IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Ice Shack Tips => Topic started by: red_eyes on Sep 03, 2003, 02:35 PM
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Does any one know if the northlander shanty is anygood?its a kit w/ a wood floor.also how are the shappell shantys. the northlander can be found at canvascraftinc.com/northlander.htm just add www.
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Red Eyes, I have the Shappell Deluxe 3000 and really like it. It's relatively light to drag and it can be set up by one person without much trouble. You can reset on a new spot without tearing down too.
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I suggest a wood floor. plastic is noisy and thin where as wood is quiet and insulates better against the cold.
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I agree with Himo. We have a floor made out of 3/4 inch cdx plywood and it is both sturdy and quiet.
(my 2cents) :)
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I have a shappell 3000dx. I like it alot. the plastic floor is light weight but not very durable. if you drag it much the bottom will wear out. if you wear ice picks they sometimes poke holes in it. The thing I would question about getting a shack with a wood floor is how am I going to move it around. you see alot of people ice fishing that use up all thier energy trying to get set . I like to save my energy for the fish.
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you could always keep your plastic floor and cut some thin plywood to fit. the weight would not be that much extra. or just put in some carpet to quiet things down.
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I have a 3000 Deluxe as well. I'll take it over a wood floor any day. I don't know why wear would be a problem, unless you are dragging it on pavement. It drags easy, it's light weight, and is pretty darn quiet with the carpet on the floor. JMO.
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if i had to make a choice i would take wood. i had a plastic floor shack years ago, if you plan on wearing ice spikes forget plastic and when you set it up make sure you bank it before you enter it or you will be trolling. I have frabill rangers 1man 2 man and triplex and would not use anything else
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I have a Shappell, I like it, but will probably get a fish trap style this season. If you move a lot, it takes time to set up/tear down, compared with the trap style.
I like plastic much better than wood, but I am usually on foot and wood is much harder to drag around than plastic. This is my second plastic after many wood bases.
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I would recomend a wood floor also. Our floor is both wood and plastic, and that plastic can get pretty slippery, especially when its wet. Add a couple barley pops, and it can make for a heck of a show. Almost lost my best jigging rod last year when I stepped inside and my kiester took the place of my feet on the floor. If you do get plastic put some friction tape down, it gives the fisnin' buddies less photo ops.
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as I said in a previous post I would go with wood. more sturdy and safer to walk on. plastic can get wet and become slippery. as a back up you can put carpet down over the plastic.
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FYI....The Shappell shantys come with carpeted floors. So...no slippage problems.
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Go with the plastic floor with the carpet {Shappell}
My buddy has a shanty with a wooden floor & its
a pain in the butt to drag the thing on the ice,unless if you have an atv.
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Hi Gang!
I was wondering if the shelters are water proof? It has rained b 4 when i was ice fishing.
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I'd prefer wood, also saw a old timer last year who took a pair of snow skies with a couple strips of aluminium angles between the skies to make a sled to put his two-man on to drag out on the ice seemed to me it made it pull easier Less drag than the whole bottom of the 2man dragging on the snow All he did was put the 2man on the sled settup stap it down and put his power auger on top and draged it away, He had about a 1 mile drag and did it with no effort and he was about 65 yrs old.
Cold Feet
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Da Roc-yes, they are waterproof. Go with plastic floor, then carpet it if it does not come that way. Wood freezes down more readily.
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i have an eskimo (fish trap style) I move around quite a bit looking for fish. it pulls nice if it is behind a snowmobile or myself pulling it. It has a plastic floor. I have put three tie downs on it to hold my gear. carpet on the floor. when i set it up if there is not enuff snow i put down three ice sticks. attach them to my tie downs pull the canvas over my head and start to fish. :D
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just a suggestion, i gota clam for early ice works alright got to anchor it down though not alot of fun when it and your heater and lantern go zooming across the ice, but thats a whole nother fishing story and bad experience... anyways i would go with something with a wood floor, its more durable and better insulated.... if pulling it is a problem have you considerd attaching skis ?? perhaps wooden skis with a plastic skin on the bottom , that would slide nice... got wheels on mine so i guess i wouldnt really know, well anyways best of luck... if you decide your intrested in purchasing an ice palace : ) email me me and a buddy have them for sale...
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I have the shappell 3000 and it is great.Lite weight and is carpeted.I have also fished a tourny in the rain with it and it was waterproof.All I got was some condensation from being closed up in it most of the day.Wood floors are good if you have an atv or are staying in one place.It sets up and breaks down in about a minute.And on windy days you just have to stake it down or toggle it.Piece of cake.I have never had a problem with the wind moving it.Everyone has their own opinions so good luck!!
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I'm in the market for an ice fishing shanty, and after doing some research on the net I thought the "CLAM 5600" was what I'd purchase. However, after reading the comments here on Ice Shelters, I'm not quite so sure that's the best one.
I'm retired and on a fixed income, so I cannot be buying a new ice fishing shelter every year until I find the right one, so it's rather important that I make the correct decision the first time around.
I was at Cabela's in Hamburg today and they had the Shappel 2000 Standard set up. Too small for me, and I did not like the small windows.
Anyone here have the CLAM 5600? And if so, what do you think of it? Thanking all of you in advance for any help you can provide.
Panfish2
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Hi Gang!
I have been researching alot of shelters. I noticed the 2000 series ones are all quite small and short plus the framing is very light duty. I think the schepel 3000 or 4000
are nice and the clam in the one size down from the 5600 is nice thats the one I am buying. The one big thing I was looking at was weight. I dont want to haul weight at all. Any shelter over 50 pounds was eliminated by my search too. With gear my vex and some minimal equipment my total weight on the sled is still under a 100 pounds. I can still get on the ice when it is three inches thick. Anything heavier and I loose Days on the Ice at the begining and end of the season.
All the otheres are extremely heavy or not priced very well. The clam 5600 is $300 by me. The pullover type shelters are good but ya have to use short rods and they dont allow room to fish on your knees or to change positions very easily. In the rectangular shelters you can even lay down and be off the ice. Listening to the guys in the room is a great resource they are very wise too!
So this is just one opinion but I like the rectangular plastic floor that is carpeted . I made a aluminum frame for mine with two long blades so the bottom would not wear out as easily. This is the only thing i did to tweek the hut. now I can bungie all my gear to the frame. Well thats all i have to say on the shelter thing so far.
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Thanks for the info there Da-Roc. Like you, I am also concerned about weight. That Clam 5600 weighs 75 pounds as opposed to 35 pounds for the Clam 2000.
What concerned me about the Clam 2000 was its height of 5 feet, as opposed to 6' 6" for the 5600. Being 6 foot tall, I thought I'd better opt for the greater height, but I have no previous experience fishing from ice fishing shelters, so perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree here.
How important is it to be able to stand up in an ice fishing shelter? If it's not that important, I too will probably buy the Clam 2000. (I'm assuming that is the one you have)
That aluminum frame sounds like a great idea. Trouble is, I don't have a pickup truck, and I have only so much cargo space in my Honda CRV. The Clam sled will fit just fine, as well as my other gear, but not sure about a frame sled.
I remember the time when all I needed to go fishing was a bamboo pole and a coffee can of worms. Now, I seem to need more gear than I can pack into my vehicle. Jeez! :)
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Panfish2, you may want to look at the Frabill Venture. It sells for about $200 to $230.
Here are the dimensions:
48"L x 72"W x 78"H (setup),
48"L x 34"W x 6"H (folded).
Weight: 40 pounds.
Just something to think about if you want to stand up in your shelter.
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Hi Panfish!
Hey guy the frabil is an excellant choice too it is roomy and light it is very important to be able to stretch you get cramps and they dont go away unless you stretch at least every hour . I did two tournament s last season 12 hours each. It was grueling i was on a bucket last season unless i went with my friend he has a frabil venture it is great really . There are none avaliable in my area so thats why i forgot about it . See the guys in here are really great hard water fisherman. They do know there stuff and equipment.
Speaking of simple equipment! I take 1 hand ice auger 1 small sled a coleman fuel light, three jigs with me a pack of bee moths and two hooks and rig three pole and a scooper plus bucket. thats it in early or late ice season. Every thing else is left behind till it gets thick ice or it gets really cold. I dont even take my vex till I get 5 inches of ice. Thats when I get lazy and only drill 10 to 20 holes a night.
I have been told I hunt fish not fish for them I start out with four holes 50 feet apart and then move into deeper water dropping 5 feet each set of holes I fish each hole only 15 minutes and really am moving all night long. when I find fish holes I gps them and write them down. then when a tourneys hit mid winter I go back to them! That is how I catch my fish, Ya have to hunt them to catch them! Da hut has nothing to do with catching more fish.
thats just my thought tho!!
Da Roc
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Thanks for all the info on the huts. Did some checking on that Frabill Venture, and the closest dealer is almost 3 hours away.
I'm only 25 miles from the Hamburg Cabela's store, but they don't carry Frabill anymore, only Shappell. I called the local tackle shop, and they're going to check which ones they can get. Looks like the area I'm in is not an ice fishing hub, so even sporting goods stores like Gander Mountain and Dick's Sporting Goods do not stock much ice fishing gear. Most of the anglers here are put and take trout anglers I guess. What a shame, as there is so much more fishing than that.