Fishnwire

Assuming I'm going for smallies at my camp... Zara Spook Jr in bone white. Bomber 4A (or similar plug) in crawfish pattern. Soft Plastic...lots of it. Plus a bunch of rigging options. Add to that some kind of stick-shaped crank for twitching/jerking and I'm all set. That said, I never get in the boat without about a million other options.

Thank YOU...I'm always happy to hear someone actually enjoyed my ramblings. You got that right, brother. This guy has lived his whole life, as his Father and Grandfather before him, right there. His intuition on the river's mood and likely short-term conditions is rarely off. Also he has the equipment and know-how to "get 'er done", when unexpected problems arise. I'd never have considered building such a monstrosity if I couldn't count on him...which I always can. Add to that he's one of my favorite people I know, that his wife is awesome and treats me great, and that his daughters have stolen my heart...and you can see why I enjoy spending time there.

Well the season was a little short...but everything (except maybe the fishing) worked out great. I arrived at the shack on Wednesday, having to take a snowmachine over the 6 inches of snow covering 4 inches of slush, to find that my insulated plank-blocks had done their job again and my runners were a couple inches above the slop. Normally I take them out when I'm fishing but I left them in for the night. It rained HARD all night long and I awoke to see no snow on the ice remaining. That day it was cold and by the next morning things had hardened up nicely. I brought the snowmachine back to the landing and took my jeep out. I jacked the shack up and with a couple of blows from the broad-side of an axe my plank-blocks were free and the shack was on the ice. Later that day my chum (who owns the marina) showed up and informed me I'd better start packing up. He figured the next day (Saturday) would have to be the day top get it off the ice. With a ton of melt-water on the way he anticipated the shore would start to break up and and there would be a lot of water as the level of the river rises and the ice starts breaking away from the shore. I thought maybe he was jumping the gun a bit...but I needed his help (and permission) to get it up on his property so I let him make the call. I towed the shack to the shore of his beach-house and then used my push-bar on the front to nudge it right up to the shoreline. Then I drove my Jeep up on his lawn, pointing my winch at a big pine right near where we wanted the shack to rest. Using a pulley strapped to the pine I ran my winch cable up to the pulley and back down to the shack. Then we pulled 'er up. I had to shovel a bit of snow that built up in the front a couple of times, and I used a roller at one point when the snow was particularly deep, but we got it where we wanted, with no real problems. I'm going back next weekend to clean out the shack and, assuming the snow is gone, level it off. I want it a good foot from the ground in case there's a lot of snow early next winter before I can get it back out on the ice. It's a good thing I let my buddy talk me into moving the shack Saturday afternoon, because by Sunday evening there was about a foot of water right at the exact spot we pulled it up. There's double digit temperatures on the way, so it wouldn't have gotten any better. I suppose all that's left to say is, "Can't wait 'till next year!"

Perhaps a bit of a test. The last 24 hours saw a near foot of snow fall on Sudbury. It's supposed to get cold the next couple of days and then go to around 6 above. I'm in the middle of a seven day stretch at the mine, so I hadn't planned on getting to the shack until Wednesday or Thursday. I'm thinking about taking some days off I have owed and try to get there on Monday. My buddy (with the plow) is vacationing and won't be around until Wednesday. I won't know if the Jeep will make it there until it does or it doesn't. I might have to take the snow-machines there, (I don't think the quad will be any better in the slop than the Rubi) and I've yet to attempt towing the shack with one. There's a good chance of slush coming up with all this snow. And I'm not sure how the snow will drift around the shack, or the river. It's blocked up, but only about 4 inches (2x8's on foamboard). I've spoken with my vacationing buddy and he says not to worry...his shack is 50 yards from mine and he's confident neither are in any peril. His shack is little more than a drafty windbreak with a tin-can stove and ceiling...so he has less to worry about than I. I promised I'd share any problems I encountered, and despite my friend's assurances, I'm pessimistic that I may be rapidly encountering one. The next few days look full of crazy weather, so I might have some adventures with that big pig. Pics to come.

Good one. Seriously though...that's awesome for Dave. He used to be a bit more rotund than the average "professional athlete".

That's a four month old Jack Russel pup. She belongs to one of the campers on the river that was fishing near by. She seemed to really appreciate the shack.

This may be none of my business...but is there something wrong with the "Caps Lock" button on your keyboard? Virtual shouting aside...if you count things like the generator, power-box, cook-stove, and the tilt-and-load fee, I'm in somewhere around three grand. I should have it for years though and planned on spending (almost) that much from the beginning, so I'm OK with it. The wife hasn't voiced any objections either, so I'm all good.

Well, I spent most of the last two weeks at the hut. The fishing wasn't fantastic, but the experience was exactly that. I put the stove in and installed the metal on the roof...I have plans for another shelf or two, but I'm comfortable saying the shack is finished. I've even got a perfect spot picked out on the shore of my buddy's place where I will summer the shack, so I'm all set. I guess the first thing I'll mention is that I'm really happy with the insulated planks I made to use to block up the shack. They are just 10 foot pressure treated 2x8s with high density foam board glued to the bottoms. I had hoped by placing the insulated side (which doesn't conduct heat) down it would idiot the rate at which they freeze into the ice. It seems to work pretty well. I just jack up one side of the shack at a time, slide in a plank, and lower it down. I left the shack like that for about five days and when I returned I was able to break the seal between them and the ice (once I jacked the shack up of course) by just kicking them with my boot. The first time I stayed in the shack the wood stove was not installed, so I was heating with propane. The first thing we did this time was get it into place. My neighbour built me a collar for the stove pipe out of ducting steel, and I filled it with that fireproof "Rockwool" insulation. I put the stove where I wanted it, measured where the stove pipe hole would need to be and marked it. Then I pulled the stove out of the way, marked where the collar would go and cut out the ceiling panel. Then I cut out the insulation in the ceiling. I cut the hole in the roof about 3/4 inch smaller than the collar and ceiling hole so that I'd have something to screw the collar to. I remember thinking, "Holy crap...I just cut a huge hole in my perfectly good roof!" Then we put the collar in, and with the Old Man pushing up on in from the inside, I got on the roof and put screws down into it, pulling it up into place. Then the stove pipe...also I re-hung the heat shield which I had to take down because it was in the way of the sabre saw. Then we put a piece of 1/2 thick cement tile board in the space where the roof was removed, to bring up that space to the level of the rest of the roof. Finally I put the snow-cap on. And we were ready to have our first fire in the shack... I kept the fire fairly low for a while, only putting one or two small pieces of wood at a time in, and I kept checking the collar, heat shield, and wood around them. Everything was staying cool, and even though it was already too hot in the shack, I loaded the stove right up. It didn't take long for the temperature in the shack to get ridiculous...quite literally "like a sauna". I noticed though that with the stove rockin' out loud like that, the collar and paneling beside the heat shield started getting alarmingly hot. The thing is, there's absolutely no need to have that big a fire anyway. Even with the shack around 30 degrees C the collar and paneling stay cool. If I ever got the stove glowing red though...I'd probably burn the shack down. The other problem with the stove is that the top doesn't really get hot enough to cook on. If you leave a pot or kettle of water on there, it will eventually boil...but it took me about twenty minutes to make a grilled cheese sandwich, and I had to resort to putting the pan right in the stove for the last minute or so to get the bread to brown. My Father-in-law tried cooking bacon on it one morning. It made the shack smell great, but even after about a half hour, the bacon was far from crispy. The next time I went to town I picked up a two-burner propane stove that gets so hot it boils ice-cold water in about three minutes. I'm real happy with it. The first thing I did when I got back to the shack after that supply run was remove the (now cool) stove pipe so I could put the metal for the roof on. We were lucky to get a good day for it...sunny and not too much wind. It went well. I've got just the amount of overhang I want and with the addition of some high-temp silicon around the hole for the stove pipe, is water-tight. So here is the shack in its completed glory!!! Here's the inside...it's pretty messy. In case you're wondering, "Are those your pants on the bunk behind your laptop?"...the answer is, "Yes. Yes they are." I like ice fishing in my socks and underwear. The leather chair is the best seat in the house, and it is offered to whomever is the guest of honour. As I mentioned, the fishing has not been great. I caught (and released) around a dozen pike in the 1-4 lb range, a bunch of little crappie and perch, and this one pike that was worth taking a pic of. I also caught one really nice crappie that I had my Father-in-law take a picture of me with, but the photo is beyond terrible. I even told him to take three...and they are all out of focus and off-frame. He cannot seem to take a good picture even with it set to auto. How is that possible? Well I guess that's the end of my "Ice Hut Build" thread. Thanks to everyone who offered up advice or lent a hand, and thanks for checking out the thread.

As soon as my vacation is over, I'll have time for an update... I've spent seven of the last eight nights there. I'm at home tonight but will be back on the ice tomorrow and plan on spending four nights in a row. The shack is awesome but the fishing has been somewhat poor. I'll post some pics and submit a decent update in a week or so.

I really should be in bed. Getting off working a night-shift rotation gave be a pain. I tried to stay up all day. I did some running around and got ready for tomorrow...but shortly after I came home at around 2pm and started sitting around I felt like taking a nap. Seven hours later I woke up, and now (2am) I'm not particularly tired...like I will be in 5 hours when my alarm goes off. Tomorrow is another big day. The roofing steel, a bunch of firewood, and the stove are strapped on my trailer and the Jeep and truck are loaded. I hope to be at the shack by 10am or so (still gotta pick up bait and propane, get the trailer at my Father-in-law's, then drive for over an hour) and we'll start on the stove/stove pipe installation. Depending on how long that takes (and the wind) we'll bang off the metal for the roof later that day or early the next. I have a couple little things to do on the inside, a light to install on the outside, and my reflectors to put up...and then I'm pretty much done. I'm planning on taking it down river to a spot I know (I hope) will be more productive. Even if the fishing is poor, at least I'll be comfy while not catching fish. Pics to come. OK...I'm gonna force myself to go to sleep now.

Kick it in the ass.

I have no problem seeing that if I'm asleep in my shack, any lines I have outside are "unattended" and therefore illegal. What about a line in the shack that has some sort of sounding device (bells, a buzzer, a rattle) attached to it? Could I take a nap in my shack and (legally) have a line in there if it's likely I'll be woken up by a strike? I guess another question would be...just how "sporting" is it to fish while unconscious? I rarely keep fish and almost never one that isn't badly wounded. The only reason I'd be interested in having a line while I sleep is out of curiosity. If it's flat-out illegal...than that answers any questions about how "sporting" it is. If it isn't in contravention of any rules or regulations, it's something I can see wanting to try. I would be cool to be woken up at around 2 am and not be able to get back to sleep for hours because the bite is on. The next night I'd set the alarm clock to wake me up around 1:50, and hope to repeat.

That's not "pretty cool"...that's super cool. Wolverine skull...cool. Abandoned bald eagle nest...cool. Canoe trip in NWT...cool. Everything you just said, is way cool.

Yes. That's the kind I have. They are a little harder to find than 120V units, but available at Lowe's or wherever.

I mentioned this in my ice hut build thread, but I think it's worth repeating. I spent the night in my shack using a propane heater because the wood stove isn't installed yet. The day I was going there I was a Lowe's and noticed CO detectors on sale and figured it was a good idea, so I picked one up. I had two windows cracked open and figured I'd be fine, but sure enough, in the middle of the night, the CO detector went off. I aired the place out with the door and both windows fully open, and then turned down the heater and left the windows open more than they were before. After that I was OK. The CO detector goes off before dangerous levels are reached, but there's a decent chance they'd continue to rise while I slept and maybe I never would have woken up. If I did wake up...it probably would have been with a heck of a headache. Most of you are reading this and thinking something along the lines of, "Well, duh", but I still just want to say that if you're going to spend the night (or pass out in the afternoon) in a propane heated shack...please, please, PLEASE have a CO detector. By the way, the CO detector (along with a smoke detector) will remain after the wood stove is installed. All fossil fuel combustion gives off CO. Safe shackin'!

I saw a show about a biologist who had been studying wolverines for something like 15 years and he said that in that time, other than trapped or dead animals, he'd only seen one in the wild three times. Even if they are around, it's unlikely you'd see one.

There have been times I've gone to my camp by myself for 4 or 5 days in a row and never spoken to or seen another human being the whole time. It's nice to be able to do that but eventually I get lonely and the sound of an approaching quad is something I long for. Without talk radio on Sirius satellite I'd go nuts.

The "ad no longer exists"...was it a Snowpro from Maine?

It's pressure treated, will only get wet from one side, and once I have the wood stove going it will dry out a lot faster than now with a propane heater usually on it's lowest setting. I might paint it this summer when I re-stain the outside walls. It's something to think about, so I'll do that. Thanks.

Thanks Bob. I wanted to put your reflective decals up, but it was raining a little and the shack was wet. Maybe I'll try to find some metal backings for them like you suggested.

The tilt-and-load guy said I was about 6 inches away from being over-height. I will admit only now that when I designed the shack I never thought to check what the maximum was...I'd have been totally screwed if I was over, with nothing short of complete disassemble being the only way to get it down. I looked into it about a month ago, so I knew I was OK...but even back then I had the walls up and roof on, and would have been in a bad spot.

My Father-in-law is my best friend. I guess that's kind of weird. All I know is that seeing him happy makes me happy.

That Jeep was for sale and I looked at it around the time I bought mine. Ask your buddy if the previous owner told him that he rolled it...because he did. Do you work on Maley Drive? I see it parked there sometimes.

Well...I did it. The shack is on the ice, I fished from it and spent the night. Pretty much everything went really well. The day started off not so great...I jumped in the loaded Jeep and headed down the street to pick up bait before heading to my Father-in-law's to meet the tilt-and-load guy. Part way there I heard a funny, "tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk" and then it stopped. When I hopped out at the bait shop I heard a hissing, felt around on my tire and discovered a puncture. I immediately jumped back in and flew the two blocks home while I still could. My spare was at my Dad's and he couldn't bring it to me, so I put a plug in, pumped it up and threw soapy water on it...no bubbles, good to go. Whew! I figured if that was the worse thing that happened to me that day, I'd be golden. I got to my Father-in-law's just before 10 am, the time when the tilt-and-load guy was expected. I was worried about the long trip on a freshly plugged tire, so I sent my Father-in-law to my Dad's place to pick up the spare, and I waited for the tilt-and-load. I found myself feeling somewhat nervous, and had to drink a beer to calm myself down. When the tow-guy got there, he and his partner looked the thing over and said it shouldn't be a problem. He asked about the weight, and all I said was, "A lot lighter than most cars you've had up there." Then they went to work. I've never posted a video...I hope it works. You have to click on it I think. If you didn't catch it, after the kid shoves the shack so it's square on the deck, he says "It's pretty light!" or something like that. The actual loading went great. They chained and strapped it down and we were on our way. I followed behind until we got near the turnoff and then I passed and he followed me the rest of the way. He told me he had the peddle flat down and we rarely went faster than 80km...on hills we sometimes we barely breaking 60. The tow-truck guy said it was like towing a parachute. Each time we came to a section on the highway with a passing lane about a million truckers would give us dirty looks as they blew by. Going through town. The speedo On the highway. When we got to the marina, the tow guy backed up to the boat launch, and tipped 'er down. Then he used his winch to ease the shack down the launch. When it got to a flat spot near the bottom he unhooked it, I paid him the $200 we agreed on (I also shot $20 to his helper) thanked him and he was on his way. I can think of a lot worse ways I've blown 220 bucks...I consider it money well spent. I was too busy for the next little while to take any pics. But I can tell you that I was (sort of) able to tow the shack with my quad. At the bottom of the ramp where the shack was resting, there was nice packed snow where I could get half-decent traction. With my chum at the back of the shack using a 2x4 as a pry, the shack slowly started to budge and after a second or two I was towing it (as fast as I'd want to) down the lake. I stopped to let my buddy and Father-in-law catch up, but once on the near glare-ice of the lake, couldn't get it moving again...my worn, stock tires just spun. I had to resort to the Jeep, which I had always suspected I would. It moves the thing no problem. It even turns OK. So here is the pic I've been wanting to post for a couple of months now. The shack ON THE ICE! x You'll notice I didn't say the "completed" shack on the ice. I still have a couple of things to do. The metal for the roof has been ordered, but until I get it up, I'll make due with a tarp. The stove and stove pipe need to be installed. I'm waiting on my neighbour who is making me a metal box to feed the pipe through and insulate it from any combustibles. There's a couple other things too. I'm hoping to finish during my two weeks off in February. The shack is quite usable though. I spend the night in there using propane heat. I had a digital CO monitor, and it's a good thing, because it went off at one point, and I had to leave the door open for 20 minutes while I sat outside and let it air out. Once the reading was back to zero I went back in, but turned the heater down and opened the windows up some more. Things were OK after that, but being able to check and knowing an alarm would sound was comforting. You'd be taking a big chance without one. So in addition to getting my shack on the ice and spending time in there...I also did a bit of fishing. With more work to do on it and this being just the maiden voyage, I situated the shack fairly close to the launch. The fishing there is hit and miss (at best) with little chance of a walleye bite...just a few crappie and the occasional pike. That's pretty much what happened. I got kind of a mixed bag of junk. It was fun though. Here is the first fish ever "hauled" through a hole in the floor of my shack. I think I might print it off, frame it and hang it up in the shack. Like how businesses do that with their first dollar earned. I didn't get much in the shack. There was that first perch, a rock-bass... and then my Father-in-law landed this beauty... I got a couple of crappie and pike outside the shack. This crappie was the only one worth getting the camera out for... I also got some pike...a couple hammer handles and three that were slightly better...like this. I released everything but one pike that was bleeding bad, one little crappie and that first perch because their air bladders were in their mouths and they wouldn't swim down the hole. Here's a few random pics... I've still got a few things to do, so an update or two will yet be forthcoming. Thanks for checking out my ice hut build.

Tomorrow IS the day. I just got off the phone with the tilt-and-load guy. He's committed to being at the build site for 10 am. My buddy who owns the marina is expecting me around noon, and has a couple of sleds ready. My Jeep is loaded with fishing gear and tools and the Father-in-law's truck has his quad in it. The rest of the materials I need are in the shack, and I pulled the stove and whatever else I don't want bouncing around in there out. It's ready for transport. This is finally happening. We moved the shack from the spot on the lawn we built it onto the driveway where the tilt-and-load can pick it up. We jacked it up to pull out the milk crates it was resting on, but they were frozen solid to the lawn, so I busted them with a sledge hammer instead. Using the winch on my Jeep I attached it to the far corner and easily spun the shack (which was resting directly on the lawn, not the snow) about 30 degrees so it was facing the driveway, then put the winch in the middle and pulled it straight out onto the driveway, at one point through about a foot of snow. Then I slowly backed up, pulling it to the end of the driveway. When I put my foot on the brake, the shack continued to slide for about six inches. That's the first time I've moved the completed shack, and it went really well...better than I'd hoped even. Hopefully things go just as smoothly tomorrow. I just emptied my memory card on my camera so I'll have lots of room for pics and maybe a vid or two. I should have something for you guys in a few days. Wish me luck...with the move and with the fish. Tomorrow will be the first time this season I wet a line. I'm looking forward to that almost as much as getting the shack out.