https://www.facebook.com/timmy.cheney.5

I think I found him

As stated by previous guys, this is the Gen 1. I saw them at the Elk River Menards. These augers are pretty slow in my experience

Bearcat89 wrote:

The resort won’t camp 3 cots while being able to fish. The monster cabin will and the monster lodge will. The extra height is a must for me. I keep the resort for fishing more then 2 and camp in the monster lodge. I don’t know anything about the cabin

I agree. I have the pro resort and it would be hard to fish and camp more than 1 guy unless you have a double cot.

MX1825 wrote:

I have the Otter with the full door.
Love the full door because at my age and wearing a float suit the old knees don’t bend like they did 30 years ago.
I have an issue with mine where the roof support rods seem too long. You cannot keep them in the velcro straps. Emailed Otter twice about the issue but got no response.

I have a similar issue but only with the rod across the top. A little hard to get into place

The windows are attached with velcro. I have seen guys make screen windows that velcro on instead for warm days/nights. Seems like a pretty easy deal to make

I have the Pro Lodge hub. I friggin love it. It stuffs easily into the bag. Set up and tear down is a breeze. Gets super warm pretty quick. I did take it out the first time we hit 4inches of ice in the metro a couple of months ago. It drizzled that day. It did get soaked pretty bad and took a while to dry out. The thing is rock solid tho. Pro-tip: make sure the door is closed when you’re setting up and and anchor the 2 skirt grommets on either side of the door. Then you know you’re not too tight or too loose.

Hey B, why don’t you go practice fallin down, I’ll be there in a minute

I’ve always had great luck with Marcum. Had a couple minor issues with my M5 and they have always been johnny-on-the-spot. I haven’t called in tho, all web requests

Olight just came out with a UV/Flashlight 2in1 that I am going to test out to see how well it works with charging jigs. The UV light is 365nm and the led light goes up to 1000lumen, which is decent considering it’s a UV/LED combo. I’m hoping it works really well so I don’t have to carry 2 lights

dang that’s a monster fish. I think the front of my pants just got a little tighter

I will admit that I have had to put a warranty claim on my M5 but I had it shipped, fixed, and back in my hands in under a week. Pretty great service in my mind. I have used vexilars before and I like them as well. If it works, I’ll use it. Kinda like beer for me, the beer I drink is the cold kind

BAR wrote:

Both the same price. The features of the M5L fit my need more as out west I fish from 5 feet to 100. Not familiar with marcum really. Need a 3rd unit for hole hoping and when kids take my garmin and helix. Any insights would be great. I did a search but did not find anything recent with these models. Thanks.

I have the M5L and I love it. I just had it up on Lake of the Woods and it didn’t need to be charged for 2 full days of fishing. Great little unit and I like being able to zoom in on any portion of the water column as opposed to just the bottom 6 ft. The Superfine Mode is really nice too.

Damn you, you made me buy a Clam Ascent Parka. I already have the bibs so you made it worth it for me!

I was on Rice Lake of the Horseshoe Chain by Richmond. Solid 13 inches with 2 inches of frozen slush on top. Entire lake is open to trucks, saw one guy pulling a large castle with a 2500 with no issues. Access out of Tinnies is slick, I had to help a guy who lost traction going up and jackknifed his fishhouse. Luckily no injuries or damage. Crappies were curious but not very willing to bite no matter what you threw at them or what you did.

Aboxy17 wrote:

If I am not mistaken I think I saw a clam promo vid with a guy drilling a 10 in bit on a clam plate with the gearbox as a wheelhouse setup. I think Joe Holland on youtube also uses a 10 in Ion bit with a Cordless drill.

I’ll look into that! I have the clam plate so would need to add the gearbox to it for sure.

Has anyone tried a 10″ with a drill set up? If yes, what bit did you use? I am leary of trying it in fears of my drill burning up but I might try it if someone else has had good success

Big Pine near Perham has good ice. There’s a nice access off from Big Pine Lodge. They don’t charge to use the access either. Fairly good walleye lake

lrott2003 wrote:

I think very few ice innovations have matched the difference making between old and new like the lite flight. I run mine on dewalt drill. Thinking of going to dedicated auger next year so I don’t have to carry around a bunch of 5 amp batteries.

I have a Ridgid drill for my auger and a while ago they came out with 8ah batteries so I got them for the sole purpose of drilling holes. Best thing I have bought for ice fishing in a while!

Birch Lake (Sherburne Cty). Slush isn’t terrible off the launch but the frozen slush in that area is rough walking. Out in the middle most of the slush is frozen, didn’t venture with the kid much further. Lots of little sunnies, perch, and crappies. It was fun for the little one but not great for getting a meal

From the Outdoor News report

SAUK CENTRE AREA

Sunfish are going on the north end of Lake Osakis in 18 to 21 feet, east and west ends of Maple Lake in 9 to 13 feet, north end of Fairy Lake in 12 to 23 feet, and Lily Lake in 25 feet. You’ll find crappies on the north end of Sauk over 30 to 40 feet and Latimer Lake in 12 feet. Sauk is giving up a few walleyes in 16 to 21 feet during low-light periods. Get away from the crowds. The midlake humps, 18 to 21 feet, on Osakis are also kicking out walleyes. Lake conditions are good; there’s no slush and manageable snow. Trucks are being used, and roads are plowed on many lakes.

Fletcher’s Bait Shop (320) 352-2155

Joe Jarl wrote:

I recently picked up the same hub. Set up is a breeze. Packing it in the bag is a bit of a workout, but not a deal breaker. Definitely like the full door. I plan to go with the Otter light set up. Built-in dimmer will be nice. Those that use these lights in a hub, can you leave them strapped to the poles when you pack it up?

Still trying to figure out a couple rod holders. Thinking about trying the Catch Cover brand clamp on ones that could clamp to the leg of a chair. Any other rod holders I should be looking?

I know you can use the Clam Hub accessories in the Otters. There’s videos on Youtube on how to make them work for Otter hubs. I got the rod holder attachment but I haven’t set it up yet

I got the big striker case this year and am loving it so far

Brought my nephew for his first time fishing to Cedar in Minneapolis. He doesn’t live far and we had limited time other wise I would have taken him somewhere better! But Cedar, just off the paid parking lot where the fishing dock is, had only 5 inches

Hey man, I ran into the same issue with the one I had 2 seasons ago. What I did was email into Marcum. Let them know I had a vx1 that appeared to be having issues with the transducer. What they told me (this is just what they did for me) was if I sent in my head unit and transducer, they would give me a 30% discount on a brand new unit. This was because they no longer make that unit or that transducer. That being said, that’s what they did for ME. I’m a nobody to them so it’s worth a shot to at least see what they say. I ended up taking them up on that deal and got an M5 for 30% off on their website.
Hope they can help you the way they helped me!

I just bought the Otter Vortex Pro Lodge. I have yet to unbox it but I was surprised because I thought it was going to be heavier than it is. I was torn between the Otter and the Eskimo 450XD but I was sold on the Otter after learning the Eskimo has a stuff bag instead of a zipper bag. When talking to the Scheels guy he had feedback that resolidified my choice. He’s heard complaints from guys who have gotten the Eskimo and have had to deal with the bag

I don’t have a permanent but I saw a lot of guys this year using big Rubbermaid totes for generator covers. Looked like a great idea. Keeps the wind off your generator, snow out of it, and a little shelter that it self-warms. Guys did have a 4 inch hole in for exhaust

My dumbass bought the fenwick/pflueger combo from Cabelas. Reel didn’t work at all. Wouldn’t engage after putting in “freefall” the first time. Still need to return but worst $85 spent ever

Huntindave wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Joe Dirty wrote:</div>
That sucks man, I had a much different experience with Marcum this last year. I thought they were great. Sorry you had a bad time with them

Please tell us more. Which Marcum camera do you have and what was the issue?

It was actually for a flasher. I had an old vx-1 that had a transducer that was starting to go out. Marcum doesn’t make replacement ducers for that model anymore so they took the head unit and ducer from me. In return they gave me 35% off a new unit.

mojo wrote:

I contacted Marcum multiple times (it took many many emails and phone calls to finally get a response), they finally had me send it in under warranty and claimed to have fixed the compass, but it still only worked intermittently, oftentimes I had to do a re-calibration after moving from one hole to another. They do not give a $hit about customer service. Do some online research about Marcum customer service before buying their products. I wish I would have.

That sucks man, I had a much different experience with Marcum this last year. I thought they were great. Sorry you had a bad time with them

Nate Northup wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Steven Krapfl wrote:</div>
I was sitting in mine this weekend at Pleasant Creek in Palo and it worked just fine. Matter of fact, I think it’s still in the back of my truck.

Just moved back to WI this summer from several years in Iowa City! Never thought I’d say it but I sure miss Lake MacBride

Good ol Lake MacBride, got spot crowded real bad by a teenager a few years ago while fishing open water crappies from the bank. Gotta love when someone crosses your line, especially when they’re a stranger. Great fishing tho