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Portable Modification Get Together RECAP!!!!


Matt Johnson

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Wow! What an awesome day! The weather sure did cooperate and the company was outstanding! It was great meeting all the new people! A lot of great people on this site, no doubt about that!

A lot of exciting things to talk about...

The modifications and "show-n-tell" time was only a small portion of the day. It seemed as if the chatting and laughs took up a good majority of the time we spent out at Mississippi Park. A lot of interesting stories were told and a lot of interesting stories were heard. For me, that was the best part of the day!

I would like to thank everyone who attended, all of you made it a lot of fun!

Ok, now for some pictures and a recap of the day...

First off, Dave got the kids involved with a putting together an Otter Small Cottage portable fish house. Those kids sure whipped that thing together in no time! Wow! They made it look way too easy!....

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And then anyone who knows Dave will know that he goes no where without his ATV smile.gif And let me add, this ATV is a sight to be told! What an incredible machine!...

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Talk about the ultimate ice machine!

So we began the day putting together a couple portable fish houses, then there was a very unexpected, but tasty break in the day smile.gif...

Mr. Dennis Steele decided to bring along some fresh catfish for a little fish fry! Not only did Dennis do the catching, but he did the filleting and the cooking! And let me say, it was nothing short of outstanding!...

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More pictures and recap to follow...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

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Next came the modifications and show-n-tell!...

Hanson provided a couple decked out Otter's for everyone to check-out...

Otter Den...

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Otter Magnum Lodge...

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And then wolfman-k brought along the fish house or portable fish houses! This bad boy is built on an Otter Magnum Lodge sled, but is a double-sided flip-over with insulated canvas! Let me tell you, this portable is a Cadillac!!!...

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Talk about room!

More pictures and recaps to follow....

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

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There was one modified portable that really caught my eye though, and that was woody's. This modified portable had it all! A spot for just about everything!...

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Nytelyter brought along a pretty crafty portable as well, although I didn't get the opportunity to snap off a few pics of it before he took off to go sailing. He'll have to send me a few or else post them later. He had some pretty cool modifications as well.

Overall I had a lot of fun at the Get Together today. I hope everyone that showed up got a chance to pick up a few new ideas and maybe even share a few ideas of their own. This WILL be an annual event, you can count on that!

Here's a few more pics to recap the day...

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Again, thanks to everyone who showed up and helped out, I really appreciate it! It was also nice to see several kids show up, very cool!

We will plan something again for the near future. Us ice fishing geeks need to let loose once in a while smile.gif

Thanks again!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

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I also had a blast, was only there a short time, but was nice to put a few faces to the names I met today. Definetly have some work to do on the portable before next ice. However, my ice season will be significantly cut short this year as we are expecting a keeper of our own in december, last one we had was 20" and 7#, she is now four and loves to go ice fishing with dad!!

I look forward to seeing more at next years event, as well as at the ice fishing show in St. Paul in Dec.

Thanks to Matt for organizing the event!! was nice to meet you!!

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Yes, it was definately a great idea to have this get-together. Thanks Matt! Also, thank you to everyone else involved. I learned a lot about what I want for my next portable purchase and got some great modification ideas to use in it. It was cool to meet all of you there in person. It was great sharing a few stories and laughs. Sorry I had to jet out of there so quickly, but there was tubing to be had smile.gif which was a great end to a great day. Thanks again and I also took a few pics that I'll sort through so I can see if I have any that Matt doesn't. See you all next year!

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Hey Matt, thanks for the "shout out" on my "hole hopper" sled. I hope I was able to answer any questions anyone had on it. If not, feel free to e-mail me with any questions. When we got home from the get together, my son was anxious to get started, so we began to mount the rope lights in the QF2. He is REALLY excited to put some of the ideas together, and "get'er done!" grin.gif Thanks again to everyone we met.

*On a side note, while setting up my QF3-I noticed that the windows are velcro'd in, so in the advent one breaks/cracks...it can be easily replaced! Might order some up now, and have them on hand wink.gif.

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It was truely a pleasure to meet other fishermen who share such a fun passion. I got some very good ideas and plan to make some modifications to my double-wide in the near future. Thanks Matt for putting this together, and to all who attended. I think the best ideas are those that are shared. grin.gif It was great to put faces to some of the people on this site. I am looking forward to some of the on-ice get-togethers this upcoming hard water season. Again, thanks to all who made the trip, it was a really good time. smile.gif

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As always a great time with great people. When I get my new portable this fall I think I'll give the "kids" a call and have them help. They whipped that one together in no time yesterday. It sure was fun meeting new and familiar folks from the site. We even drew in the park staff. wink.gif

Lots of good ideas, conversation and of course catfish.

Thanks Again for getting the event organized Matt.

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For anyone who is interested... I started a panfish league that will begin this December out on the ice. I started a topic in the Crappie-Sunfish Forum about it if you want to check it out...

The Ultimate Panfish League

I cut it off at 15 teams per event, so I figured I'd let the other ice fishing die hards get a shot at it first grin.gif

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

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Man I'm jealous...I wish I could've been there. I may have to pick up a flip style portable sometime this fall so I can do some modifications. I just don't see many options with my clam 5600...unless you guys can prove me wrong? Actually I plan on pulling out the 3/4" particle board and putting something lighter in there because man that thing is heavy. I love the pictures and any explanation of what you guys did may be helpful for us unfortunate ones that couldn't make it. I'm glad to hear this will be an annual event, you can count me in next year!

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Yup, that was definitely a good time. Wish I could've stayed longer but it's hard to cram so much stuff into one weekend. I should have stayed because we didn't do too well fishing that afternoon and evening. Thanks a bunch for helping me put the Otter together guys - much appreciated. Matt, thanks for grabbing that extender. I'll be emailing you shortly.

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WOW- Sounds like a great time was had out there! Sorry I couldn't attend....had relatives from the East Coast here in MN.

Great recap Matt and thanks for the pictures!

Hanson- You do great work, nice job on those sleds! I had seen Hanson's modifications on the ice this past winter and outstanding ideas for those looking to do MOD's on their homes!

grin.gif

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I also had a fun time at the get together! It was great watching the kids assemble the Otter Cottage shelter. I'll start another thread so the photos don't bog down when loading.

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Awesome stuff. I have seen some of the modificaitons before, and wondered about minow bucket "sloshing" and the mess that might make on top of the "platform". Are there ways to keep the water in the bucket best (or am I using the wrong minnow bucket)?

Also, I am trying to plan the vitals for what to have out there on the ice, and I consolidated quite a bit last year. What do you guys see as the bare essentials? For starters, here is what I see (I have an Otter Lodge):

Flasher

Auger

Minnow bucket (and maybe another bucket for fish I'm taking home)

Small soft-side tackle bag (with about 3 small pocket size boxes)

Heater (portable buddy)

Lantern

Rod tube(s)

Seat

Small cooler

Does anyone have things to add/modify from there? I'm trying to design my own customization prior to the season...not too far off.

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Quote:

minnow bucket "sloshing"


Yep. It will happen. One thing I've done to prevent that is to buy my minnows oxygen bagged. I just slide the bag down in the bucket and keep it rubber banded until I reach my destination. If I need to move again, I'll quickly wrap the rubber band around the bag.

I'm on the lookout for some kind of lid for a pail that will fit on my buckets but doesn't have holes. That would maybe work.

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As far as your list goes Stick, your gonna need an ice scooper also.

My bare essentials list is:

-Marcum LX-3

-Marcum VS-560 Camera (not necessarily essential but it is always with)

-11lb Propane tank w/ sunflower heater

-Auger

-Little Dipper Ice Scoop

-Revolution rod bag & rods

-Bait (Minnows, EuraLarvae, & Waxies)

-Pop & snacks

-Rubbermaid container for fish

-Soft side tackle bag w/ tackle trays

-Lantern (when I know I'll be night fishing)

-Of course the fish house

Other items that always come with:

-Hand held GPS

-Cell Phone

-Matches

-Lake maps

-Hand Towel

I'm sure I left a few out also but think I hit on the big ticket items.

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I have a fully modified Otter Lodge. I have a five gallon pail with litted fitted in my sled. My minnow bucket goes inside of that and then the lid goes on top of that. Sure solves the water sloshing everywhere problem and I also have a bucket to hold my fish in laugh.gif

Here's my list of essentials (that term being relative to the comfort you require)

lX-3 Flasher

Aqua-vu Quad4 Camera

11lb tank with Mr. Buddy Cooker heater

lantern

hook-outs

extra mantles

auger

extra gasoline and oil for auger

pop snacks and once in a while adult beverages laugh.gif

Rod bag with all of my tackle and rods - I use a Revolution

cell phone

GPS

Tip-ups with Bag of accessories - I use a JR's bag for them

Towel to wipe my hands on

Lake Maps

Big Dipper ice scoop

Filet Knife - for cutting super braid lines

and I'm sure that I can think of a few more given time

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Sounds like a fun time! The woman made plans that included me on Saturday, so I couldn't make it. I did observe some ice floating in my beverage, though. Is it bad if the sight of ice cubes make you think of icefishing? smile.gif

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I'm finally back from Hell's Kitchen...akk the cabin. The news last night said the dewpoint was only 76 degrees and the actually daytime high was at 97. This was one tepid trip!. And the fishing....well.

Matt....This was an outstanding piece of work and you should be commended for it.

It was a super joy to get to meet so many of those who don't frequent the lower corner of the state here and some of the ideas shared were simply patent.

To all of you who I had the pleasure of sharing this time with, my only regret is that my time was at such a premium that day. Hopefully we will be able to get some more of these gatherings put together in the future.

Again...it was great to meet all of you and Matt congrats on a job well done!

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