Would you pay to ice fish inside during the off season?

[trapperdirk]

Well I usually start icefishing some time in december and go to the end of April . Yup I'm in as long as I get to hear the crack of my jiffy 3 hp,10 inch firing up and drilling a hole in the middle of July . The roar of an auger on a chilly morning . Music to my ears . Make the place big and let some muskrats go too that I can trap and I'll come live there once ice breaks up here till hunting season starts .

                           TD

[hunters08]

Hey trapper how did you get that on the bottom of your post?

[Grimace]

Has it really come to this.     lol.

[taxi1]

Has it really come to this.     lol.

d**n right it has! I've been teased and disappointed all season! Just came inside to warm up. Due to thin ice I have the fishtrap on top of a pier but the only problem is since I'm a foot above the ice I'm getting air flow up into the trap.

[NickP]

Use a tarp stype material to make an exstension on your trap and safety clip it on so it touches the ice/water.

[Hood]

first thing i thought of was a lack of fair chase.... like hunting inside a fence....that kind of thing should make a man turn sterile....the ONLY way i could see it happening would be to provide an opportunity to handicapped or disabled individuals.

[Swede]

 
Sorry I know its wrong, but GD what does that say about us?

[ice dawg]

Wow, we need ice bad.

[taxi1]

Use a tarp stype material to make an exstension on your trap and safety clip it on so it touches the ice/water.

Good Idea thanks. However either I will get enough ice to do it right or we'll go back to open water. It's been that kind of winter. Close to 2 inches this evening and a low of 7 F. tonight may give me another inch by tomorrow.

[NickP]

Go for it- Im 140 and I was skating on my koi pond today- actually 138pounds


Ice went through with a jab and a half of the pry bar we use for excavation, 1.5-1.75in its 6foot deep at one end and 1foot in the other- Dont worry Im growing out 3 perch and a nice gill for it this summer thanks to your talks on Pondboss

If your really worried tape a 20 in by 10 in piece of plywood to your sole to disperse your wieght over the ice more evenly

[winchester 88]

Since I made my last post here I watched a segment on 60 Minutes about the polar ice caps.I didn't see it all but what I did see was interesting.
 For years scientists have been taking core samples of the ice on the caps and keeping them frozen for study.
 They were reporting that the last time that earth had the kind of temperature rise that we are now experiencing was about 200 years ago .At the same time that this happened there was a measureable increase in the level of green gases captured in the ice.
 The time before that period when the same measurements were present was 1-2 million years ago.
 The conclusion was that human activity on earth is what is responsible for the present condition and even if the causes were to stop there is enough residual stuff left to cause the warming to continue for years.
 Maybe we shouldn't pooh pooh the brothers inquiry about the establishment of indoor ice fishing ponds after all. They might be a thing of the future.
 Can't you see it now.The Ice Fishing Super Bowl 2053 held at the dome.You never know....
 Winchester 88...go easy on me boys ..

[taxi1]

Go for it- Im 140 and I was skating on my koi pond today- actually 138pounds


Ice went through with a jab and a half of the pry bar we use for excavation, 1.5-1.75in its 6foot deep at one end and 1foot in the other- Dont worry Im growing out 3 perch and a nice gill for it this summer thanks to your talks on Pondboss

If your really worried tape a 20 in by 10 in piece of plywood to your sole to disperse your wieght over the ice more evenly

Well I'm 170 but I'm so spoiled with the Fish Trap Guide I don't want to go on the ice without it. I'm not sure if I can use it as safely as just standing on the ice. I would think it would actually spread the weight out but it does add about 65 lbs.

Good luck with the fish. Are you the one that suggested this site which is my new addiction?

[taxi1]

Since I made my last post here I watched a segment on 60 Minutes about the polar ice caps.I didn't see it all but what I did see was interesting.
 For years scientists have been taking core samples of the ice on the caps and keeping them frozen for study.
 They were reporting that the last time that earth had the kind of temperature rise that we are now experiencing was about 200 years ago .At the same time that this happened there was a measureable increase in the level of green gases captured in the ice.
 The time before that period when the same measurements were present was 1-2 million years ago.
 The conclusion was that human activity on earth is what is responsible for the present condition and even if the causes were to stop there is enough residual stuff left to cause the warming to continue for years.
 Maybe we shouldn't pooh pooh the brothers inquiry about the establishment of indoor ice fishing ponds after all. They might be a thing of the future.
 Can't you see it now.The Ice Fishing Super Bowl 2053 held at the dome.You never know....
 Winchester 88...go easy on me boys ..

I think it would work in the right location and I've always made money with whatever I went after. However this one would require a lot of big investors. Very risky.

[Pomoxis]

Be careful naysayers, they laughed at Edison and his gadgets too.

Aside from whether I would use it, I'm pretty sure that some of the guys around here in NJ, without ice for the last 6 weeks, would have used it when there was supposed to be natural ice here. As long as the price was right.

Hey, there will probably be an INDOOR SKIING mountain about 10 miles from me in the near future. Someone is NOW trying desperately to build it in the NJ Meadowlands Arena area. Skiing is such a feverishly pursued sport (fad) (fetish) these days that I'm sure they will get LOTS of customers. They may be YAHOOS, but they will be paying customers.

Forget the plastic ice. It has to be cold in there. That is the special draw of ice fishing. You would have to be able to drill your own holes, in real ice.
There are so many fishermen who see only the meat coming out of the water, that they would be very happy with the chance of getting some good perch, walleye, bass, crappie, trout, pike, catfish, whatever, even if they had to go indoors to do it. On season or off. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Every business is like that.

It will never become a major "enterprise", but I would guess that at least one location in this big country bursting with money could survive as a business, and also find itself as a "curious & new" topic for many publications. Thanks taxi1 for the idea.

[pennreels]

Ice fish ...............or..... .......open water fish............hmmmm. ......hmmmm......hmmmm .. I'm thinking... How cold is the wind..........Do your traps blow out of the hole..........Do you have to clean the hole every 15 minutes......Does your coffee get cold ........Do you drink beer slushy's........How cold will my fingers get.............hmmmm. ......I'll take 2 down riggers, with nice white caps on the lake in my boat.

[fishnut]

I think the idea in general is great, considering so many lakes are fished out, and it's really hard nowadays to find a good lake. But who needs a indoor Ice building?  Why not just have an enourmous indoor pool with canoes, rowboats and dingies?  Imagine fishing in a dingie or canoe for perch or bluegills in a setting that's 28C(82) with NO wind?  How many of us have ever done that? Probably not very many, as most places the wind is blowing for 350/365 days a year, 24 hours a day.  At least here in Saskatchewan it does.

[Pomoxis]

Fishnut,
It is easy to imagine someone in Saskatchewan having a hard time imagining an indoor ice fishing arena. That would be like having an indoor swamp crappie fishing arena, in the summer, in Louisiana. The whole idea would be to provide something that the outdoor temps would NOT allow. Unfortunately, the outdoor temps here in January averaged around 45degF this year. Great for open water fishing, bad for ICE fishing. 

[swantucky]

With our lack of ice I would probably try it a time or 2.

[abbeys shanty]

Just not the same without the elements!!  I like open water as well.

[PIKEGUY]

I'll consider it when it's actually built

[Reel Wet Ride]

I'd have to say no to this idea. I think it'd be to much like the trout ponds they have for the kids at boat shows. A day trip novelty, but probably not a self-sustaining business. However, if you marketed it as a "learning program" where you taught kids/adults to fish, and gave them an education and linked it up with say Boaters Safety classes and fully utilized the full potential of the building, you may have something that could generate some income. Considering your profession, you could possible end up with a "mini-Cabela's". But in the end I don't think you'd end up with an indoor ice fishing mecca....if thats what you were going for.

[MXFISHER656]

I try it once just to say I did but then I'd go home and get the boat out. I like open water just as much as the ice.


656

[TJG]

I have to say I love this idea, or at least the idea of this idea.
I could ice fish 12 months of the year and I have a few buds that could too. But the sad fact is there is just not enuf guys to make this fly. And this is from a guy up in Canada, the ice fishing capital of North America. I love the idea because you can ice fish in the morning and take the boat out in the afternoon and evening! Best of both worlds, but driving in 80 degree weather to go ice fishing, strange!!!!

[Mentiply]

Ok, need to throw my 2 cents into the mix: It is a novel idea in theory but I just don't see it being able to sustain itself on it's own. You would need to locate near a large population center because so few people ice fish to begin with it would be hard to get anyone to drive a long distance to your location. (If it takes off that may be a different story) You would probably get more initial interest if you located in an area that did not normally have good fishing and ice. (Down south or south west) It would all come down to what would people be willing to pay and would they go more then once. I could also see PETA becoming your "friends" if you located too close to a liberal city. It could work possibly as part of a traveling out door show like the trout tanks they have as some of them. Some ideas such as Learn to ice fish or try this new jig pole before you buy. Who wouldn't want to go to a store and be able to try out different rods and maybe catch a fish or two in the process. Hope this helps and good luck. The worse idea ever was the one that worked but was never tried.

[Swede]

I lived in the South. Buddy let me tell ya, Any excuse to get out of that sweltering heat is a blessing. You could set it up like a hockey rink and people would pay just to sit in the stands and watch. I can see the sign now, "The Big Chill" 5 miles ahead. 

[Desperado]

Use a tarp stype material to make an exstension on your trap and safety clip it on so it touches the ice/water.

So; when you go an entire winter without needing an extension for your auger, you might need one instead for your flipover?

[reelbigfish]

If we could just get Cabella's to put some ice on their indoor aquarium I would
love to  "try it before you buy it" with some ice gear.  Your idea sounds a bit too tame for most hardcore icefishermen but would be a great idea in Las Vegas or Orlando.  Throw in a cocktail lounge /seafood restaraunt and it would be a great place to hang out on a hot day. 






Ted

[fiesty]

I'll consider it when it's actually built

[Lobes]

Interesting concept ...
I agree with one thing. It would probably have it's best shot in a very warm climate (a chance to get out of the sweltering heat). But the cost would probably be to huge to substantiate. In order to have enough space to accomodate enough fishermen in a realistic setting where they have room to hop holes you would just about to throw a dome over an existing lake. Then since you won't be able to make it freeze over you will need a way to cover it good enough to safely support the shanty towns that will surely pop up. Then there would be this humongus air conditioning bill ...

Still, none the less.   An interesting concept!

 

[wavewatcher]

I'll consider it when it's actually built

ya pretty much the same thing here!!