Clam Fish houses..why so many for sale???

[iffwalleyes]

I pretty sure LwnmwnMan2 nailed it I have a Shoremaster 6x8 and while it was nice and roomy it definitly lack mobility and when I fished by myself it was almost impossible to load unload and set up it was very heavy for one person to handle. So I started looking for a used Otter and last year I bought one of them and they are very portable I got the Magnum and I have plenty room for 2 people this is still pretty heavy when I am alone so I am now in the market for another flip house. But that I think is the reason you are seeing so many people are changing their minds and moving from the suitcase to the flip.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[the big dipper]

I'll put in a plug for the clam 2000 model.
It's only 5' tall, but it sets up in a snap, folds up small, easy to keep warm. I usually only fish one hole, so I think it's the perfect unit. I also like my old fish trap, and I also own a big Clam, but I hardly ever use it just because the 2000 is so handy.

I've had the buttons freeze, and the frame stick, and I'm ready to try some kind of lube. Any suggestions? Hopefully something that won't be dirty or greasy. Silicone spray maybe. I don't see how that could hurt, but it maybe won't do alot of good either.

[Bushwacker]

I have both a 2-year-old Clam 6800 and a 2-year-old Otter Magnum Lodge and I have fished out of the Lodge 50+ time and out of the Clam less than 10. The Clam style are way too hard to set up in my opinion and when towing behind my ATV the clam is useless for carrying gear. The Otter is even more roomy for 2 guys, but 3 or more has to be the Clam. Nice extra house to have sitting in the garage for those trips with more than one person that do not have houses, but that's about it.

[jlm]

I also have both types of houses. The flip style is great but only when it is warmer out and if you want to move around. It is quick and easy. On the other hand, if you fish in one spot all day, the fold up kind is much better. There is nothing worse than having your feet in a mini lake from the melting that goes on with the flip house. I much prefer a house with a floor if you plan to fish all day in one spot, especially if it is real cold out. If it is realy windy, I prefer the flip house. Heck, buy one of each...then you will be set!

[Fishmugger]

Hey IFFwalleyes,

With your shoremaster, did you have an older model blue one...what was the canvas like, I hear it is a little lighter than the new sportsman with the 11oz canvas, how was the durability, and if you were not as mobile would you still have it???

[slabberknocker]

Fishmugger,
Email me at [email protected].

Slab

[Fishmugger]

Slab, do you have a portable for sale or info on the shoremaster...?

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Remember...No matter where you go...There you are.

[TV BOY]

I have a 6800, and the floor is nice. Kids are going to end up on the floor, which will be drier than the ice on a flip style. Heck, I even sit and/or lay on the floor on occasion.
Also you can stand and stretch in a 6800. Most newer flips are now tall enough to do that. I didn't care for the shorter clams for that reason.

[iffwalleyes]

Yes I still have it and it is blue. It is pretty durable but, I don't like how they attach the canvas it to the plastic they stapled it to the plastic so in the wind that has lead to some tearing around the bottom of the canvas. I believe I heard that the new houses were a little heavier I don't remember for sure though. That is where the clams are a little better there is some give in the wind. The house itself is about 5 years old and aside from a few holes it is in pretty good shape.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[Guest]

just like a few of the other guys, i have a clam 5600, a clam fishtrap II, and an otter magnum lodge. the clams are the older ones, with the heavy canvas and base. i purchased the otter last winter. each one serves a different purpose for me, i like them equally. when the weather's bitter cold, or when i can find someone who wants to fish and set up the 5600, i'll use it. when i'm alone, and gotta travel light, cause the ice may not be solid enough to use the atv, i use the trap II. when i have the atv, and i'm buy myself, i prefer the otter. i'm glad i have all 3....later, keebo.

[parttimer]

It may help all of you with freezing snaps to try putting parafin wax on the snaps, I think it can be purchased at almost any grocery store. I'm just guessing, but it may work. I know the wax repells water and doesn't attract dirt. It is dry, solid, wax.

Hope it helps!

[Fishmugger]

As Im looking in the classifieds I see many Clam 6x8's for sale...what gives...are there problems...dont people like em...Im looking for a larger portable for some extra room for the kids and have seen many clams for sale...just wondering why??? let me know what your thoughts are and what used one I should get...

[Rywheat]

The clam has been around forever so you will see a few of them because most people that have owned them buy them again and sell there old because the new are new and improved but the old ones still work just fine

[iceguy75]

One problem I've had with mine is the buttons in the pole system freezing up from the moisture in the corners, sometimes they can be a real b#$(h to get down. Had to leave mine on the lake one night, couldn't get it folded up again till the next day.

[Guest]

I had one and it ripped, the floor cracked and the seams separated.

I take care of my stuff because I don't like to get somewhere to fish and not have my stuff in good working condition.

I fired the Clam and now I'm an Otter fisherman...experiences will differ, of course.

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Chells

[LwnmwnMan2]

I think you see alot of 6800's because people that own them, see the flip style and think "that's what I've got to have" "I can chase fish all over the lake" or "that would be way easier to drag my stuff over thinner ice". Personally, I like a suitcase portable since I don't fish until there's the ability to drive a pickup out. I had a 6'x8' portable, a Sportmax that was the older model of the Eskimo 6'x8'. I only sold it to get a Clam 1060, which gives my wife, father and I enough room to get the heater, minnow bucket, etc. out of the way to fish comfortably. If you don't move around a whole lot when you fish, there's nothing wrong with these 6800s, probably guys just trying to sell theirs to get to the limit that the wife will let them spend on a new flip style.

If your style of fishing tends to be like mine, sit on your little hole until the fish start to bite, there's nothing wrong with a 6800.

Lwn

[This message has been edited by LwnmwnMan2 (edited 01-20-2004).]