Is this a good deal

[onwind]

see the ad in my email inbox, http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/1731/...-excursion , 69$ for Four-Hour Ice-Fishing for up to 12 with Cabin and Equipment. have never ice-fished before, is this a good start?

[Giuga10]

I would say it's a pretty good deal considering they provide you with everything! I don't have any experience with ice fishing though so a definite answer would come from a more experienced member.

Giuga10

[MuskieBait]

It's an OK deal if this is your first time icefishing and you just want to see what it is like. You have to watch out for the fine print...or what wasn't stated in the fine print (which is even more worrisome).

1) The "fishing pole" they give you could be a simple line winded around a wooden stick similar in look to a paint stir stick. Certainly don't expect rod and reels. It's functional...but it'll be mostly hand line jigging or deadsticking rather than using a rod and reel.

2) They didn't mention how many huts to provide to you. It could be one large hut to accommodate all 12 people. In any case, I would worry about too many people in too small a hut...which is not very comfortable in an already small space. You also have to think about moving around in the hut in a cramped spacing...depending on how the holes are drilled. Some ice huts have these large 3'x4' large rectangular holes chainsawed in the ice. These large holes can be slippery and dangerous in a cramped setting when you try to shuffle around people to get in or out of the hut.

3) It doesn't mention bait being included. They can over charge you for bait to make up for the cheap price.

4) It doesn't mention the ride out to the hut and ride in back to shore. They can charge you for each ride, again, to make up for the cheap price.

5) They may have restriction placed on when you can use the coupon. Weekends are the busiest time and they may not be able to accommodate you on weekends (or lie about all the huts already reserved and filled up). You may have to go on a weekday.

6) They could also limit the time of day when you can use this. Minet's Point is good for whitefish and lake trout, which is usually best fished early in the morning until about 11am. You may be forced to fish during the midday dead hours. If they set the huts over deep water, then it is really whitefish/lake trout or nothing. Off that area, perch is usually found much shallower (no deeper than 60 feet of water). If your huts are over 100 feet of water, it would be a go-big-or-go-home-empty kind of fishing.

These are some of the things that you may encounter with these cheap deals. I've experienced some of these restrictions and limitations with other coupons for other activities...so beware.

Again, if this is your first time icefishing and you just want to see what it is like, go ahead and just treat it as a learning experience. The good thing is that responsible operators will not take you out on the ice, or set up huts, when the ice is not safe. So at least you have that risky factor taken care of. If you are set on catching fish and being comfortable, I would take a little caution and prepare for disappointment.

[OldTimer]

I have not tried this outfit, but it may be worth investigating:

http://www.timhalesfishhuts.com/

Anyone else out there used them, or heard comments from someone who has?

OT

[Tjh70]

I googled and asked my friends, the rental hut normally charge $50/person.
Mostly 8 hours, transportation, free bait, cleaning fishes after fishing.

For me, even that deal looks good but without details (location, fish type, services), I'm not gonna take the risk.


Cheers,
Tjh70

[Jeremy Ray Green]

Very good points muskiebait,

And I agree with Tj,

They are most likely asking for 69 dollars per-person.

The ice is almost here abel, I plan to have many days off and spend that time ice fishing over the winter...

I dont need a hut rental or another guide...

Unless its windy i would rather not use a hut for the most part anyway, but there are many pop up tents available for cheaper than a hut rental for a group...

Lets keep talking about ice fishing..

When the ice comes in good,

I would say hitting the beaverton side of lake simcoe is a rather safe bet for good eating perch.

Plus there is the frenchmans bay ice fishing close to the city, always good for a pike ...

~Jeremy.

[Tjh70]

Here's what I googled.

http://www.lakesimcoeoutdoors.com/lakesi...itters.php


Cheers,
Tjh70

[Jeremy Ray Green]

You'll want to move from day to day.
As the fish do....

as seen in the add that TJ posted
Lucky's sons huts sit over 90 feet of water...

a great hut operation, but you do not need to go with a hut operator for what you want to do...

lakers are easily caught in kempenfelt bay, again 100+ foot of water...

heres a great spot in beaverton...
aside from having some form of transportation on the ice....

having your own personal popup tent is more affordable than a group going to a hut operator.

although, i am going on a 4 day excursion the first week of the newyear to lake nippissing, at a rate of 425 dollars per person...

There are many options there...

here's a video from a trip out last year, the tournament was held by another message board, and filmed by the same film crew that has been documenting the operations at our hatchery program, but you should know good fishing isnt expensive to come by, if you want to go more than just that one time, then its worth your time to find a pop up tent or a clam...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHbj929bTYY


~Jeremy

[MikeH]

Always take someone with you that knows how to drill through the ice....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHpPnIhWRAI

[Jeremy Ray Green]

(12-04-2012 08:39 AM)MikeH Wrote:  Always take someone with you that knows how to drill through the ice....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHpPnIhWRAI

I'll second that...

~Jeremy