House is Yanked!

[McGurk]

Pulled the permanent house off this morning, and am thinking about selling it this fall. I have found that when I use my portable I fish better and enjoy it more (win-win). Let alone the longer season (lighter gear), ease of use, and peace of mind from not leaving a house on the ice for months. I know I could pull it off everytime, but it doesn't pull the best, and it doesn't have suspension so I limit the miles to the absolute minimum. The more I use my portable (I got it after the permy), the more I prefer it to the permy, anyways. Plus, no hassle from storing it the other 10 months.

So, I think I have made my decision. I know this is specific to my situation, but anyone else have thoughts on thinning out the herd?

[deadeye]

I guess I have always wanted a permy because it seems like it would be more convient but I see what your getting at. Mobility and peace of mind are two big things to think about.

Storing it during the summer is why I don't have one myself. No place to put it in the off season keeps me from getting one.

[GatorBait]

I've built and sold 4 perms in my 30 years, just experimenting with different styles, weight, setups. And yet every year I use them less and less. So i'm asking the same question to myself as I use my portable 20x more than my permy.

[hawkeye43]

Yep, I have 3 portables and a big house,8.5x12 with a 3'V. now I am starting another 8x10 with a 3' V, all alumimam frame, shell and siding with spray foam walls. Also setting it up with 5' skies under the wheels to pull with the quad. I hope we get double the snow next year.

[BucksnDucks]

Theres storage facilty's in almost every town nowadays, so the excuse that you dont have a place to store it is not good enuf! No way in heck would I get rid of my permy, unless of course sum1 wants 2 buy it for the rite price!

[McGurk]

I hear you on the "convenience" of the permy, but my setup isn't as nice as a lot of peoples. 6 holes, 6.5x10, with some wasted floorspace. It was purchased used with the intent of bringing out the family and having a few people out occasionally, neither of which happened very often.

When I'm in there myself (90+% of the time) all I feel is restricted to one spot, and that I wish I was in my porty moving around to stay on fish. I don't do overnights in it and I don't stay out for 16 hours stretches. I guess I like the idea of fishing out of a permy, but I don't like the execution that I have experienced so far.

As far as storage goes, I have a place to put it for free about 40 miles away, but I hate putting the miles on it as I said before. But if I didn't have free storage, no way would I pay for it for 3/4ths of it's usable time. That's just me, I guess, as I did this on the cheap and to keep it that way with my current household situation.

I'm not bashing permy owners, and if your setup works well for you, that's great. I've had some good times in permys, but not enought to warrant continuing with the hassle. I was just looking for some outside perspective on the matter.

[Riich]

Theres storage facilty's in almost every town nowadays, so the excuse that you dont have a place to store it is not good enuf! No way in heck would I get rid of my permy, unless of course sum1 wants 2 buy it for the rite price!

Those things cost upwards of $60/month, don't they?

[Ryan_V]

Originally Posted By: BucksnDucks

Theres storage facilty's in almost every town nowadays, so the excuse that you dont have a place to store it is not good enuf! No way in heck would I get rid of my permy, unless of course sum1 wants 2 buy it for the rite price!

Those things cost upwards of $60/month, don't they?

not unless you store it in a self store unit. lots of barns out there (like mine) or outdoor space to store that will run only$100-$200 for the summer. check your area, some farmer will let you park it on his place cheaply

[Ryan_V]

also, I used to have 3 houses. a perm on mille lacs (still have) a portable (still have) and a wheel house which I had to sell because I need a new roof on the house!!! I miss the wheel house, even though I didn't use it very much at all. I still go up to mille lacs every weekend to the perm when I can, still love the perm, something about sleeping on the ice!!

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have a perm and 2 portys. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Perms a lot of fun when fellas come out and we just hang out and don't care about life. However, this winter has been tough with all the snow and drifted in landings.

Portys great when I'm alone or with one other person. Run and gun, move around, not stuck to one spot kind of thing. I can go where the perms can't. Gotta watch the PBR intake though as sleeping in the porty isn't an option, usually.

Storage for me isn't really a problem. I have a couple acres an live in the middle of nowhere.

Seems like in the past couple years, I've used the porty much more than the perm. Other dudes I know have been using my perm a lot and that's cool with me.

Both have good and bad sides.

[elkrivermn]

This past fall I had my perm hauled back to my farm from Mille Lacs. I have a 8x8 Canvas Craft Northlander that (kick me in the pants) I have not used yet, heck I never went on the ice at all this season! My plan is to maybe get a wheelhouse in the future when I uptake my two wheel drive pickup for a four wheel drive. I am sure I will love my portable which I can take to any lake and try fifferent spots. After 34 years of having terrible fishing on the pond it was time to try something new!

[thehawk]

so elkriverman, it took 34 years of terrible fishing on the pond in order to make you call it quits? It didnt take me that long, only about 10 years. This lake has showered me with walleyes only twice in 10 years and there have been alot of head scratchers on the pond as well. I have rented houses from the resorts and done the porty thing a ton of times and not much to show for my efforts, just a headache. Good luck to ya elkriverman, there has to be another lake in this state that has walleyes in it, just gotta find a good one you like. I have not found one I like yet. GOOD LUCK!!

[paceman]

I think about this every year as well. I love the big house for the comfortabilty factor. Just show up, turn the heat on, open the holes and fish away. And with two little kids it is great having bunks and room for all the stuff they need. However I do get lazy and just go to the house instead of exporing other areas and lakes. There is no doubt I would catch more fish and perhaps even have more fun if I worked a little harder with the potable instead of fishing near the crowds where the roads are plowed so I can pull the house around easier. As my kids get older I do foresee the time where I dump the big house and just use a portable, but then again having a perm is really nice when it is 30 below or the wind is howling....

[JSK76]

My wheel house has been in the yard since the beginning of Jan. Fishing has been so poor for me I don't see any reason to go to a house I didn't catch any thing in the night before. I have been using my portable since then and still not catching much, but at least I'm trying a new spot each time out until I find some fish.

[thedeadsea]

I'm in my first season with a small permy skid house that can be used for both spearing and angling near my home. I love it because it makes an afternoon jaunt very easy vs. hauling everything to the lake and setting up. I have young kids so long excursions aren't in the mix for me as often as they used to be, but we can all spend some time in the permy a couple of afternoons or mornings a week.

I totally see where Mcgurk is coming from. I thought I was going to spend all kinds of time with buddies out there and I have had only one non family member out there all winter due to scheduling conflicts, the flu, work....

If I had more time, I would still put out a permy on a convenient site, but would probably use it less on a percentage basis.

[McGurk]

At first I tought setup would be easier, too. As said, Pull up, Heat on, open holes, fish. But I never leave anything out there so it heat on is unload and hook up tank, gas the lines, and light away. Opening holes is pretty obvious, but the cleaning into a bucket is a pain even with a slush inhaler, and especially with 6 holes. Then there's the gear unload and whatnot.

In my portable, holes are a cinch. Drill what you want, kick the sluch out of the way, and scoop directly onto the ice. My buddy heater start and runs reliably well, and can be run off the little tanks or a big one. I put in reflectix and that heats up FAST. I made an insert to sit on and house ALL of my gear in specific spots which works great. I bought a cargo carrier for my 2" receiver so loading and unloading is a cakewalk compared to loading into a truck bed. Plus, you can scout before setting up to make sure you have a chance of fishing where there may actually be fish for the time you are there. Moving the house is simple, and it just makes sense to me.

Now that I am used to fishing out of a portable it is quicker and more comfortable for me, and definitely more productive. I thought I'd like the permy life, but after a few years of experience I think I am going to sell her off. More power to you if you prefer the permy life, though!

[Juneau4]

I think your just getting older and wiser!

[thedeadsea]

I can see where those additional steps would add some time. I use a buddy with 1 pounders in my house and have an electric lantern. I can also imagine that many holes would take time to clean out.

A fast, organized guy can set up a good portable quicker than I can prep my permy unless the holes can be chiseled rather than drilled if I was out there the day before.

[CrappieAttitude]

I think it totally depends on how much time you have and what works best for you personally. I literally put my permy out on a little lake within 1/4 mile of my house and guess what.. I fished it once. The day I put it out. Between having a 4 yr old, a 2 year old, one on the way... and all my other obligations, lack of time is the main reason for not getting out. Whenever I do get time, the portables are definately my go to option. I have always oohed and ahhed over the big wheel houses, but have decided that even with the fancy house, my time wouldn't become any more open.

I have now decided that If I really want to fish out of a big permanant I will rent one from a resort that has a good chance of having them located on fish. Think of how many trips you could go on for the sticker price of one of the big wheeled houses.

CA

[BoxMN]

Good topic. I "really" only got into more serious/often ice fishing about 6 or 7 years ago, so a relative newbie

First I fished out of bro-in-laws portable. Then got my own 2 man porty. Then me and neighbors built a (cheap) 6x10 perm house to put on the lake near us (WBL) thinking we would use it a lot during the week after work. First year used it a decent amount, second a little bit, and the third only once... This year we didn't even put it out. It was kinda fun when we used it, but found we didn't use as much, even though it was only a mile form home...

I now have the 2 man and a 3 man porty, and they both get used quite a bit. I also got cabin and snowmos, and they pull the two porty's and another otter sled with gear, just about every weekend at the cabin. (Maybe that is reason the perm doesn't get used that much, ha!)

We are trying to decide if we should demo the perm (save the skids for a future perm, currently one is kinda heavy and POS, but works) or leave it stored by my garage. Good thing is that I have the room to store it without it being an eyesore.