Fishermen in the Upper Midwest are being advised that it's now time to remove their ice houses from the still-frozen lakes. Those who have not been in an ice house in decades may be gobsmacked to discover that the old-fashioned "shacks" and "shanties" have in some cases been replaced by luxury accommodations.
The houses have built-in holes in the floor that allow ice fishers to drill holes in the ice and catch a big one without ever stepping outdoors...For floor plans and features, see the Ice Castle Fish Houses website. I presume the A/C (and the shower stall seen at the back of the photo) indicate that these units are designed for dual-purpose use as mobile hunting cabins.
One model, the King Castle, has an 8-by-24-foot cabin that comes with a furnace, air conditioner, stereo, kitchen, wooden cabinets, bunk beds, bay window and eight fishing holes. Some customized models have featured retractable wheels and hydraulic lifts. Prices start at $5,900, but can top out at more than $40,000...
Gee i thought a shack with a board to keep your feet from slipping into the hole and a small stove was fancy.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered why even the shanty ones have never caught up around here. Everyone does it by simply sitting on a chair while exposed to the elements. Something fancy would be a better chair.
ReplyDeleteI was curious, so I did a quick search re Tampere ice-fishing, and you seem to be correct:
Deletehttp://www.zanderland.fi/winterfishing/
http://www.fishinginfinland.fi/ice_fishing
Maybe you need to look under the ince:
http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2012/01/under-ice-at-lake-saarijarvi-in-finland.html
It might have something to do with the fact that ice fishing is one of the Freedom to roam privileges, i.e. you can do it even on private land without any permits. This imposes limitations on how you can do it everywhere.
DeleteInteresting information at that link. It's quite different from the United States, where even just walking without permission on someone else's property can actually be sort of dangerous to one's well-being. As a butterfly-chaser, the Finnish system sounds inviting to me.
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