finance wheelhouses, not sure this is still the case? But the financial institutions financing these recreational toys is a HUGE financial windfall for the industry.
Our house sticks to financing needs; home (to live) and vehicle (to get to work). Ice Castle, fishing boat, duck hunting boat – all paid for in cash.
On that note – check out the stock market this morning… 
Putting myself in the sellers shoes, I’d be annoyed also. Should I have disclosed the issues when you first asked, yes.
I sell all my used vehicles to private parties on Craigslist or Facebook. Sold two within the last 2 years. One leaked tranny fluid, the other was is decent condition with 230,000 miles.
I personally didn’t disclose the tranny leak in my post, why would I? I would have immediately turned most away. If someone asked if there were issues, I’d tell them. I had the leak checked out by my mechanic, he said it’s a slow leak which doesn’t need to be fixed immediately but should eventually. When people asked about the condition or came to look at the car I disclosed the leak and repeated what my mechanic said. Two different groups came to look at it, both had it checked out by “their” mechanic and the second purchased the car. I had priced the tranny leak into my listing.
Anyways, both vehicles sold quickly. The buyer took the vehicle for a test drive and had the mechanic check it out at the same time. This was very helpful and reduced a lot of back and forth.
LOW was very slow for us. We fished two full days off Pine Island in about 32ft. Kept maybe 10 walleyes/suagers for 4 of us (two women who didn’t fish much). Biggest eye was 20″ I did lose a big one half way up.
Overall it was VERY SLOW! I heard the same from a few different groups. Good luck!
Thanks everyone for the reviews.
I have heard the interference issues before. I was hoping the Helix 5 Gen 2 fixed this issue. I’m still confused why there is a G3 Helix ICE 7 and only a G2 Helix ICE 5?
I was planning on purchasing the Helix ICE 5 G2 but I’m still concerned about the interference as the finder will mostly be used around other Marcum’s. The dilemma continues…
Lots of folks up here run them in Manitoba. Good units. Can be battery monsters though. An amped outdoors battery will take care of that. Of all the batteries I’ve imported into Canada, 90 plus percent were for helix owners.
Do they suck battery because the GPS is always on? Is there an option to turn the GPS off?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
As much as I love fishing the south end early ice, the bite was really tough last weekend.If I may, allow me to comment on that.
I’ve ice fished the lake for a good many years and the reality is that no matter when and where you fish, the results will vary a lot.
I’ve found that it is usually hit or miss with more misses than hits. Don’t be fooled by the reports of fast action, 20, 30, 40 walleyes a day ice fishing. You hear that from the one or two that hit it right, meanwhile there’s another 50 folks that were lucky to get a couple in 2 days. That’s the normal and I believe it commonly gets over-hyped by those that hit it at the right time and place and that’s what we want to hear and then set unrealistic expectations.
I’ve spent days out there on mud flats and offshore reefs and caught 1 or 2 walleye.
Another time I went with a portable at dusk close to shore and caught a dozen in less than an hour.
Some fish will stay shallow while every angler drives past them miles out to the flats.
BTW, you may feel you had a really tough bite last weekend but that 26″ walleye would make the trip successful and during the day! Just gotta keep expectations relative.
Mille Lacs is notorious for a horrible winter bite when compared with the summer bite. I don’t care who you are, the ice bite never lives up to the open water bite. This is good thing with all the wheelhouses I see on the lake these days.
I’ve been fishing Mille Lacs for 20+ years, a good day on the ice is anything more than a few walleyes. This would be a terrible day on the open water. Do some do better than others? Do some work harder than others? Of course. But the ice bite has been this way for many years. Good luck!
Cousins played well. Good to see him keeping his cool in big games this year. Kept them in it and put 30 up against Seattle. Defense is a much bigger problem. I didn’t see the final tally but we must’ve given up over 200 yds rushing. Inexcusable.
Also, not a fan of that 4th down play on the last drive.
The offense only put up 23 given the pick 6 by the defense. And Cousins had a 40 QBR, I don’t consider this “playing well.”
Cousins will never be worth the money we paid for him. He simply can’t win the big game. 0-8 on Monday nights. Losses to the Bear and Packers this season, both BIG divisional games.
