Do portable fish houses float?

[so haaad]

Does anyone know if a Fish Trap Guide floats with one person in it? In other words, could it help you if you went through the ice?

[Turkeyhunter10ga]

NO , i've never heard of one that floats , think about all the extra weight you have in there , besides yourself , and i'm sure that the weight of all that stuff is not evenly distributed.

[BigDaddy]

Repeat after me- "Death Trap".

[Deitz Dittrich]

the sled style houses will float themselves and gear.. but I highly doubt they will float you! In an emergency it may be worth a try.. but I would not count on it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Instead of saving your butt I can see it doing the exact opposite. Here's the scenario;

You're sitting in your shanty, the whole thing breaks through, you get trapped under the fold over canvas, you die, your brother in law gets all your fishing stuff.

I've counted on my Fish trap guide to keep me out of the wind and warm, but I'd never count on it to keep me above water.

My $.02

[greenhorn]

Quote:

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Repeat after me- "Death Trap".

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[I'llTakeWhatiCanGet]

I've got a buddy who likes to bring this up when fishing on thin ice. He explained his emergecy plan to me as follows: " if we go in, i'm gonna kick you off your seat and jump in the *&^* sled and paddle." Of course he also claims that if he falls through the ice, he'll immediately start swallowing water so that he won't have to suffer. I always tell him that i really wanna see him bust through up to his knees sometime, and bend down to drown himself

I'm not quite sure if the trap would float, i have a voyager, and the sides are pretty high, but like someone mentioned here, the key factor would be the distribution of weight in the sled. Hopefully none of us will ever need to find out first hand about the flotation of a fish trap. These devices were designed to sit on top of a sheet of ice, with a little caution we should be able to keep it that way. No fish is worth going through the ice for.

[hanson]

I sense an experiment coming up with my Otter Lodge sled and some WARM water this summer. I'm not going to be trying it anytime soon.

[viking_fan]

Do you bring an ore with you ????

That would get a couple laughs on the lake

[so haaad]

I'll shoot an email over to Clam and see if they know the answer. Hmm...maybe I should have put a trolling motor on the portable during the off-season.

[rmh2o]

It will float if the weight of the tub and contents is less than the weight of the water it displaces.For adults even if it would float the water would be very close to the top.

[The_Duckslayer]

Quote:

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I'll shoot an email over to Clam and see if they know the answer. Hmm...maybe I should have put a trolling motor on the portable during the off-season.

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Yeah... there goes another marketing scheme. So, would you have to have it licensed as a watercraft then? Maybe they could come up with a multi season license for it… yeah that’s it! Hmmmmm

Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[McGurk]

If the ice will support 200 lbs of flesh on the 100 square inches of your boots, you shouldn't have an issue with 400 pounds of flesh and gear spread across the footprint of

your portable. On the water... totally different matter.

I would like to see a sled with a trolling motor zipping across the water, though. Otter races, next summer?

[Lost]

So should I start gathering foam to make the sled float better? Or milk cartons?

[LocalGuide]

I do know that the otter sleds are made to float. Now I dont know if they are made to float with a canvas on them, that might be a different story. But since the otter sleds are pretty wide and have high sides on them Id take my chance with them first.

Maybe I should just buy a otter sled this summer and use that for my first boat. Put a trolling motor on there and im FISHING!

[Phred52]

It'll float ONLY for a fleeting moment! About as long as it takes to see your life flash before your eyes. I enjoyed the comment about the oar, GOOD one! Picture if you will, sittin' atop a "floating fishtrap" rowing your way down s*** creek! Can't help but laugh.

[fishermn]

IF it did float, how exactly would you get in it without sinking it?

[Ed Carlson]

I think they are like turds...some float and some sink.

The "Death Trap" scenario is a very likely one due to entanglement issues. Once water rushed into the sled and tarp it would be like trying to pull in a drift sock full of water....times ten.

[viking_fan]

You all are just too funny

[Everclear]

OK! It's official! We need ice and we need it bad! When we start talking about floating turds we are spending way too much time on the computer.

p.s. does anyone know the migration range of the common sparrow?

[psegriz]

Hanson

That lodge ya got will werk for a boat. They aren't as stable as one would like with the tarp on. Well maybe it was just the cluts in it? Couple winters back I had the ice bug bad and pushed my way onto 1" to reach my honey hole.

Who ever come up otter races next summer. That sounds like it could get real interesting.

[Moose-Hunter]

Otter Racing....

I love it!! Count me in!! But wait a minute... My Otter is modified... Hmmmm... I must have a race Otter!!

People skip snowmachines on open water... Why not Otter sleds?

Let's do it!! Keep me posted...

[Dakota Iceman]

The otter magnum I have says it it will hold 350lbs of gear and float....my GUESS is that an otter might give me enough time to get to safety.

[McGurk]

Better yet, rig your canvas and poles to be mounted in a new way; as a sail! No more "rowing" or "trolling" your otter around. Let the wind whisk you over to your favorite spot!

Disclaimer here: "For recreational use only," No Lawsuits!

McGurk