Three Features You Need in Your Next Ice Fishing Shelter

Ice fishing is a great way to spend time outdoors with friends, especially if you’re warm and comfortable inside a shelter. (Eskimo/)

While a traditional ice hut built from scratch is certainly a luxury, it’s not necessary in order to enjoy some deep-winter angling adventure. Modern pop-up shelters offer all the room and comfort you need to drop a line, store gear, break for meals, and stay out of the elements while chasing cold-weather pike, perch, and trout. If you are just getting into ice fishing, before heading to the hardware store and breaking out the tools to build your own custom ice palace, consider the advantages of a well-designed portable icehouse.

Convenience and Stability

A good portable ice tent can protect you from the elements without interfering with the fishing. (Eskimo/)

Like geodesic tents and collapsible camp chairs, a pop-up ice tent makes it super easy to erect a comfortable shelter in minutes. They can be warmed with a portable heater just like any structure, while ice anchors and guy lines increase stability under high winds and snow loads.

Fishable Space

Don’t get a tent that’s larger than you need because it will take longer to warm the inside. (Eskimo/)

There’s no need for an icehouse to be overly spacious. More room is just more air to get cold in. Look for a portable ice shelter with roughly 10 to 15 square feet of fishable space per angler. That will give you enough elbow room to work and still keep the packable load to a minimum size and weight.

Interior Details

A tent with dark interior walls it easier to see through your hole in the ice. (Eskimo/)

Black paint or fabric on the interior of the ice hut makes it easier to see what’s going on down in the honey hole. And a small array of pouches, pockets, and windows allows you to store gear, keep an eye on your rod, and let in light or fresh air whenever you want.