Clam 1060

[aug495fish]

I am considering getting a Clam 1060. If there is anyone who has one or who has fished in one that would be willing to give your thoughts about it, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[syd2nd]

I have a clam 1060 and enjoy fishing out of it. It has a lot of room and is very comfortable to fish out of. It does take a little more time to set up that a 6800, but the comfort is worth my time. I did not have an issue with the tapered sides.

[aug495fish]

Syd2nd,

How easy is the setup? How long does it take?

Does the skirt on the ends stay down well or do you need to use something to hold them down?

Thanks for your input.

[syd2nd]

I set it up at home several times before my first venture on the ice because there are a couple of tricks. It does take less than five minutes to set up after the holes are marked and drilled. The only part that is a pain is the rod you have to put on both sides on the floor. You either have to reach across the wet ice over the drilled holes, or put them in from the outside. We didn't anchor our fishhouse in the wind, but someone always had to be in the house when we set it up. We just banked the sides with snow and no problem. Hope this helps. Like I said, I do like the room in this house. We put the heatercooker on the ice and three people can fish with lots of room. Four is a bit tight.

[toolgarage]

Syd2nd - I completely agree. Once the house is up there's plenty of room for 3-4, and it's a great home away from home on the ice, but getting the cover over the frame in a stiff blow is a pain.

[aug495fish]

So which would you say is easier to set up, the 8600 or the 1060?

[syd2nd]

Do you mean the 6800? If that is what you mean, the 6800 is a lot easier to pop up. Just open the door and and pivot the sides up and your just about done. The floor of the 1060 is the same size as the 6800. In the 1060 you fish outside the floor, and the 6800, through the floor. The extra work in putting up the 1060 is the swingarms that hold up the house above the ice. I was just putting mine up for the first time today, and it is pretty easy, but like I said before, it takes a little practice.

[LwnmwnMan2]

I bought a 1060 late spring of '04.

For me, it's a wonderful portable. My wife fishes with me, and we're starting to take our first child who's 3, 4 in Feb.

Needless to say, we're not very mobile, so I'm not looking for something EXTREMELY portable.

We go fishing to fish, and with the young one, and even my wife, which neither really care for the taste of fish, we're usually just fishing the spots we know there are smaller fish, to keep the child interested.

Anyways, It's VERY easy to get set up once you have it down.

I know that I can drill 2 holes side by side, and then mark off 6 boot lengths, and then drill 2 holes in the opposite direction, as so....

.O.O..........

.......|.......

.......|.......

.......|.......

.......|.......

.......|.......

.......|.......

..........O.O.

and my house will set right over it each time.

As far as the flaps on the side, I either tuck them under the bar that goes across the bottom on the outside if there's not alot of snow cover on the lake, or else just throw a bunch of slush or snow on them, they'll stay just fine.

As for the stiff breeze, it's a little pain, but once you're used to things, and you have steps in place, the house is alot more stable than a 6800, just from the trapazoid shape.

As far as room, with fishing outside the actual floor of the house, you can fish 3 adults very easy, even using folding chairs, since 2 can fish in four holes out the one side, and the other person, if you put your two holes towards one corner of the house, you can set the 20lb propane tank on the ice, as well as a rod bucket, and minnow bucket, keeping everything off of the floor.

I've got one of those magnetic tent fans from Coleman, picked up at Target, that I place right above the heater to shoot the heat over to the other side, because that side CAN get a little chilly, especially if it's -10 -> -20 out.

If you've got any other questions, ask away.

Jeremy

[aug495fish]

Syd2nd,

I did mean the 6800, sorry about that.

Thank you both for your comments and insight. What do you use to heat?

If you had another choice would you pick what you have again or the 6800?

LwnmwnMan2,

You said you take your son/daughter. That is the main reason I want to upgrade to a bigger shelter. I like the size of the 1060 because it will fit easily in our van. Do you think that my wife and 3 kids would be comfortable in the 1060?

Thanks again to both of you for your thoughts.

[syd2nd]

I use a sunflower cooker/heater and let it sit on the ice and run a hose to a 20 pounder outside the house. It heats is ok, but it was pretty chilly in there last year with negative 10 and a stiff wind blowing. I like lwnmwn's idea about a fan in there. I guess the bottom line on choice is do you want to be quite mobile, or quite comfortable. The 6800 is quite mobile and can be set out in a jiffy, whereas the 1060 takes a couple of minutes to set up and take down, but has a lot more room when it is set up. I do not like to move around all day, so I am very content with the 1060 again and would buy it again, if I had the choice. Another thing, I am not a small person, so the size of the house was important to me.

[LwnmwnMan2]

I just have the sunflower heater right on top of the 20lb propane tank in the house.

As for "3" kids.... that MIGHT start to get a little crowded if they are like most and want to move around alot.

BUT, at the same time, it'll still be roomier than the 6800, for the mere fact that you can store all of your equipment on the ice, yet still inside the house.

[mikelcm]

Thought I would add my 2 cents on this one. Both my brother in-law and I have bought the 1060 and for the same reasons that you are looking at it. This one is great for the family to use! We can get the five of us in there, myself, wife and kids 9,8, and 6. This year we are going to try and put the two units side by side with the doors open to each other. Trying to figure out if we can rig one of those connectors like some of the other Clam units have.

I would recommend this one to anybody who wants a house that is portable and big enough to take the kids fishing in. This one is plenty big when it is just me and the kids, and works fine with four guys in it as well.

One draw back, and you will get this with the 6800, the lip can be a problem for the kids, not a big deal, but just know that you have to remind them to lift there leg when they are getting out.

Buy one if you can, I think you will certainly like it.

[jdubbs31]

I recently bought a 1060 for the same reasons. Is it possible to leave the Ice Armor on the main frame, or do you have to string it overtop after set up?

[syd2nd]

jdubbs31- yea, keep the icearmor on the main frame. It should be connected to each side on the bottom with three connectors and the top with three velcro straps. It is also nice to strap the rods which swing out to the corner to the top of the door. You will see the two velcro straps up there to connect them to. The only time I take the ice armor off is in the summer, I put it in a plastic bin to keep the mice out.

[aug495fish]

Thanks to all for your advice. I am hoping to get one of these.

[jdubbs31]

Thanks, I've only set it up once and it wasn't obvious if you could leave the ice armor on or if you needed to take it off.

[bgfish00]

The 1060 definately has nice amount of room. IT is however not extremely portable. That is the only tradeoff. Setup is easy as I had one for 3 years. Keep the Top on and set it up like the 5600 or 6800 and pop out the sides and you are done. A sunflower is all I used to heat it and was more than adequate.

Good luck with it, and may you catch many fish in your tepee...