Portable Mods

[notsogoodfisherman]

With the ice season closing in (3 months away is close enough) it is time to start thinking about new modifications to make to the portable ice house. Last year a buddy and I made some nice mod's to our first portable, Clam Voyager. This year we are getting a second one and looking for ways to make long days on the ice feel more like a living room. I guess the catch phrase could be "Portable fishing with permanent accommodations".

So far our mods include:

- 3 marine LED lights connected to a power switch mounted to the sled. These bright wonders are easily powered by 1 Vexilar battery for hours on end.

- Portable DVD player for those slow moments when the fish won't bite and the move to another spot is too much work to even think about.

- Radio for listening pleasure

Some ideas for improving the ice lifestyle this year:

- Two underwater cameras (one for tip up and another for in the house)

- Fresh coffee maker (the details of this one still have to get worked out)

- Rod holders

- Finally, a semi-portable built-in cooking range for the fresh fish and hot soup.

I figure these additional elements will only add another 75 pounds maximum. Too many more modifications will make moving in the early and late season an Olympic sport. Ahh, the price of comfort.

Does anyone have additional items to add to this list or have done similar modifications to a portable?

[hanson]

Yes Sir!!

Check this thread out- Portable Modification Get-Together RECAP

A bunch of us ice junkies got together at a park near St. Cloud about a month ago to share our modification ideas and come up with some new ones also.

My modifications focus primarily on organization & fishability with less emphasis on creature comforts.

Feel free to post some photos of your mods.

[The_Duckslayer]

With a sunflower heater and a camp percolator type coffee pot, fresh coffee is a breeze! I know that I always N Joyed it when camping! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[Kaz]

Jimbo: Are you the transplant from Souix Falls SD???? If so Email me.... Kaz

[Animal]

Coleman has a nice drip coffee pot that will fit right on top of any Coleman stove. The three burner Coleman is just like having a range top stove and can serve as a backup heater if the sunflower goes down.

Please furnish information about the LED lighting.

[notsogoodfisherman]

Thanks for the tip on the Coleman stove! Sounds like a good idea.

The LED lights are marine lights typically used to light underneath benches and steps. They are waterproof and use very little power and shed the perfect amount of light to fish with during the evening hours. In the portable we mounted three of the lights,each light unit has 3 small LED bulbs. There is one light Unit mounted on the back mounting pole and 2 mounted on the front side pole, one on the left and one on the right side. This directs the lights right near the hole but not over it. The light in the back is pointed down into the sled so you can find the beer or the bait. You can find these lights at any marine store.

I'll post pictures of the mods when I have them in a week or two.

[Paul Waldowski]

Just finished the installation of 7 LED lights, a switch and a battery in my Otter Lodge. Even added a 12 volt accessory plug to run the camera. All I can say is SWEEEEETTT!!! No more lantern for me....ever

I will post pictures as soon as possible

[Captain B.R.K]

You last 2 guys, I'd be interested in seeing what the light set-up looks like. Look forward to the pic's!

[Northlander]

Be careful using a coleman stove in your icehouse, make sure you keep a lot of air flowing. Its amazing how much oxygen a 2 burner stove uses up in a icehouse. I cooked burgers on one in my house and boiled coffee. After only a few minutes the flames went down from lack of oxygen.

[Kaz]

Paul: Is that a cluster or a rope type. And where did you find them. I've been looking for a truck back-up light made of a cluster of 10 or so LED's.. Still haven't found what I'm looking for yet.... Kaz

[castmaster]

one of the best mods i've done is to make a floor for my portable. i used 1/2" marine grade plywood and topped it with marine carpet. it is 2 pieces each hinged in the middle. each piece is the width of my otter lodge, and half the distance from the sled to the front of the shack. that way i can use both, one, or neither depending on whether i am set up for the night, or if i am going to be moving alot. i aslo made them so that they will fit, folded up, in the bottome of the sled for transport. i also cut the holes so that they match up when folded, and a five gallon bucket fits snuggly in the holes, helps stabalize bucket during transport.

having a floor sure beats slipping on the wet ice after the heaters been running awhile!! the only downside is weight. if loading and unloading the shack by yourself, the floor needs to be taken out of the sled. also the same thing if your pulling it by hand out onto the lake. if towing with an atv or snowmobile the extra weight is actually nice as it seems to pull more stable, with less side to side sliding.

[Paul Waldowski]

Kaz,

They are clusters...but smaller clusters of only 3 bulbs per. Check your e-mail

[nthomps66]

Check out the 12V utility strip LED lights at Cabelas.com.

Cabelas LED lights

I put four of them in my boat and just ordered four more and a battery for the FishTrap. I think they will fit perfectly on the aluminum poles. Each one contains 6 LED's too.

[nthomps66]

Where did you pick up the 12v accessory plug-in socket deal? That sounds like a real good idea to install with my lights.

[Paul Waldowski]

In my quest for the perfect fishing machine I started modifiying more portable late last winter and have just finished putting on the finishing touches. I'm now ready for ice...errr I mean there's some great fall fashing ahead, but I'm ready for ice when it comes. My rig for this upcoming season will be:

A Polaris Indy snowmobile complete with Lowrance H20, with Lakemaster Chip hooked up to a vexilar battery for longer battery life. Sled also has a tank bank for extra storage with a map holder up on top to make paper maps viewable while in transit in order to get the big picture

Otter sled with a rigid hitch. On the hitch bar is mounted an old large muskie spinnerbait box. I padded this box with 4 inches of foam and my LX-3 and underwater camera fit in there just perfect. This allows for easy access to while scouting out locations. On to the sled itself:

Th first thing I needed was a way to carry minnows where they wouldn't be sloshing water all over the sled, yet allowed for easy access. I decided a pail that enclosed my minnow bucket and allowed a lid to be placed on it what the way to go

I also needed a safe and secure way to carry the auger, all the while allowing easy access to it also. In my design the auger lays snuggly between the front of the sled and the insert that I built.

To help facilitate easy access I put the chair on a hinged base the helped with the auger access

For storage and I added in compartments. A main comparatment for just about everything. I store my Revolution bag with Rods and tackle, my J.R.'s bag with all of my tip-ups, auger extension, and other misc gear here also. I also threw in a coffee pot, a couple of pots for cooking

The second compartment holds my 11 lb propane tank and Mr. Heater cooker. What I like about this is no more smashed pieces on the heater. That has happened way too many times over the years.

The last compartment houses the battery and a small cooler for the storage of food and snacks

Lastly I put in a couple of accessories that I thought were necessary. 2 Tub mounted Rockin' reels (Thanks T-Bone), and a RAM mount for the underwater camera

LED lighting~~~ No more cumbersome, breakable lanterns for me

And lastly a 12 volt plug that I can use to plug in any number of things. Also the switch that controls the LED lighting.

Now...............When the ice comes I AM READY!!!

[ChuckN]

WOW that is sweet Paul!!

Just make sure you pack a few extra drive belts for that Polaris, that looks like quite the load!! lol

The coffee perk, pots and pans, gotta love it!!

[Paul Waldowski]

hehehehe!!! Already packed. The funny thing is...it's really not that heavy

And Chuck......Have a great B-Day

[Dave]

Those power plugs can be had at Wally World.

Nice setup Paul!

[Swimmer]

Sweet! Great ideas...actually put to use. I wish more of us would post photos that actually demonstrated all the great ideas I've heard in fishingminnesota.

[hanson]

Paul-

Don't you think that cooler is a wee bit small though?

I really dig the LED lights. I'm a lantern guy, always have been, but I'm thinking properly rigged up LEDs are going to be the ticket. My gut feeling is we'll be seeing commercially manufactured lighting like this in the future. Sorry, no rope lights either.

My question is about the wiring and how the telescoping action of the poles affects the wires run through them??

Swimmer- I do my best to try and post photos of tips, mods, etc. etc. There are a lot of house modification photos posted in the past as well as in the portable party recap thread. I do enjoy seeing what others have done also. Don't be bashful guys, lets see some photos!

[Paul Waldowski]

Chris,

I don't envision having any problems with the wiring. It seems to telescope in and out with the poles just fine.

The cooler...well it should be renamed an ice bucket as that's all it really gets used for

[hanson]

Cool Paul!

I hear ya on the ice!

[Animal]

Paul W.

Do you plan on pulling the sled with a snowmobile or 4-wheeler? Have you given it the bump test? If so, how did it do? Seems like there is a lot of loose stuff in there that would get trashed after being dragged across the lake. How bright are those LED's? Are they bright enough for us using bifocals to thread a line into a crappie jig?

[Paul Waldowski]

Animal,

I pull it with a sled. The majority of it was pulled around all of last season. Nothing broken, nothing wrecked. Everything is bolted into place and what isn't is in padded compartments.

All of the LEDS are not shown. Hard to say if it would be bright enough to do what you asked of them, but they are bright.

[zebco4040]

Nice mods Paul I should be starting on my mods in the next month. Should not take that long once I get started.

Thanks for the e-mail also (scott @ zoomn)