Fish Shelter Evalluation

[Ron Vroom]

I have now spent this ice fishing season using an Eskimo Quickfish III which I am entirely satisfied with. For those who are skeptical about it's ability to withstand windy conditions, I have used it in winds up to 30 mph with no problem. There are a few tricks I have learned. Before setting up the shelter, I mark the 3 holes with a triangular jig made from wood sticks marking each apex with carpenter's plumb bob chalk, then I drill my holes. I then position the shelter and set the 4 corner anchors before popping the top and sides, so there is no chance it is going to blow away. After that, I set the side anchors. Setting the anchors is the most time consuming part, but a cordless drill speeds that process. Erecting it and taking it down is a matter of minutes, and remember to remove the 4 corner anchors as the last step before folding it up so it does not blow away from you. The ice anchors are substantial and excellent.A final tip is to unpop one side adjacent to the zipper corner and then fold half of that one side up holding it up and across with a bungee cord to a side eye, so you have better access moving gear in and out. I think Ardisam has come up with a very good shelter for 3 if you do not need a tub like me who always fishes by my pickup at a price that is hard to beat. After 1 season it remains in like new condition.

[DanS.]

Ron,

I was thinking about getting the Quickfish III next season. Can you fish with four holes in it? I like to fish for crappies in the evenings.

[Walleyeguy31]

You could easily fish with 4 holes, maybe even 6 strategically placed holes but watch your footing!

[hill7410]

Seems to me like there is a little to much nonsense work, but maybe i have to see it to believe it, i use an ottersled fish house and i was in south dakota last weekend and there was at least 30mph winds and all i had to do was put the three extra poles up and i could walk outside w/out any anchors to deal with, very portable.

[oil painter]

My buddies and I use clams,6800 and 5600. we use eye bolts w/dowels through them to anchor in the wind works great takes a second to put in and presto your fishing!

[Ron Vroom]

Isn’t human nature interesting? Each of us try to justify our purchase choices as being the best when in the end they are all a compromise of factors like cost, quality, weight, mobility, etc. which each of us weigh differently. My point was not to suggest that the Quickfish !!! is the best shelter for everyone, but to disspell the concerns I’ve heard others voice when they have seen one in regard to withstanding wind. Ice fishermen essentially have 3 choices: sitting out on the ice with no shelter (the only concern about wind, is how much wind chill you can tolerate); a wheelhouse or “ permanent” shack (the only concern with wind is whether or not you can locate it in a whiteout); and some kind of portable be it a tubsled like an Otter or a Clam, and now a Quickfish). I had a 2 man tubsled and never took a “nantucket” sleighride in it but came close to losing it in a wind when I got out of it to releave myself, so I began thinking of anchors or tying it to the pickup. No question that a wheelhouse or “permanent” will be the most comfortable in terms of warmth, amenities, etc., but the trade off is less mobility and increased cost. A tubsled is probably ideal if you travel by snowmobile or 4-wheeler in terms of mobility and ease of set up, but try loading your Otter into a ski plane or pulling it behind a dog sled. I probably have 1/4 of the coat of your Otter invested, and compare the weight of your Otter to the 28 lbs of the Quickfish. So the style of fishing you do probably dictates the “best” shelter for you. In my case, I do not own a snowmobile or a 4-wheeler and I don’t live on a lake. After 2 seasons with a 2 man tublsed, I began to wonder what the hell I was doing with the (Contact US Regarding This Word) thing which filled the pickup bed, and which I had to load and unload with gear to get it in an out of the truck. On a couple of occasions, I did pull it with snowshoes some distance but quickly decided that it was not worth a heart attack and my tubsled was a light weight compared to an Otter. So we all pays our money and makes our choice. How lucky we are to have those choices!

[Ron Vroom]

4 holes for 1 guy would work, but 3 people pretty much maxes it out in terms of space. You've got 69" corner to corner on each side. For 3 guys I put a hole in three corners, you would not want a hole in the corner where the entry is. We each fish a hole, and set tip ups outside, and there is room enough for a sunflower heater in the center. I use folding canvass camp chairs. After a couple of times of choreographing the movements for everyone, they get the idea, and it is like watching a ballet!

[DanS.]

Ron,

I see that you decided to use a quickfish based on weight. Later this season, I started using a deer drag harness ($7 item) for pulling my 36lb E.Traveler. It was a dramatic improvement over pulling the tow rope by hand. One day I decided to weigh all of the gear with my fish scale and came up with 150lbs including the sled!

[SomethingFishy*]

I as well have used the deer drag, what a relief it takes off of your arm and body, I have even managed a minimal effort slight jog dragging my otter lodge with power auger and 20lb tank w/ sunflower heater. I still would prefer to own a wheeler but that is something I will pick up by next Ice season.