Best Ice Fishing Portable Shelter Options - Otter Cabin

J. Wagner asks:

I know that I’ve see your reviews and usage of Otter portables. Currently using another brand but with the weight and round tubes I am looking at getting an Otter. Typically just me but don’t really like the fishable area or standing height so now I’m looking at the Cabin. My issues are 600 vs 1200 denier canvas overall added weight and the boat seats (preferred) vs bench.

I would have loved to ask at the Ice Show but that’s not happening so wanted to track out to someone I have followed and watched for years. I appreciate any insight you can give.

Hey Joe - thanks for the question and I’ll do my best to break down the models, sizing, and seating options for you.

Shell - Denier count is a measure of the thickness of the individual threads used to make up the fabric, and the 1200 denier XT PRO X-Over Cabin will have a tougher exterior than the 600 denier XT X-Over Cabin. In the pro-series, there’s also larger squares on the interior of the shell to loft more insulating air, making it a warmer shelter. That said, a few short years ago, 600 denier was above and beyond the industry standard for warmth and durability, so we’re just seeing better technology work its way up the chain. I don’t have a problem heating either shelter, but if you’re an angler continually fishing extreme northern climates, the PRO series shell may be a better pick for you.

Weight - It’s important to note that every Otter is lightest in class when compared to shelters of similar fishable space and interior square footage. That’s accomplished through lighter hardware and materials, and the difference in weight between the XT PRO X-Over Cabin and the XT X-Over Cabin is 8lbs. The Pro series is just a touch heaver at 103lbs vs. 95lbs.

Seats - If the bucket seats are preferred, your shelter is the XT PRO X-Over Cabin. While the bench seats offer a bit more seating, it’s hard to beat the comfort of those bucket seats. Additionally, you’re able to affix a few really nice options into the shelter. The Sportsman’s Caddy fits right between the two seats, features a locking lid, and holds everything from batteries to bait. It’s a MacGyver-style toolbox for everything you need on ice. If you don’t need it enclosed, you can’t beat the Otter Sidekick for the price. Same organizational idea, and great on a bucket too.

Accessories - If you’re new to Otter shelters, save some room in the budget for the items that really make an Otter, an Otter. They extend the fishability, and make a day on the ice that much more hassle free. Items like a rigid tow-hitch, cargo net and hammock netting options, along with a hitch pivot can really make your new fish-house a home on the ice. If you do any night angling at all, consider this dimmable, flexible light kit that makes evening angling easier than ever.

Thanks for the question, and good luck fishing!

Joel

Keeping Hands Warm

Pictured - Stealth Gloves

J. Schragg asks:

Just wondering how you keep your hands warm ice fishing with no obvious heat source outside? I.e. lantern? Do you handwarmers?

I’ve always been a proponent of using the right tool for the job, and that applies to gloves or other strategies for keeping your hands warm. Different conditions and scenarios call for different ways of doing things. I own a number of pairs of gloves for fishing outside, and for the most part, I utilize 3 or 4 different types depending on what I’m doing for the day.

Long snowmobile or ATV rides across the open ice call for the warmest of warm. No matter how you stack it, you’ll likely need a mitten more than a glove in this scenario unless you’ve got heated handlebars. Even then, I once took a 45 mile snowmobile ride in -24 degrees Fahrenheit with a great pair of leather gloves where my palms were on fire, and the tops of my hands were nearly frozen. Mittens like the Tundra utilize the warmth of all fingers and some serious air loft to insulate. There’s no warmer option in my opinion. That’s especially true if you add liner gloves. Pop off the mitts and use the liners for a quick task or two, then put the mitts on and you’ve got the warmest 1-2 punch I know of.

That said, for most “cold” situations, you need a little bit of dexterity, plenty of warmth, and a whole lot of toughness for hooks, walleye fins, and rough ice. I use the Striker Combat gloves for probably 60% of my fishing, because they check all those boxes while being absolutely bulletproof.

For most other fishing or when dexterity is the name of the game, I use the Striker Stealth gloves. These are great around the fish-house, and setting things up. They’re not quite as warm as the previous two options, but are completely waterproof and allow you to perform any fine motor skills. You can run your phone with them, put pins in hitches, connect propane hoses, etc. - all while keeping your hands from getting wet. No wet equals warm on all but the coldest days.

I’m not a huge fan of handwarmers except when deer hunting, and even then I use them exclusively in a warmer muff wrapped around your waist. Ice fishing for me is more active than that, negating the use of them as much as I do when hunting deer.

Joel

Ice Fishing - To Swivel or Not to Swivel?

Photo Credit - Matt Addington Photography

Products Featured:

St. Croix - Croix Custom Ice Perch/Eye Spoon Rod - CI28MLF

Daiwa QG750

Darren B. asks:

There seems to be an ongoing debate on whether or not a fisherman should use a barrel swivel above a fluorocarbon leader or if one should tie a uni knot. Are there certain times that one should be used over the other? What is your preferred presentation?

The long and short of the matter is that I prefer a swivel when I can.  Especially for flutter type spoons as they really swing, tumble, and roll around. Your average lead spoons still will impart some line twist, but not nearly that of a flatter spoon design.

That said, when the bite is hot and something breaks, I choose time and efficiency over tying in another swivel.  I’ve never used a uni-knot to connect on ice, but would do so in the event I needed braid.  Whitefishing in deep water would be a prime example of that, but I might take the opportunity to use a swivel there as well, unless my leader needed to be long.  Green Bay Walleyes and Whitefish again would come to mind given the clarity of water you’re fishing them in.  Hope this makes sense, and hopefully it answered your question. 

Thanks!

Joel

Jigging Rap Tips and Tricks

Karl J. asks:

I have been ice fishing with jigging raps for a couple years without success. What are a few jigging cadences to try with the jigging rap that will help my catch rate increase? Thank you for any information you provide.

Great question Karl. 

Jigging raps are great lures I’ve been fishing a long time, especially for panfish, but have really re-discovered using them over the past few years for walleyes.  A trip with Grant Sorenson a few years ago triggered some extra looks from me, and I kept finding myself using it more and more.  Especially as zebra mussel infested lakes become clearer, water bodies like Mille Lacs, Leech, and even Pepin have become better jig-rap lakes at least for me.  I think that has something to do with the way the lure aggressively swings, zips, and darts around, triggering reaction strikes from walleyes that get a great visual on the lure.

Keep in mind, there’s a lot to the rod and line combination.  The new St. Croix Search Bait and Outside Eye Rods were designed for this lure and others in the same weight/displacement category.  I’m pairing it with Sufix Fluoroclear and in deeper water I like that there’s a bit of flex and stretch, but not too much. 

Something that will help you unlock some great cadences is literally just studying it on an underwater camera.  Last year I tested some new baits and kind of have it down to a process at this point.  I get in a comfortable place, either wheelhouse or portable, and drop that Marcum Quest Camera.  Examine everything from big rips to small shakes, and everything in between, exactly as a fish would see it.  Learn what it takes to rock a bait back and forth, and specifically for the jigging rap, how to swim it in a circle.  Practice those and know what the bait does so you can pull the camera so it won’t spook walleyes later with fish on screen. 

Keep in mind that it’s not summer, and a fish’s metabolism is not at the same rate either.  Fish can be aggressive, but overall you won’t fish a jigging rap in the winter with the same amount of lift/swing that you would an open water setup.  What relative big swings you do are for drawing in fish, but the jigging rap can scare more fish than it catches if you continue to rip with fish on screen.  Smaller lifts and slack can be too aggressive too, as without knowing where the bait is darting you can actually turn them off by having it unnaturally charge them.  Once a fish is on your flasher, higher above them is a safe zone, and I usually only drop to reset the cadence or pound the bottom and stir up sediment, the latter happening only after a fish is starting to drift off screen.  From there, I try to unlock that rocking motion as best possible, relying on my underwater camera work to inform that jigging stroke. 

As always, take a fish’s temperature and interpret the aggressiveness of the mark.  My biggest fish on a jigging rap is also my biggest walleye to date, nearly a 13lb fish from Lake Erie that came among a flurry of 3 fish that went well over 25lbs.  Those fish reacted like bait perch, flying around the graph, and vapor-trailing up to smash baits from 5-7 feet below.  Big rips didn’t intimidate them, and drew the attention of that school I’m convinced.  Conversely, last winter on Mille Lacs I was having more success fishing it with a few darts and more subtle dancing in circles, then just quivering it rapidly with fish on screen.  Point being – each fish and water body is different, and what works one place may not work well in another.  Getting good with that lure, then offering fish a variety of looks is usually the key to success.  Target-rich environments help narrow down the winning look that much more quickly.

Good luck, and keep at it!

Joel    

Where to Find Perch and Walleyes on Featureless Lakes

J. Miller asks:

I live in Eastern North Dakota, and have a full time job that doesn’t involve fishing. Although I wish it did!! So I am limited to where I can go for lakes. (Usually a 2 hr radius. is about as far as I will drive) The lakes I go to have mainly perch, walleye, and Pike, and not alot of structure. Flat bottoms, very few rock piles that seem like they get surrounded by the crowds. Where do we go on a lake that doesn’t have all the rock piles, or structure that we are so use to seeing you talk about. The lakes aren’t small, there’s just very little structure.

Thank you Joel. And right lines!

Photo Credit - Ben Larson - In Depth Media Productions

Featured - Marcum LX-7

I think the key to finding locations away from the crowds is to know that even small, rather featureless lakes have some structure. For the ones that are completely void of good breaks, substrate changes, and/or offshore structure, small variations in depth, shoreline features, and bottom content can be a big deal.

For walleyes, you’re right, people certainly target the hard turns, points, and offshore defined structure.  Secondary spots that most anglers overlook shine in the scenario you speak of.  More gradual breaks, long edges with a feeding bench, or even secondary points away from main ones.  For perch, those guys roam off-structure, and on a good slough, you should spread out and push away from structure to the mud.  That’s where invertebrates will be teeming and the perch won’t be far behind.  For both species, spend some time exploring near whatever structure is available, but just off of it.  That goes for community holes and hidden gems as well.  We’ve gotten good as anglers at finding the obvious spots, and completely miss the rest.  I’m just as guilty, and am continually amazed when I find fish stacked in locations I consider poor.  They obviously don’t think so!

Hope some of this helped, and have a great new years.  Thanks for the questions.

Joel

Ice Fishing Dilemma - Should You Stay, or Should You Go?

Even on a good bite, it’s almost always a good bet to do some local roaming around the shelter.

Photo Credit - Matt Addington

Gear Used:

Marcum Lithium M5

Otter XT Hideout

St. Croix CCI - Tungsten Tamer

Striker Predator Bibs

Jon M. asks:

I was at the Fargo ice show and attended your seminar. I thought you did a awesome job, and gave great insight as to what it takes as a person, and the gear it takes to be a successful angler. You were limited on time, and you are a busy man so I didn’t want to bother you.... my question for you is this... I’m talking mainly perch and walleye now.... Do we wait it out on the spot we’re at? Or are we better off driving to another lake or slough that doesn’t have all the pressure from other anglers?

Hey Jon – my apologies for the late reply, and thanks so much for attending that seminar.  I appreciate the kind words and am glad you made it.

First and foremost, where it ain’t happening, it ain’t happening.  That’s usually from the perspective of a location on a specific lake.  It’s rare that I stay put and wait for them to show up unless:

1.      I’ve got good intel to suggest that they’ll be moving to cover or structure at a certain time

2.      I can’t find those same fish during the day, or they’re too spread out and inactive to target them

3.      I’m parked on historically good key feeding areas for a prime-time bite window

To leave the lake altogether, that’s a tougher question to answer.  Much depends on your lake research, what locals are saying, or more importantly aren’t.  In your neck of the woods, I’d rather fish a slough that nobody is on or few people are targeting, than get after a likely diminishing bite on its way down that everyone is hitting.  Realize however, that even in the “found” systems where word is out, there’s usually parts of the lake that contain the same fish and people just aren’t finding.  Similarly, there’s “unfound” lakes where fish are crushing that no one is at.  The rub lies in that even if you check out a lake and don’t find them, they might still be there.  For that reason, give likely looking water bodies another chance.  Of course, this process takes time, and you need to be willing to not catch fish as much as catch them.  For most anglers, that’s the difficult and unacceptable part.  In some respects it’s easier to go where you “know” they are, but you’ll never become a better angler and find more fish without constantly searching out new bites.    

I hope that helps, and good luck out there!

Joel

Flasher and Shelter for the Southern Half of the Ice Fishing Belt

David P. asks:

Now that my children are grown and off to college, I am thinking about getting back into ice fishing. That is if we ever get enough ice here where I live in northern Illinois. I would like to know if you have a recommendation for a flasher and a shanty. I like what I have read so far about the Marcum M series flashers. Maybe the M3. I see you use Otter shelters. I will likely be fishing alone and I like a dark or blackout shelter. Is the Otter Pro X Cottage shelter a dark or blackout shelter? It is difficult to find these items around here as there isn’t much ice for very long and very few ice fisherman. So any insight you can provide would be very helpful. Thanks, and have a great day! Dave

Hi David – thanks for the question, and I can appreciate where you’re coming from. In some years, even southern MN doesn’t get the ice that the rest of the state does. That leaves you wondering how far you really need to go in terms of an ice purchase you may only get a few weeks of use from. Still, as I think you’ve identified, it’s great to go with quality equipment that’ll best serve your needs. 

In your neck of the woods, I think you’d be very happy with either a Marcum M1 or M3.  Major differences between them being a bit more power/target-separation and adjustable zoom anywhere in the water column with the M3.  The M1 will still have bottom zoom and is a great unit that should not be overlooked! Pound for pound, it does the work of sonar that was cutting edge only a few years ago, and for a fraction of the price.  

As for the Otters, I’d recommend either the Hideout or the Cottage.  The XT Hideout is a stealth option, and both will be nearly full dark with the Cottage being the darkest.  It has a complete seal all the way around to prevent light from entering the back edges.  Both do not allow light through the canvas, which is a major benefit to the Otter shelters in general. 

Hope this helps, and good luck out there!

 Joel

How Do You Organize Your Ice Tackle?

Mike F. asks:

Hey Joel - I was wondering what your preferred method of ice tackle organization is when you are fishing out of a portable? Do you find a tackle bag is the way to go or some other method? I can't seem to find anything that I'm satisfied with when it comes to having what I need easily accessible and transportable.

Thanks!

Mike

Great question Mike, and it’s a doozy.  I think I’ll qualify everything first by saying that I don’t think anyone has found the “perfect” storage solution for all baits, tackle, and accessories.  There’s a lot of ways to skin that fish, and what works for some will be horrible for others.  In my situation, I’m fishing for constantly changing species in a variety of environments, so I need to have literally everything ready, then be able to pick and choose just a few items as needed to carry on my person and out onto the ice. 

For that reason, I’m about diversification and nested storage when it comes to my ice gear.  In a way, I run my program like those little Russian dolls that fit into one another.  I break my storage into 3 categories:

1. Home/Truck/Camp

2. On-Ice

3. On-Person

I’ve got totes, tackle bags, small hard-boxes, line boxes, and a Ziploc bags even come into play.  The big totes never hit the ice, and I use what’s in them to stock the tackle storage solutions that make their way out there with me.  Looking at it from the surface, it would seem a hodge-podge of whatever I have laying around and thrown into the back of the truck.  That said, these solutions have evolved over time to serve all kinds of needs from fun family trips, to filming forays, and everything in between. 

I’ve also learned to keep items in their original packaging as long as possible.  While it’s a space-waster, and it sure is fun to tear open packages to fill tackle boxes, the cardboard and plastic these baits come in can be the best way to keep them looking great.  It’s the basis for my system, and also the reason I have nested storage that I keep dipping into from time to time.  My entire philosophy is about taking a good variety but low volume of what you’ll need out on the ice, then keeping backups extremely handy for re-stocking.  Here’s how I stay on top of everything: 

Home, Truck, or At Camp:

• Basecamp Tote – This one’s big, and rarely makes it onto the ice with me.  It’s designed to be my rescue kit that lives in the back of a truck or at a lodge, but not something that I carry around full-time.  I can dip into it as needed on a long trip, and depending on the transport situation, I may take a handful of items from it and put onto the next solution.  Here’s just a few of the items it holds:

  • Hitch Pins

  • Auger kit, including replacement blades

  • Extra transducer/replacement Marcum battery

  • Extra Gloves

  • Extra Hoodies and Hats

  • Bait Pucks, pliers, and snips

  • Heater accessories and a lighter

• Line Box – I’ve got a Plano 3700 series deep box that’s full of nothing but line.  I respool each late fall, then re-order to fill.

• Lure Tote – This is a smaller tote that has nothing but lures in it.  Again, I keep this one at camp, and only use it to replenish lost items or hot baits I might need.  It’ll come with on a long trip, but most often it lives in my garage and is used as a buffer inventory from which to fill tackle boxes when needed.  When I use up a popular color or lure in the tote, I know it’s time to buy more.

On-Ice:

• On-Ice Soft Goods Bag – This bag is filled with ziplocs of tackle and some odds/ends:

  • Soft Plastics – I keep these in their original baggies and keep like sizes, shapes, and colors in a quart sized Ziploc freezer bag – these are tougher and stand up for a few years.

  • Panfish Tackle – I have select baits, tungsten and lead both, separated into bait type in original packaging, stuffed into Ziploc quart bags

  • Walleye Tackle – I have select baits, one bag per size, multiple colors per bag in Ziploc quart bags.  Jigging Raps in the package are a big part of the selection here, as Jigging Raps are easily damaged on long transport trips.

  • Bobbers, Sinkers, bare hooks and anything else needed to rig a tip-up or dead-line have their own mini tackle box that lives in the soft goods back.

•  On-Ice Hard Goods Bag – This can be any small tackle bag that holds the Plano 3500 or 3600 sized small boxes – as well as a few snips, pliers, and other small accessories

  • Box 1 – Rippin Raps of various shapes and colors – these hold up well to travel as they’re not as heavy.

  • Box 2 – Slab Raps and UL Rippin Raps.

  • Box 3 – Spoons of various shapes and sizes – These will get beat up, you’ll lose chips and chunks of paint, and you’ll have to be OK with it.  These are high use, constantly replenished items.

  • Box 4 – Swiss Army Box – Jigging Raps are the number one bait that gets damaged while in transport, but I do have a few out of the package and ready to rock in this box.  Oddballs also go in here, along with extra baits the didn’t fit in the first three boxes!

On-Person:

• Small Utility Box – Panfish – I’ve got one side of this filled with vertical panfish jigs, the other side, a mix of horizontal lead and tungsten baits.

• Medium Utility Box – Walleyes/Perch/Crappies – This box has some plastics and bare hooks in the clear plastic flip lids, along with spoons in the memory foam.  I do have a few Teardrop jigs in the clips, but this is a minimalist walleye box that has the very best of the best only inside.

Like I said, it’s far from perfect, but it works great for how I fish.  Every year I refine it and get a bit better!

Joel