11-12-2006, 05:02 AM
I do more jigging from out side of the shanty. I tend to move from hole to hole,
there is a new modle of shanty one man clam you can pick up for under 150. unless you have access to free materials you may want to concider that.
be sure to do your home work, go and price all your materials before you start, the cost of building supplies are sky rocketing where as the price of portable shanties seem to be coming down slightly, especialy in regeons of questionable ice.
having a structure on the ice requires regular maitance, when it rains you have to go out and jack your shanty up to keep it from sinking in, you have to dig it up in areas with heavy snows to keep it from getting burried. in either case if you dont you will find your feet getting wet when you cut open your hole and the water rises up due to the presure of the ice.
one more problem a perminant structure come from when heating, it bleive it or not, melts the ice under nieth if you use it a lot or the sun hits it a lot.
I have seen shantys in mid winter fall though the ice because the guys heat them to 90 degrees, also not being used at all and just from the suns heat thawed the ice. this happens when the guys make their shanty's black. yes it is free heat on a sunny day, but it is also a hot brick on the ice when not in use.
to make a long explination short, to avoid problems when the weatherman calls for heavy snow, rain, or you have been fishing in the same place for a week, lift your shanty up for percipitation and move it once a week. Mark the old spot so no one walks on the area.
I am glad you stopped here before building your shack. in my younger days I used a shanty every year, but as I got older I found that quality thermal clothing to be cheeper than perminant or portable shanties.
I am not trying to talk you out of it, I like shanty fishing as much as the next angler, it is just there is a lot to know, and I dont want you to make the same mistakes I have seen others do, I grew up ice fishing so I had the benifit of talking to the oldtimers and paying heed, true their fish stories seem to get bigger by the year but they have never sent me on bad ice.
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there is a new modle of shanty one man clam you can pick up for under 150. unless you have access to free materials you may want to concider that.
be sure to do your home work, go and price all your materials before you start, the cost of building supplies are sky rocketing where as the price of portable shanties seem to be coming down slightly, especialy in regeons of questionable ice.
having a structure on the ice requires regular maitance, when it rains you have to go out and jack your shanty up to keep it from sinking in, you have to dig it up in areas with heavy snows to keep it from getting burried. in either case if you dont you will find your feet getting wet when you cut open your hole and the water rises up due to the presure of the ice.
one more problem a perminant structure come from when heating, it bleive it or not, melts the ice under nieth if you use it a lot or the sun hits it a lot.
I have seen shantys in mid winter fall though the ice because the guys heat them to 90 degrees, also not being used at all and just from the suns heat thawed the ice. this happens when the guys make their shanty's black. yes it is free heat on a sunny day, but it is also a hot brick on the ice when not in use.
to make a long explination short, to avoid problems when the weatherman calls for heavy snow, rain, or you have been fishing in the same place for a week, lift your shanty up for percipitation and move it once a week. Mark the old spot so no one walks on the area.
I am glad you stopped here before building your shack. in my younger days I used a shanty every year, but as I got older I found that quality thermal clothing to be cheeper than perminant or portable shanties.
I am not trying to talk you out of it, I like shanty fishing as much as the next angler, it is just there is a lot to know, and I dont want you to make the same mistakes I have seen others do, I grew up ice fishing so I had the benifit of talking to the oldtimers and paying heed, true their fish stories seem to get bigger by the year but they have never sent me on bad ice.
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