Ice shack height

[Poorboy]

Building my first shack.  How important is height? Other than when I first stand up to exit the shack and coming back in, I will be sitting.  I don't mind building it 6'6'' tall, but it is only going to be 4X6 feet, so will topheaviness make it too tippy to transport easily, and will it need to be anchored more against wind than , say, a 5' or 5'6" high shack?  I don't need a camp, just a shelter.

[grumpymoe]

Poorboy.....whatever you do....take a wee bit extra time and lay out 4x6 on a floor somewhere...now take whatever thoughts you have as far as comforts and see if you have enough room....likely not....one of my most comfortable shanty was a 6x8...permanent bunks (2) skylight, 12V lighting and an annex heater that burned wood and coal if needed....the coal idea didnt last long...too dirty...height was 6' and just fine...my current shanty is 6x10 with a peaked roof...lots of room...but i would love to have one bigger....the smaller you go, the more likely you would need to anchor it...thats not too hard though....whatever you end up building....post a pic ok?......Grump

[Poorboy]

Hey Grumpymoe,
   Thanks for the tips. I don't need lights or bunks...no night fishing here in Maine.  I have laid out the different sizes on my den floor and sat on 5 gallon pails, marked the amount of space my sitting form took up, moved to the next pail, looked to see if I overlapped with my first position, etc.  I am a little concerned that if there were 3 of us and we all sat in the shack it would be a lot like an airplane ride in a small plane, but I don't have any of the "toys" such as 4-wheelers or snowmobiles so will have to con someone else into helping me set the shack initially (and get it down in March). If I just get them to trailer it to the shore then I may have to plan it so I do it when ice is new and not covered with snow yet so I can push it onto the ice by hand.

Truth is, if I ice fish 10 times in a season, I may have one person with me one or two of those trips.  The rest is just little old me, but I still want a shanty instead of a portable so I can just go and not drag a heavy sled and set up each time. I could get by with one that was 4X5 and 5 1/2 feet tall just to keep warm, but if I am going to build one I may as well make it possible to invite a little company if I want.

All I know is for 5 yrs, I have either fished where I could sit in my truck (company vehicle 2-wheel drive so can't take it on the ice) or toughed it out on the ice.  On a non-windy day I am OK.  Ten degrees Fahrenheit and no wind is comfy for me as I move and play with my traps all day.  But I have spent hours with the wind blowing right through all of my layers of warm clothes when it was torture.  I  NEED A SHACK!  Priced out stuff yesterday and looks like 4X8X6 feet tall could run me 175 dollars, which with Christmas coming and my furnace locked in the on position (and $2.09/gal. for oil) is a problem.  Maybe I will build the floor and frame and tarp it for one year.  Should have done this in the summer!

[Poorboy]

 
Had the day off so went to one of the jobsites, asked the carpenters if it was OK to raid the dumpsters. All that does is save them money (it's unbelievable how much it costs these days for construction dumpsters to be emptied), so they didn't mind. Got several pieces of OSB and a few medium length 2X4 and 2X6's. Built the floor for my ice shanty for just the price of some galvanized deck screws, about $7.00 (but have lots left to do the walls, etc.). It is 4 feet by 8 feet and is a compromise between real roomy and real easy to transport. You can't have both.

Set a couple 5 gallon buckets upside down on the new floor and sat on them with my 18 yr. old son. We are psyched! Never had a shack before and can't wait to finish it and use it.

By the way, I have many pieces of rigid 1 1/2 inch insulation so we can make it easy to heat. All of this came from picking up discarded, broken pieces on job sites. I hate scrounging and seldom resort to "dumpster diving" but the lack of disposable income at this time of year (heating bills and Christmas) helped me swallow my pride and I feel real good to have the "foundation" laid for my new home away from home.
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   Thanks for the advice, Grumpymoe.  I added 2 feet to the length but kept the width to a size that I can fit in my pickup.  I have to be prepared to truck it in what I have designed to be the floor plus 6 wall sections about 4'X6' each and a roof. I can pre-fab it and assemble it at the lake (only 6 mi. away so I can make a couple trips).  There is a very real possibility I won't be able to shanghai someone into helping me transport it.

[transplantfromMN]

Poorboy where are you planning on fishing up here in Maine?? Also where ya from? We built a 8x8 and frankly it is mighty roomy. If you need help with anything please feel free to ask. Keep us posted on how your shanty is going...

[BOOBSS]

Hey Poorboy where you from in Maine. If im close enough you can just holler and I can haul it out with my 4 wheeler any time no prob. Started fishing the same way a little at a time  25 yrs ago now blessed with a few things. But ill never forget where it started.  Dumpster diving Yankees invented it be proud and dive right in.

[Poorboy]

Hey, thanks for the offer.  I'm in the Bangor area, will put the shack real close (within 10 mi.). I want to be able to get to it even in a blizzard.  I also want it on a pond where my 5 yr old grandson can catch fish, which means warm water species if I want a little fast action for him.  I don't mind jigging for pickerel and perch, but prefer going after more rewarding fish (togue, salmon, trout) when alone.  At least when you get a flag you know it is a cold water species.  There are none of the combination warm water species/brown trout waters real close to me (30 miles, but that's too far in a blizzard) which is too bad, as they offer the fast action of WW species while you wait for the occasional brown.

   So my plan is to put it on a lake like Pushaw or Chemo and then even when alone I will have some jigging action, which is as fun for me as catching cold water species on traps.  I would like to build a truly one man, easy to transport shack to put on Green Lake or a similar togue/salmon lake for those days I just have to fish for "real" fish. I am talking 4X4, strapping and tarp, cheap and quick.

   Are we lucky to live in a state where there is a lake or pond every 5 miles, each with a different allure, or what?  My biggest ice fishing problem is trying to decide which of the dozens of nearby ponds to spend the day on.

[billditrite]

   Are we lucky to live in a state where there is a lake or pond every 5 miles, each with a different allure, or what?  My biggest ice fishing problem is trying to decide which of the dozens of nearby ponds to spend the day on.

especially when you make the wrong choice and later when discussing days events with

your buddies , they tell you how they iced half the fish in the lake,at the place you passed on because you had a  feeling  ??     musta been gas!!

[Kodiak Commando]

The more height your shanty has the more comfortable you are. Building shanty's is definetely an advantage for comfort especially when every male in your family is over 6'7" like mine.

[BOOBSS]

Well poorboy i'm just a stones throw away here in Medford half hour north side of Pushaw. So many lakes so little time.

[billditrite]

so little ice   

[Poorboy]

Cheer up guys...lows in the single digits tonite.  My son and I made great progress on the shack today.  Gotta get pizza, will post more later. 

[slegar]

Hey Grumpymoe,
   Thanks for the tips. I don't need lights or bunks...


Got to agree with ya there. Although mine is only a 1 man homemade portable,,, its just over 4 feet long and 4 feet wide and only a few inches taller than four feet high.  never had a problem with it getting cramped  get enough streaching if the tip up are active.

[Poorboy]

That's good to hear, Slegar.  I am planning to have a small "shack" on a lake where there are only togue and salmon so I can stay warm on my "serious" fishing days.  I wanted my big shack on a pond where the action is fast so I can take novices or kids and they will not get discouraged if there are only a couple flags a day. Fishing for togue is a slow process sometimes, well worth it for me just knowing that when you do get a flag it is the real thing, but hard for the uninitiated to take.

   I have never had a shelter before, so it wouldn't take much to make me happy after spending so many hours out in the howling wind watching my traps, surrounded by other people's shacks.  I was wondering how small I dared to make one that wouldn't seem like a joke when I got it out there.  I am not planning to use it as a portable, by the way, just want to take it to a gamefish lake and leave it.

   Making a small one will be easy after finishing my 4X8.  I'v got some techniques down pat now.