Ice fishing when you live on the lake....

[Moe Szyslak]

just curious for those that live on a lake and ice fish. Do you still use an ice house? Permanent? Drop-down?

Or do you find that its easier to use a portable since you are right there at the lake already?

I've been leaning towards building a permanent and pulling it out but not move it. Just curious if anyone took a different route simply because they live on the lake.

[toughguy]

I don't own lake property but if I did I would put up a perm. It would be so nice to just fire up the snowmobile and drive out 3-5 nights a week or more. If the lake was in a safe area you could leave most of your equipment out there too. You would just need to haul out a flasher, bait and beer

[JoeMX1825]

I asked a similar question a few days ago.. I plan on going with a 6x8 skid house when I live on a lake. No need for a bathroom or beds as I'll quickly head back home for that if needed...I want the ease of transport (towing with a quad) and not having to deal with a frozen in wheel house...I like the Alumalite house with spray foam walls, only need a small buddy heater for heat....I plan on getting mine bare and running my own wiring for TV/Camera hookups, lights, ect..when ready i'll get it spray foamed afterwards...

[NAMASafetyDirector]

At the complete other end of the spectrum a Snobear is the ultimate. Jump in drive out, drop down, fish and in 2 minutes your up and away at the end of the day with all your gear inside and warm. Now I know this is out of the realm for a lot of people but it's an option for the serious fisherperson who happens to live on a lake.(I am in NO WAY affiliated with Snobear).

[Thorney]

I have a lake house and I ice fish out of pop-ups. I like the flexiblity to move to different places and fish differently as the season changes. I really prefer to be out in the open enjoying the winter, except when its windy. I keep all my gear in an atv trailer and just pull out on the lake to fish. Its nice having a lake home, but dont use the lake as much as you might think. For me, a permy is just one more headache that needs to be maintained.

[eagle_3464]

I live 1/2 block from the public access and have been fishing out of a voyager TCX for the last 4 years. If it's more than just yourself it tends to be somewhat crowded with two lines each. If you don't get home from work until 4:00 - 4:30, by the time you get the ATV out with the porty hooked up and get on the lake set up, the bite is about over. Then you still need to tear down in the dark and tow back in. Now if you have all day then it is more acceptable. But I work all day and have limited time. That is the reason I am building the wheel house. My wife will appreciate the extra room and comfort. I am guessing I will spend more evenings on the ice with the wheel house than I did with a porty. Will still be able to use the porty to explore the next spot to move the wheel house.

[Princeton]

I just leave it out, luckily one of the best spots is just off shore from my parents so they can keep an eye on it. We have never had anyone mess with it. It is really nice to just leave the heat on low and be able to go out to it whenever we want.

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...-bu#Post3139343

[clayton08]

I grew up on a lake and we always had a permi out there just for warming up and we always had it on fish. When it was slow we just get out and drill holes then hole hop if we wanted to try different areas we would fish different areas then if found them move the permi. I still base my camp off my wheelhouse when fishing with family or friends who dont know how to fish well.

[woodsmanmn]

We used to have a seasonal camper on a lake, and over christmas break I'd have a week or more off and put my portable out by all the perms and leave it set up. Sadly, about the fourth year of doing this, it disappeared.

[BoxMN]

I am weekender at our lake, and a few years ago a retired friend up there and I built a perm. I use it three days a weekend, but also still use my portables to move around quite a bit. But for going out at night when I get up there, I just hop on the sled or atv with my gear already packed and hit the perm. Real easy and quick. It is close to my cabin so I can see it, but still in decent spot.

I never leave the valuables (locator auger, etc.) in it except if going in for lunch. Never had problems, and my lake is off the list of destination lakes, but I don't want to have problems either.

It sure is nice to leave bait there, and heater there, and swivel chairs, and have holes open and stay open. Ours is 12x14 so nice and roomy, and great meeting place for fish fries on the ice

[Spike76]

I've always liked permanents better. Some years I would have three or four on the lake. With kids and grandkids running back and forth. It is easy to keep an eye on everything going on.

[leechlake]

I like sharing an ice house with a buddy. If one of you is gone the other can take care of it it conditions dictate it. Not much worse than worrying about a warm spell freezing the thing in.

I have two portables but there is nothing easier than hopping on the sled at 4pm and heading out walleye fishing less than a mile out on the lake and coming in at 6pm. Open door, pilot light is left on keeping holes open, turn up the heat and wet a line. EZ PZ.

[Moe Szyslak]

Ok, bit of a change in subject then. I'll probably build a smaller perm, 10 x 12 or so. I have access to metals for cheap. What is a good solid route to take for runners/skids? Steel or aluminum? 2X6? 2x8? Use flat metal as runners?

I've done some searching but didnt find a lot on skids, mostly on drop down house build projects.

Thanks for the help guys.

PS. I have flat shoreline transition from lake to yard and farthest part of lake from house is only 2 miles or so.

[JoeMX1825]

It's all about less weight (This allows you to be on the ice earlier and makes it easier to move it around)

Skid houses are no different than drop downs except obviously you have runners on the bottom vs wheels..they are typically smaller in size (again to save weight)

[tazimna]

It's a fantastic option to have a permy to fish out of. I'm on #11 in my 50 yrs of icefishing and finally have it down to where it's a joy to have. The key is to keep it light so it's very mobile. My current is 7x8, 4 holer with a ventless heater. 2x4 floor studs, 2x2 wall studs on 16", and 1" insulation inside. A vent on each end for moisture control makes it a great fishhouse. We put a trailor crank down on each corner, and built a 6x12 sled to pull it on. One guy can easily crank it up 8",slide sled under and off you go. Got it down to under an hour to lift,move,set and fish. We keep the stove pilot on when not there(which isn't often),so minimal ice on holes is a nice option. It's nice to be able to get to the house an hour before daylight and not worry about set up,drilling holes, etc. Go for it, you won't regret it. Taz

[BoxMN]

FWIW - Moe, we did ours much like Taz did, but it is a double wide - two parts that we slap together. But otherwise the floor and wall construction are similar.

We used 2x2 for ceiling, 12" apart, with 1" insulation and rubber roof. Doing it again I would use 2x3 or even 2x4 and space them further apart. The black roof does help keep snow off it. 1/4" plywood on sides and 1/8" plywood on top. We have 1.5" insulation in the floor. We scrounged materials for most, so would have done different if we were buying everything, ha!

For skids we have 4x4 treated 14'ers, but have steel wrapped with a "V" bent into it going 8' back from the front. We should have made these the same length (friend made them, no cost) as this make going "backward" a bit harder, they act as a break. We have to drag it down road for a short spell, this is why we have this on it.

We can pull easily each half with a 325-500 atv if there is not much snow, but we only put it out once and leave it. Then if our road is plowed it is easy to pull back in. If not, like last year, it was tough and used a truck, and still was tough with all the snow. We will keep that road maintained better this year

[Cheers]

Boxman Please tell me more about your runners . I have to beef mine up and was thinking of getting steel as the wood got badly damaged by sharp ice last year

[BoxMN]

Boxman Please tell me more about your runners . I have to beef mine up and was thinking of getting steel as the wood got badly damaged by sharp ice last year

Sorry for taking this off track. Here is about the only pic I have that shows runners, when we were building it. Friend had it made (he works at steel fab/foundry), so not sure how thick it is, but it is pretty beefy for a runner. It has a bend for the middle and the sides are bent up to fit the 4x4 inside it, and the front has an angle. It is only 8' long, and due to the thickness and the "v" we need to add an inch of blocking to the rear to keep it level.

[MuskieJunkie]

I fished with a guy on who lives on Prior lake, he puts his wheel house on the opposite side of the lake so his wife won't come out there. HA!

[dougger222]

We watch flags from the cabin. The past 2 Winters fished out of the dreamshak. The lake is mostly a night bite. Debating dragging up the smaller wheeled house to the cabin or buy or build a ski house.

For the LOW permanent house it's got white oak runners under it which the resort said are the best. When asked why not steel runners they said they are too hard to control. When we built the house we did treated runners and they last about 7 years. The house only got moved a couple times per Winter.