DRIFTER_016

Unless you want to be comfortable.

Dana There are a lot of guys using the Mr Heater Little Buddy Heaters to heat their huts. They work well in the South (don't put out enough heat for our weather way up North, especially in the depths of winter). You're going to want something to sit on. I prefer those light folding camp chairs for use in my cube. You are also going to want a sled of some sort for dragging your gear out to the fishing grounds. Early ice I have an inexpensive CT sled that I have rigged with rope tie downs (drilled 5/16" holes 1 foot a part around the rim and threaded 1/4" poly rope in and out of the holes to give me a place to lash my stuff to) to keep my stuff from falling out. Here is a pic of my sled. If you are mostly fishing for pan fish (perch, walleye etc.) a 6" auger is fine and is much easier to punch holes with. The 8" takes a lot more work. I have one of these for early season ice fishing and it works well. But I put it away when the ice gets to be a foot thick, then I pull out the 10" 3HP Strikemaster power auger. Your reel should work fine. If you find it stiffening up open it up and clean out the grease and replace with some Quantum Hot Sauce or orher cold friendly grease. Most importantly is safety gear (especially early and late in the season). I carry a set of ice picks and a spud bar for testing ice thickness when walking out to my spot early in the season(spud bar can bee seen on the ice in the first pic).

Not if you do it right. We were quite comfortable camping on the ice for 8 days in temps of -20 in the spring of 2010.

I know people that have done it. It's not too bad if you use a cot for sleeping on. I have had friends just sleep in their fishing chairs though. Sounds pretty uncomfortable to me.

I'm more worried about their poor penalty killing.

I use one of these and leave the zipper open on the end of the bag. I carry a bunch of 36"-42" rods and I just let the tips stick out.

Yup.

Here's a rarity for you. An Inconnu (found in only 5 drainages in the world).

I have a cover that keeps the dust etc. out of the boat but I park the boat inside one of those portable garages to keep the snow off. I purchased the garage on sale for $250 at CT and this will be it's 5th winter. I go out and knock the snow off the roof after a storm and because of this it has held up really well. I have 2 of the 10'X20' and one 10'X10'. They work great for storing all of my toys. Not a great shot but you can see the portable garage in the background.

Man up there buttercup!!!

Don't bother drilling. Clear the snow, put 'ducer on the ice and a splash of water is all you need. You can't shoot through white ice though as there are too many air bubbles. I have been able to shoot through over 5' of clear ice and mark fish doing it.

Or someone speaking broken French with an Indian accent.

Puppies are awesome,until you come home to this.

Just use the spare bedroom. You can store your ice hut in the spare washroom.

I have my best luck for lakers with williams whitefish spoons and for whitefish meegs/badboyz jigs tipped with a crappie tube/minnow.

Uhhhh, buy a waterproof camera? Nice chromer Pauly, see you in the AM.

I fish more in winter than summer. But that is due to our extended winter season here in the land North of 60*.

Me too.

Hey Paul Sorry about your rod. A little duct tape and buffing compound should have it looking like new.

See, that's what happens when you jump the gun and winterize too early. I hope to get out next Sunday for one last trip when I get home from Ontario. And I live North of 60*.

Where's the video Mike.

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I also use a bunch of the casts in that video. They are all there for a specific purpose. Wiggle casts are for areas with many different currents between you and the fish (creates a longer drag free drift). Tuck casts are used when nymphing to get your fly down to the strike zone quickly. One I didn't see on that vid was the steeple cast which I use often (almost as often as a roll cast). This cast is used when you have a high bank at your back and need to fire out a cast. Not really a whole lot different than all those different casts the bass guys use (flip, pitch, side, skip etc.)

The kind you have are made fer drillin' holes in and putting on a string and then try and bust yer buddies nut with yours. Conkers