Cure yer ice fishin' withdrawl symptoms at Fargo's Gander

[schweady]

I was in Fargo today and saw two pickups go by with new shelters in the back with Gander Mountain's logo on the boxes. Had to swing by and take a look myself. Sure enough, they were in full swing, putting out all their ice gear. 8 or 10 shelters were up and all the goods pretty much out on the racks. Salesman said they were trying to generate enough interest to make room for this year's new stuff yet to come in. Didn't see any markdowns or anything, but pretty surprised to see anything out on this scale before the usual push right after firearms season. The guy was pretty pumped about Frabill's new sleds with the Glide Trax bottom. Molded runners to reduce friction and double as rod/equipment storage spaces. None of the ones they had set up used it; he just showed it off in his catalog. Take a look at it at Frabill's HSOforum. If I didn't love my Otter Cabin so much, I might give Frabill a long, hard look this year. They changed the seat mount system, too, eliminating that bulky plastic base. And, everyone knows how comfy their seats are. The salesman said they include thermal (HotSeat-type) material now, too. (?) Of course, near the end of our conversation, he admitted that he works for Frabill... still, it was fun checking things out and thinking of ice.