It was tough fishing April 11th, nice day, but crowded beyond crowded, boats pulling up right on top of you….my buddy and I asked if that was just the norm and culture on the river, because if I was on my home lakes, I would’ve kindly said something lbs…..first time ever fishing a river, and the current was ripping, we really had no idea what we were doing, but it was still a good day fishing.
I agree with Competitor, it’s a must if you tow with it, but by hand it’s not necessary. One year on red, my friends were towing there house without a cover, and there was standing water on the ice. Let’s just say we emptied 5 inches from the bottom of the sled every time we moved.
I’ve heard similar things on other posts and forums. I actually talked with the guy 3 or 4 years ago. Very nice house, but was out of my range when I was looking. Check out Ice Country fish houses he uses a galvanized frame and bolts on an aluminum structure. I’ve posted about this and plan on getting a shell from him. I’m still thinking about going all aluminum, and firebrand or blackbear fish houses would be on my list. I read somewhere that FIrebrand fish houses started after the designer left Yetti. Yetti was started from a aluminum dock company, which is how they transitioned to fish houses. From Firebrand, one of the guys left and started Blackbear. Other brands are Custom Cottage they’re similar to Elite in my opinion, if not better. He tig welds the entire house out of aluminum. Custom Cottages use a 2×6 for the main frame. Yetti uses a 3×4, Firebrand uses 2×6, Elite Premium uses 2×6, and Blackbear uses 2×8, yes, 2×8. Big Bite is another company that offers both aluminum or steel framed fish houses. Lastly, Ice Core just came out, and have one of the most advanced fish houses in terms of quality and engineering. My friend married one of the owners who started Ice Core, and they have a very different house from ANYTHING on the market. Check them out on youtube or else google search ice core fish houses. It’s def. a spendy house, but if that’s not a concern, give em a look. Down side is that they don’t make 8 ft wide models currently. I’m not sure unless I hit the lottery that I’d think about purchasing one, but they are super light and again, sort of space age trailers. Hope this is helpful.
how long is cork handle ?
I ordered a Frabill, it has two spools, which is another plus to add. I might have to try those Ticas next year. Pflueger hasn’t impressed me with the low end models. Just my opinion.
Thanks everyone, I’ll have to look into those Ticas, honestly haven’t heard of them.
Stevenhand, I did another post and was told otherwise by a few guys, I may have to give one a shot.
What did you end up going with IceNutz? I know this is old, but if you didn’t pull the trigger, check out Ice Country Fish Houses, He uses a galvanized steel frame, and uses a barrier fastening an all aluminum structure. You get the strength of steel in the frame, with a rust free frame for many years, plus the light weight structure out of aluminum. I think this is a great concept and the best of both worlds, so if you’re still in the market take a look. I don’t know too much about them but Black Bear FH are fairly new to the market making an all aluminum house. They actually use a 2×8 aluminum for the frame which seems overkill in a good way. Give them a look, plus Lodge and Big Bite have houses that seem high quality. Big Bite does a steel or aluminum frame which is nice. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Thx all, bneal, just not a fan of the President, I know guys love them, but my buddy had one, and the thing was terrible for me (as in the drag and bail wasn’t working well). I actually tried the Pflueger ice reel this year, and again, wasn’t impressed with the drag, especially for being a brand new reel. I would like to find one of these ice reels that have a wide spool for line twist and collapsible push button handle. The ice reel concepts are great in that they have these features, along with maybe a longer reel stem for gloves, but I can’t figure out why they always put a junk drag in them.
James, I may have to try one of those Okumas. I almost bought one last summer for the boat, different model just because they are so light (which is what I like).
Thanks for the replies so far. Would love to hear of someone who tried the Frabill Bros spinning reel.
DirtTrax has a lot of other videos on SxS’s on YouTube so take a look around it might help. One thing is, these guys don’t do a good job of reviewing people who’ve owned these and the thoughts over time, but they can talk about the features and things like that. CanAm is my vote, my bro has a MXZ 500 snowmobile and the thing has been bullet proof.
Vexilar FLx28 is my vote.
Likes: Light, easy to see, shows lure well, bottom zoom feature is much better IMO than the LX7 but it does suck you can’t adjust it to any part of the water column, durable, dependable, and I like the pro pack a lot more as it fits in a bucket adding protection.
Dislikes: As mentioned not as many zoom features.
I had the LX7
Likes: Big screen, different display options, and zoom features.
Dislikes: Heavy, hard to see in the sun despite brightness adjustment and different colored background options, couldn’t see my lure until it was 6 ft down below transducer (in shallow water it was worthless, even took it to MarCum and still didn’t see lure), lure mark was always hard to see no matter the depth and especially with a small spoon.
When I had my Lx7, I was very disappointed so I switched to the Vexilar Flx28, good luck on the fix.
I would try some of those deep holes, probably starting with the one in the middle of the lake off the point and little hump, if that’s a no go, try the north end of the lake in the deep hole. Haha, I hate playing this game sometimes, good luck.
kfactor,
do you think it’s a lube problem or is it just a poor drag?
Shamus,
I’m not sure I’m ready to pull the trigger after kfactor’s post. I just don’t understand why these companies can’t come out with a decent ice fishing reel with a good drag. It seems that most of the ice specific reels are junk with that drag all the way tight or all the way loose by one turn of the drag. Kind of disappointing.
King Dinger,
I am linked to Ice Country Fish Houses, and think you should take a look at them. They offer an incredibly nice house at a similar price point to Glacier. It’s a galvanized steel frame, and aluminum structure bolted to the frame with a barrier to stop galvanic corrosion. No rust on frame, and rot free structure. They also have an off road suspension, and incredible warranty. I’ve done a lot of research on houses, and I feel like they make the best house on the market, with Custom Cottages right next to them. Here is a link to their facebook page and website. Let me know if you want more information.
Good luck on your search for a nice house, Ice Castle has been known to lack on quality work, but Smokey Hills can do custom interior work so you end up with exactly what you want with great quality. The Glaciers are also really nice houses I got to fish out of one last winter and they have great craftsmanship inside. Elite Premium, Big Bite, and Lodge are some other brands that get overlooked. Again, hope you find what you’re looking for.
https://www.facebook.com/icecountryfishhouse/?ref=br_rs
http://www.ice-country.com/fish-houses
Thanks guys, I’m leaning towards that Abu I just need to check that drag first before I pull the trigger, but if it’s comparable to the sienna, ill have to switch some out
Thanks for the information, the guy at reeds told me the reel on the JM was smooth as butter haha, guess he had a different perspective. I really like the collapsible handle though because I’m in and out of my case a lot and when its cold screwing that knob can be a pain. It’s not the end of the world as I doubt I’ll get rid of my Shimanos but just a efficiency thing. Would you say the drag is comparable to the sienna? I know what you mean about those cheapo reels being all or nothing on the drag, but I feel like the siennas have a very smooth drag considering what’s out there on combo rods or vs an inline. Lastly, I’ll back you on the Pflueger ice reel, not impressed, I actually suggested it to a buddy of mine as I thought it would be their version of the sienna, but Ill take my siennas over that any day.
Thanks again for the reply I appreciate it.
I think I have 5 or 6 siennas and they have all been great reels to me. Hoping shimano quality control hasn’t gone to heck, I just posted about some other reels maybe I’ll be making a switch.
old tin of chew, but I also like the jig boxes with the foam
This is year one down on my Xi5 and like everyone else I love it.
Pros: Anchor Lock, minimal battery usage, quiet, and much faster turning speed compared to my powerdrive I formerly owned. I do like the wireless foot pedal because I bass fish a lot and need to keep my hands free, but wish it had a system more similar to a cable drive where the pedal teats back and forth and remains in that spot so you know what direction the motor is turned without looking at it.
Cons: I only would like a screen so I knew which way my trolling motor was pointed because sometimes I can’t see it in my little tiller if people are in front of me. Also would like to see a better heading lock it works really well at low speeds for me, but it’s not the greatest at high speeds. Lastly I wish there was a lock on the motor head. If you are fishing in some windy weather, the water will push your trolling motor and turn the unit making you adjust. I wish I could just point it strait and know that whatever direction it was pointed, it would remain locked until you turned the motor.
All in all it is an awesome TM. I do have to say that the new MinnKota Ultrex is the wave of the future. It pretty much has it all including an assisted electronic cable drive system, with gps and all the features that come with having the gps. Unfortunately, it’s got the price to match everything that it comes with, but if money is no object, I would suggest you taking a look. Apparently MinnKota has made some changes to their gps system for spot lock and it should be a lot more accurate.
They are really nice looking houses. Any complaints so far?
Yes you can use the remote and the pedal at the same time. It has a spot lock button on it as well. Easy to turn on and off. Hold down anchor lock til it beeps once and that’s on, hold down again and beeps twice to shut off. I’ve used mine since this spring and bass fish a lot and haven’t had to change the batteries out. I personally wish it was more sensitive or touchy when you push on the pedal to steer but that’s just me. Oh, right tab is prop on and off, speed adjust is on a circular dial, and lastly the gas pedal on off for the prop is the right tab on top corner. The speed adjustment on the pedal works so so when I try to adjust it but I have my pedal on the wood bench seat so it’s a little slippery. The speed of your trolling motor switches to whatever wireless device you’re using. For example, if i turn my trolling motor on with my remote and turn it to its top speed, shut it off, and turn it back on with the pedal, it will go the speed that the pedal was set to. Same goes with the remote. If it’s on high adjusted by the remote, and I turn the prop off, if I turn the prop back on with the remote again, it’ll resume to high again. Overall I’ve had no issues with mine, including the wireless not having range, but I do fish in a little 16′ lund so it’s never that far away from the trolling motor. Hope this is somewhat helpful in your decision on buying the pedal.
SOLD
Price drop to $375.00 plus S&H. I am still willing to meet an hour from Minneapolis.
Since you are all on the topic, I’m wondering if 14 guage is the right wire for a 24 v motorguide xi5 80 lb, I’m not sure I’m understanding the chart gizmo posted.
They had an early catch and release last season as well. I do think this is the 2nd or 3rd year tops of using that model for bass. I’m thankful as ever for it too!
I own mostly fenwick rods and really like what they have. You can get a great rod for 100 bucks with a lifetime warranty. I’ve fished other brands but imo fenwick is the best bang for your buck. 6’6″ M Moderate and a Fast should get you a good start. Both can be used in many different applications. Good luck
I sent a pm as well and haven’t gotten a response.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tonka wrote:</div>
BigWerm posted this last year on the Rainy River Conditions forum, should be helpful, good lookin BigWermI assume you meant the landings map? Here it is again for those interested:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zriHlHwdlJ7o.kZEtRC3AX7dU&ie=UTF&msa=0
Sorry guys, and yes BigWerm, I didn’t even post the link, whoops. Anyways, thanks for posting the link again for everyone, last year was my first year up there and that was a very useful tool.
dbright, do they make a 12′ PP? I don’t see them on their site unless I looked in the wrong spot.
BigWerm posted this last year on the Rainy River Conditions forum, should be helpful, good lookin BigWerm
