Surreal Deal

No doubt, man.

Epic. Well done!

I'm not all that far removed from the old days, I guess. Compared to most I am still in the dark ages (both hard water and soft). I own few luxury items, but if I didn't have them tomorrow I would still go fishing anyway. I take a certain amount of comfort in not getting caught up in the restlessness of always trying to have the newest gadgets. That's not just in fishing either but across the board.

Actually Summett, in the picture that looks like your $.10!

You could spend $5.99 for a couple of Frabill shelter hangers... ...Or Zero, if you own a bungee cord and know how to tie a simple hitch knot.

This was my experience also last year when I gave sinker slides a test drive. I had several incidents where my leader got tangled up in the slide. I wouldn't know until I hauled in, leaving me sitting there after each cast wondering if my rig was OK or not. Who needs that kind of anxiety when you're fishing? With that said, 100% of my catfishing experience up to now has involved casting from shore, and I'm pretty sure that the sinker slide tangles result from the physics involved in the cast more so than the current. Trolling or drifting on the St. Croix like Steve D. does, where a fellow could just let his line out gently (like some kind of a walleye fisherman), might be a different story.

+1! Early '80's Jiffy Model 30.

How is that first picture not your avatar by now? Great photos, thanks for sharing.

No guts, no glory, man. Plus you get mad creds for being a maniac from your non-fishing friends.

A few more photos: The underside: A better look at the rod holder: A better look at the deck:

Hey there Slayer, yeah I have square tubes which helps. It's notched with just enough clearance so that it fits snugly, with the front notch angled to match the angle of the pole. The thing is secured with some flexcord (Got it out of an old tent pole)and a screw - same arrangement in the front. I'll try to get up some more photos but you can see the original article if you Google for "Mag's Side Baiter."

Those are some nice fish - Great report, thanks!

I wish that they'd show on stuff like that on these metro access cable channels.

I own both. I used a flower for years with not a single problem. It's probably one of the most reliable pieces of equipment that I've fished with over the years. However, it is also one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment that I've fished with over the years. Because I'm bringing my seven year old son nowadays, I picked up the Big Buddy this year, for safety reasons. I had the same thoughts as nubote regarding using a rechargeable battery instead of burning through D's. Big C in Rogers sells a 6V rechargeable battery for $14.99 in their game feeder section. My float charger does both 6 and 12 volt, so no added expense there. I struck when they were on sale for $9.99, and by using a $10 off coupon that I received in the mail, I picked up my 6v rechargeable for $.64 after tax. So far I'm very happy with the cleaner & quieter burn of the big buddy. I hope to get many trouble free years of service from it, but my flower is still there in case I ever need it.

Last season I saw an interesting portable shelf called a "Mag's Side Baiter," designed to work with flipover houses like mine. They were $15 a piece at the big 'C,' but it doesn't look like they carry them anymore. Instead of dropping $30 to see if I'd like them, I made a couple myself for the price of some scrap lumber, a little bit of hardware and an hour or so of my time:

I used to love the peace and quiet of fishing alone, any time of the year. But I've got kids now, so for at least the next couple of decades, I am spoken for.

(Assuming that this is a power auger) If it's an ongoing problem that isn't being helped by practice, I guess I'd try a circular RV bubble level, attached to the top of the auger with a piece of two-sided tape Ex.,

You will also have another inch or two around your forearms. And forget about this "hole hopping" business. It's more like "hole flopping" - when you finish the hole, flop down next to the hole and rest for a while. I still have the spoon auger that I started out with, hanging as wall art in my garage.

Reflectix does wonders to reduce condensation - Here is a thread that will link you to all sorts of fish house mods, including Reflectix: http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...odi#Post2425257 Good luck!

Ron, Are you sufficiently embarrassed for even asking the question yet? $3!

Piping hot black percolated Folgers coffee from the old green Stanley. That's how I started drinking coffee years ago, when I was old enough to get up before dawn and sit in the duck boat with my dad but was still too young to have my own gun. Over the years my tastes have refined (espresso drinks, gourmet beans) and I have come to rely on quicker methods to brew (drip makers, etc.), but whenever I am hunting, fishing or camping I like it old school - percolated, strong and black.

For The Win!

Generators are a separate issue because they are annoying even at distances well beyond what would legally be "too close" (The original topic). Plus, they are perfectly legal to use, even if you are the minimum 10 feet away from another guy. Ice fishing means different things to different people; for me, I want to be able to hear the wind whipping across the lake, the ice booming and only the occasional drone of somebody's power auger - But that's just me. Personally, I would (& have in the past) move before I would ever confront somebody about their noisy generator or some other legal (yet discourteous) behavior. Getting into an unwinnable argument is just as bad (or maybe even worse) than the original behavior in terms of wrecking my outing. I guess that's why I like fishing from a portable.

Funny Harvey, I set up about 40' from you one Saturday afternoon last winter out on Horseshoe. That was still a little iffy for me, so I hailed you first and asked if it was OK if I set up there, and you were nice enough to say yes. Legally I could have just set up and not said boo to you, but I cared enough about your experience to make sure that I wasn't wrecking your day to have me set up that close by. It gets said a lot on here that you can't fix stupid; I think that it's equally true that you cannot legislate courtesy. If people spent less time keeping track of what they're legally entitled to and spent less time being selfish jerks, there would be less of these stories.

Lots of good advice here when it comes to being content with what you have and just enjoying yourself out on the ice. A rule of thumb that I observe is: If you have to work so hard to pay for your stuff that you miss out on actually going fishing, then you have too much stuff.