Scoop fishing thread

[mr.MUskie]

Fished a quiet Northern Wisconsin lake this evening and got this 21 1/2 inch smallmouth bass.  My partner followed it up a few minutes later with a 21".  Lost one about 10 minutes later that may have been even bigger because it was too dark to effectively net it.  I guess I will have to credit the lucky shirt for my new personal best smb.

Overall, had a heck of a weekend.  Friend of mine had relatives over for the weekend, and they wanted a fish fry.  Friday night went out with a buddy and we each got a limit of crappies.  Saturday afternoon we each got a limit of largemouth bass, and early evening we both limited on walleye, with a very fat northern as an added bonus.  Then followed up this evening with the smallie.  Will be back up here in a couple weeks for the fall Muskie hunt.

[real chili 83]

Anyone ice fishing yet?

[SaintPaulWarrior]

Anyone ice fishing yet?

Snowmobiling season does not start until Dec. 1 in the UP and Dec. 15 in MN and WI.  Damn deer hunters.

[club cheezes VIP lounge]

Anyone ice fishing yet?

Picked up a nice walleye on Thanksgiving morning by my brother's place near Nekoosa.

Will be out tomorrow afternoon and before the game Saturday closer to home (Chippewa Falls).

Nothing but great panfish reports coming in, gotta love this time of year...

[mr.MUskie]

Anyone ice fishing yet?

Took a 3 day trip up to St Germain for some ice fishing.  Lots of panfish, a few walleyes and some northerns.  Ice was 8-11 inches.

[Hards Alumni]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohOJVc2j6s&app=desktop

not me, but I thought I'd share this because it is really neat.

[real chili 83]

That ice is so clear, like looking into an aquarium.

[Benny B]

What's the phenomenon that allows the ice to be that clear?  I know that ice sculptors create clear blocks of ice by freezing artificially turbulent water (basically an aquarium pump), but I doubt someone has an aerator running 20 miles off-shore.

I'm glad that wasn't you Hards.  That would have become your Scoop meme from which there would be no escape.

[Hards Alumni]

What's the phenomenon that allows the ice to be that clear?  I know that ice sculptors create clear blocks of ice by freezing artificially turbulent water (basically an aquarium pump), but I doubt someone has an aerator running 20 miles off-shore.

I'm glad that wasn't you Hards.  That would have become your Scoop meme from which there would be no escape.

I would have absolutely deserved it.

[Hards Alumni]

Wife and FIL started an ice shack business.

Www.fatotteroutdoors.com

Let me know what you guys think!

[LloydsLegs]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohOJVc2j6s&app=desktop

not me, but I thought I'd share this because it is really neat.

Thanks for sharing that--fun to watch someone experience such pure joy.

[real chili 83]

Wife and FIL started an ice shack business.

Www.fatotteroutdoors.com

Let me know what you guys think!

Love the light weight, portability, and ease of storage.

Do they plan on displaying at any sport shows? 

First Friday in December, huge one focused exclusively on ice fishing in St. Paul at convention center.  I did a booth there a couple of years ago for a non-profit ice tournament.  Tons of press, pro anglers, and huge volume of traffic.  St. Paul Ice Show.  http://www.gsevents.com/shows/display.cfm?showID=56&showtypeid=3&src=345&sfid=73

Any distributors yet?

[Benny B]

Wife and FIL started an ice shack business.

Www.fatotteroutdoors.com

Let me know what you guys think!

As an avid ice-fisherman during my HS days (mostly because it was a "speakeasy" for us 16-18 year olds), let me say that I love the idea of a collapsible, hard-sided shack that stores flat.  At the end of every season, there were always a few "For Sale - Cheap" signs because a lot of people didn't want or have room to store during the summer.  My uncle (mom's brother) stored his in our backyard because we had room and he didn't, which worked out great until my parents divorced and my dad kept the house... and it worked out even greater for the recipient when my uncle ended up having to give the shack away.

The photos on the website are great for perspective, but it needs a page showing dimensions and specs (don't forget the storage footprint).  A time-lapse video of set-up would be a nice touch; the competitive advantage here is the lightweight, easy-setup construction/materials... emphasize it.

Price point looks good.  Not sure what went into that as far as research, but $3K seems about right considering the high end soft-sides will run upwards of a grand and a you could buy a new Prius for the cost of a crank-down.

One drawback - mostly because I'm a pansy who preferred to ice fish exclusively when the air temp is sub-zero (less likely the deputies will be out knocking on doors) - is that it appears to lack integration for heat source (e.g. exhaust/fresh air exchange ports), although I think I know why this feature was omitted (something that rhymes with "bastard class-action, money-grubbing product liability schmattorneys").  I know a lot of people forgo the heat, but I like being able to hold a can of beer with my bare hand while I fish.

I'd like to see a cross-section of the aluminum walls/roof.  Again, pansy here, but if design/specs would permit, a nice option would be to fill the cavities with closed-cell spray foam, especially with the lack of heat source integration.  What's the point of t-pane windows if the other 95% of the surface area is a heatsink?  Depending on the cavity size, the additional weight would be negligible and you could increase the r-value by 400-600%.  Not to mention, it would give the aluminum construction a much more durable feel both in setup and in holding up to the wind (resist bending/warping).  If not feasible in the walls, I would at least try to offer this in the roof since that's where the majority of heat loss is going to occur.  Again, depending on cavity size, you're probably not looking not much more than 200-250 board feet of cured foam, which even at retail cost of $1/bd-ft plus markup, you're only adding 10% to the retail cost.

The one thing I think is a bit shortsighted is the nickle-and-diming for the four-holer.  If you were selling these to a bunch of FIBs and east-coasters, sure, up-charge the $149; but your wife & FIL are going to turn off a lot of Minnies and Sconnies by trying to get that extra buck-fifty when the customer knows damn well that you know damn well that everyone wants the four-holer.  I would bet that 95% of those who do end up ordering the two-holer are going to cut two more holes on their own and spend $40 for some Catch Covers, so I'd simply make the four-holer standard and upcharge for a premium hole-cover/sleeve/safety cover instead.

[Hards Alumni]

Love the light weight, portability, and ease of storage.

Do they plan on displaying at any sport shows? 

First Friday in December, huge one focused exclusively on ice fishing in St. Paul at convention center.  I did a booth there a couple of years ago for a non-profit ice tournament.  Tons of press, pro anglers, and huge volume of traffic.  St. Paul Ice Show.  http://www.gsevents.com/shows/display.cfm?showID=56&showtypeid=3&src=345&sfid=73

Any distributors yet?

None yet, but we have only had the product available for a bout a week.   Our first expo will be at the end of Feb/first week in March (talk about horrible timing!), in Madison

http://www.madisonfishingexpo.com/

The photos on the website are great for perspective, but it needs a page showing dimensions and specs (don't forget the storage footprint).  A time-lapse video of set-up would be a nice touch; the competitive advantage here is the lightweight, easy-setup construction/materials... emphasize it.

Noted, and will be included in a future website update.

Price point looks good.  Not sure what went into that as far as research, but $3K seems about right considering the high end soft-sides will run upwards of a grand and a you could buy a new Prius for the cost of a crank-down.

research was minimal.  I think the price is alright.  Personally, I think that the product is great, but the business is very fly by night at this point.

One drawback - mostly because I'm a pansy who preferred to ice fish exclusively when the air temp is sub-zero (less likely the deputies will be out knocking on doors) - is that it appears to lack integration for heat source (e.g. exhaust/fresh air exchange ports), although I think I know why this feature was omitted (something that rhymes with "bastard class-action, money-grubbing product liability schmattorneys").  I know a lot of people forgo the heat, but I like being able to hold a can of beer with my bare hand while I fish.

I have mentioned this to them as well, and I think that something like this would be extremely easy to include, but 'designing' it to have a heat source is scary for a number of reasons... the first being the lawyers, like you mentioned.   For a test, they put the shack up, and put a simple Mr. Buddy propane heater inside, and within 5 minutes, it was at 60F. 

I'd like to see a cross-section of the aluminum walls/roof.  Again, pansy here, but if design/specs would permit, a nice option would be to fill the cavities with closed-cell spray foam, especially with the lack of heat source integration.  What's the point of t-pane windows if the other 95% of the surface area is a heatsink?  Depending on the cavity size, the additional weight would be negligible and you could increase the r-value by 400-600%.  Not to mention, it would give the aluminum construction a much more durable feel both in setup and in holding up to the wind (resist bending/warping).  If not feasible in the walls, I would at least try to offer this in the roof since that's where the majority of heat loss is going to occur.  Again, depending on cavity size, you're probably not looking not much more than 200-250 board feet of cured foam, which even at retail cost of $1/bd-ft plus markup, you're only adding 10% to the retail cost.

These bad boys have some sort of foam sandwiched between the aluminum sides... I'm not sure of the spec on it, but I will look into it.

The one thing I think is a bit shortsighted is the nickle-and-diming for the four-holer.  If you were selling these to a bunch of FIBs and east-coasters, sure, up-charge the $149; but your wife & FIL are going to turn off a lot of Minnies and Sconnies by trying to get that extra buck-fifty when the customer knows damn well that you know damn well that everyone wants the four-holer.  I would bet that 95% of those who do end up ordering the two-holer are going to cut two more holes on their own and spend $40 for some Catch Covers, so I'd simply make the four-holer standard and upcharge for a premium hole-cover/sleeve/safety cover instead.

Absolutely agree.  While there is a bit more welding and reinforcing involved with the 4 hole setup, I don't understand why anyone would even want the two holes instead of the 4.  I think my wife agrees as well.


Thanks for all of the feedback, guys!

[Hards Alumni]

1 inch extruded foam R5 for the sandwich.

[muwarrior69]

Are there any of these in Wiconsin?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15/28-pound-rainbow-trout-caught-in-northern-idaho-would-have-been-record-breaker/?intcmp=latestnews

[Benny B]

1 inch extruded foam R5 for the sandwich.

Cool... make sure that reads on the website.

[real chili 83]

Are there any of these in Wiconsin?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/01/15/28-pound-rainbow-trout-caught-in-northern-idaho-would-have-been-record-breaker/?intcmp=latestnews

Top water fishing in early May on Lake Superior outside of Superior can yield monster trout and huge walleyes.  Especially outside the mouth of the St. Louis and the Brule river.

[real chili 83]

http://cedarpointlodge.com

Guy in the promo video with MU gear on. And no, not me.

Been there twice. Good lodge.  If you go, get Gordy for a guide.  He's a hoot.

[mr.MUskie]

Top water fishing in early May on Lake Superior outside of Superior can yield monster trout and huge walleyes.  Especially outside the mouth of the St. Louis and the Brule river.

Really? On top water? I'll have to try that.

[real chili 83]

Yep. Great fishing very early May.

[real chili 83]

Rented an Ice Castle last weekend.  Very nice. Satellite dish, rattle wheels, oven and stove.  Hooked up a generator, life was good.   Had lots of fun when we hooked up the Marcum color camera to the 32 inch LCD tv.

Crappies and northerns.  And crown.

[mr.MUskie]

Went ice fishing with my brother and a friend on Saturday on a suburban forest preserve lake. We only got one crappie but it was still great getting out with them.

[real chili 83]

You should have nailed them in front of the storm.  Were you using 'lectronics?

[mr.MUskie]

You should have nailed them in front of the storm.  Were you using 'lectronics?

Nah. Just went out for a couple hours to a lake none of us had ever been to before. There were a few other guys out there and only saw a couple fish on the ice. We were thinking the same thing about the storm, but it just wasn't happening. We talked to an old guy who said he fishes it all the time and said he always gets a few northerns, and he was skunked.