Who's lived in their shanty for a weekend? What did you do right? What could you have done better? How cold was it?
I suggest you update this yearly
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Overnight Trip #5 December 30-31, 2020Low around 10F and high about 25F, at a favorite local reservoir.
Here are the links to trips 1-4:
2015:
http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg3440566#msg34405662016:
https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg3587572#msg35875722018:
https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg3921461#msg39214612019:
https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=325954.msg4042423#msg4042423This year’s report is a little different. I channeled prospector some, but you’ll notice my videos are shorter, and there’s only one fish caught on camera.
No big issues this trip. It was very nearly routine. No stuck snowmobiles, no slush, no trespassing. But the trip was excellent! It takes a lot of effort, with advance prep and packing, and it takes me a day or two to rest up afterward, even though I usually sleep quite a lot overnight. So for me, it remains a goal to go annually, and the annual trip provides some highlight memories during the year, and a calm place for my mind to go during stressful times. Oh, and it’s fun to see the reactions from friends and coworkers who learn that you sleep on the ice.
Well, the Ammondude moved to Texas, so we planned our trip to coincide with a planned visit up here, then his visit got COVID cancelled, so no Ammondude. I offered the trip to my brother Dave and he agreed.
I’ve been wanting to convert the towing system of my fishing sled, and I found some time to get it done, but the custom hardware I had built last year came up missing, so that will have to wait until the hardware shows up. Ergh.
The mechanic who normally checks out my snowmobiles was unavailable, but they seemed to be running OK, and we had no issues, so that worked out fine.
Other than these two minor items, preparation was uneventful and the gear checklist did its job. As I was off work for the holidays, packing occurred at a leisurely pace for a few days with no surprises.
For some time, I have been considering an overnight at a favorite local reservoir where we spend a lot of time each Spring fishing in the boat, and if possible, at the exact spot where I overnighted in the boat last June. The one-hour drive would be more convenient than the 2-3 hour drive to our usual destination. This year provided a good opportunity. While water was reported to be a bit low, ice condition reports were excellent, with plenty of clear, hard ice, and little snow. So we agreed to stick closer to home and our destination was set.
Our simple goals for the trip: Camp in one of our favorite soft water spots if possible, and bring home 8 trout > 2 lb. each (Two 2-fish limits for two days).
We had a casual departure before lunch, with a stop for a burger on the way, and an early afternoon arrival at the reservoir. After some discussion, we left the spare heater and propane in the truck, putting our emergency backup 1.75 miles from camp.
Here we are packed up and ready to head out.
Our target location was about 1.75 miles from the truck, tucked up next to a raised bank with willows on what is usually the windward side of the reservoir. We have weathered plenty of windy time there in the boat by tying the boat to the willows using brush anchors, and fishing our little patch of glassy water with white caps on most of the reservoir. It’s a nice, protected spot not used by anyone else that we have detected. The plan: If we can get into more than 4 feet of water there, we’ll stay.
With the reservoir more than 10 feet below full, we arrived at our preferred spot at the upper end with some concerns about water depth. Drill a test hole through 15 inches of clear ice, check with the sonar, only 3 ft. of water. Move away from shore, drill again, 4 ft. Move, drill, 5 ft. Done. Let’s make camp!
Then we had what has become an annual conversation. It would be nice to have a shovel for a few minutes to clear snow. OK, OK, maybe next year. Kick and trample some snow, drill and clear 3 holes (2 fishing, 1 camera), put up the shelter:
We put out and anchored all six guy lines later.
It’s comforting to have the sleep system locked in, along with the heat and lights and other elements that we have assembled over the years. Build the Cam-O-Cots, make the bed with Thermarest pad, Cabela’s cot pad, and two zero degree bags (each), cover the bed, put up the Goal Zero Light-a-Life 350 lights and extension cable, and hook up the Yeti 150 power pack. Put the Big Buddy on the crate, hook up the propane. Love that quick connect. Set up the Aqua-Vu Micro Revolution 5.0 camera and pole holders inside. I always feel better when camp is set up. If weather gets nasty I can hunker down and fish in the warm shelter knowing that my toasty, comfy bed is waiting for me.
The cots went up pretty well. I often say they are inconvenient to set up, but Dave thought it wasn’t that bad. As Ammondude has been the expert on those, we paid close attention to how they were packed. I’m frequently mentioning these cots and their setup, so here’s a look:
And here is a tour of this year’s camp that Dave recorded on day 2:
Dave was recording for his little kids, but I liked the narration so I left it in.
This video makes things look darker than they are, but it gives a reasonable look at how we use the shelter overnight:
With an hour or two of light remaining, time to fish! Dave got into a nice fish about 2 lbs right away, and we had fish on the screen as soon as the camera was turned on. I caught one of those, also about 2 lbs. I kept my fish and Dave turned his back, hoping for something larger. Then at dark it shut down HARD. BOOM. Nothing on the camera, all quiet. Except one more fish on one of my dead sticks outside, a nice rainbow > 3 lb.
I had considered packing the DVD player but thought better of it and left it home. As it turned out, we could have watched a movie before bed, as the fishing was DEAD. Not even a single bite overnight, nothing until 7:30 a.m.
Brisket supply was low in the home freezer, so instead of our traditional brisket sandwiches, we had pulled pork and coleslaw sandwiches with barbecue sauce on pretzel buns. Same method as always, heat the meat in vacuum sealed bag and then use the hot water for some Tang. Very well received.
Dave’s little stove is more stable than mine. Maybe it’s time to pull the trigger on that new backpacking stove I’ve been eyeing… Ergh.
I set an alarm for 6:30 and we hit the sack at about 10:00 p.m. Dave was pleasantly surprised at just how comfortable it is to get changed for bed in a heated, insulated shelter on the ice. We both noticed the cold floor, so to speak, and I may reconsider bringing enough floor pads to cover it all. Might help with the evaporation/condensation issues, too. We brought enough for the whole floor on the first trip in 2015 but never used them all. I will think on it.
Silent night, no bells, no nothing. Not even a coyote interruption. I woke up too hot a couple of times.
I woke before the alarm, turned it off, got up and turned on the heater, and got dressed. For the first time in memory, I cleared and set up all my outside holes and poles in the dark to maximize my fishing time, and about 30 minutes before sunrise I landed and kept a nice fish, all before Dave got up and out.
So at that point, I have 3 fish to eat and Dave has none. Dude, let’s get you into some fish! He had a fun morning, missed a lot of light bites, and finally caught a couple of keepers. In the meantime, I watched the camera with no fish on it and did some packing up. Just after lunch my AK Salmonbear did its thing and I pulled in the big fish for the trip at 3 lb 9 oz.
We leisurely packed up and headed out. Here is the train to go back.
It takes a while to transfer stuff to the truck. I figured out that we pack and unpack the gear 4 times to do this. Pack the car, unload the car and pack the sleds, unpack the sleds and make camp, break camp and pack the sleds, unpack the sleds and pack the car, unpack the car at home. Folks with a big enclosed trailer could avoid some of this, but I’m not gonna go there for one trip per year.
Dave had a good time and says he would do it again.
The Goal Zero Yeti 150 had 60% of its battery left, after running lights and recharging a phone.
The Strikemaster Lithium 40V auger battery had 75% of its charge (3/4 lights). Probably drilled about 25 holes. Advertised capacity is 100 holes in 16” of ice. I believe.
The Marcum LX-6s sonar had plenty of charge left on its 9ah SLA.
The submersible light stayed on all night on its 8ah SLA.
The Anker portable power pack kept the Aqua-Vu camera going on day 2 and seemed to dump all its charge into the camera battery, which recharged while in use and still had some reserve when we turned it off.
We didn’t use much propane. I haven’t refilled yet but will update when I know the total.
Thanks, Dave for the great trip and for being the videographer. That was fun.
OK, identified improvements from last year:-Consider adding a small shovel, like my avalanche shovel or some such, to clear snow for the shelter: OK, I give. I have a lightweight plastic shovel in my gear room. On the checklist it goes.
-Get back to an earlier start with pre-Noon arrival: The closer-to-home destination helped with this, but it also made for a more-casual departure. If we had been more prompt departing, more fishing time would have been good and maybe increased Dave’s first-day catch. Best rule of thumb remains pre-Noon arrival. Get back to that.
-Pack some extra straps to carry a frozen shelter on one of the loaded sleds if needed: Did. Didn’t need. Permanent, easy add.
-Ammondude tuck in yer pants in case of slush: We did. But no Ammondude and no slush.
-Find more non-cotton clothing: Still shopping casually for non-cotton pants. Need to step this up
-Figure out a slush hand signal to have the guy in back stop even though the guy in front is gunning it through the slush: No slush! Great conditions. But need to remember this for the future.
-Record even more underwater video, by leaving the unit in record mode instead of waiting for fish to appear before hitting the Rec button. With so little observed on the camera this year, this was kinda moot. Recorded zero this year.
-Newer snowmobiles would not get slush-stuck as easily… Ergh. Still in the back of my head but not ready to buy different sleds to drive only a few miles each year.
-What do do about the 9416i drips? I had designed and brought a simple tarp system with dacron cord and bungees, to deflect snow from the center of the shelter roof, but the snow forecast was minimal and we didn’t deploy it. Although we had periods of light snow, it all melted and evaporated from the roof during periods of heater use.
Improvements for next year:-Nobody used the Luggable Loo this year, but despite that, it is time to get something more stable for my arthritic knees, etc. We’ve selected the Cabela’s Camp Commode (currently at
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-camp-commode-camping-toilet) which will be used with the Luggable Loo bucket. If we get a new outhouse tent as planned for the boat this year, and it packs small enough, maybe that too. This is bad adding new stuff without dropping others to make room. Last thing I need is a longer train of cargo.
-Give up and bring the stinking shovel. Already added to the checklist.
-Consider covering the whole floor (we only covered beneath the cot and spots to stand for changing clothes). The pads are cheap but they take up space…
-Update my auger repair kit for the Lithium 40V. It still has a spark plug and gapper and other stuff for my Lazer Mag that I sold. Used that auger 1997 – 2019! Maybe pare the kit down to a spare collar bolt and blades, with associated tools?
-New backpacking stove? Not a necessity but might happen anyway. MSR Whisperlite Universal.
-Find non-cotton pants.
-Convert the fishing sled to a removable hitch assembly.
And I still think frequently about modifying a Clam X300 as a solo setup. Maybe a retirement project…
