My rough spearing shanty plans (advice needed!)

[mallardtone-man]

Shane (Hunting horseman) and I have been fishing a private lake lately and slaying the pike. We had our 1st spearing trip today, and relized that the 11" by 32" holes in my Shappell 4000 are not big enough to spear big pike thru, when Shane had a 40"+ fish in his hole 3 or 4 times, but couldnt get a shot.

We have decided to build a more permanent wood shanty that will comfortably fit 2-4 guys. I have made up some rough plans of something that I hope will work. I need your advice. I have talked to a guy at my local lumber yard who said he can get me 4' by 10' sheets of plywood for around $26. I am thinking I will need 3 or 4. I hope I can build it for around $100-150 and a few days work.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/4507shanty_side.GIF

That is the side veiw. The windows will have hinged flaps, mostly for checking tip-ups.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/4507shanty_floor.GIF

This is the floor veiw. I hope to fish one or 2 guys on each end, and they can watch under the other guys feet. I could use hooks to run 2 decoys in the middle of the hole.

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/539/4507shanty_end.GIF

This is the end view, just a basic door, and slanted roof.


What do you guys think? If anyone has any advice, or others plans that might work better, please share them.

[Sailor]

Where did you say that lake is????

[bullydog324]

This is just my opinion but it seems a little big.How will you transport it?Will you trailer it on the ice or use skis.My spearing shanty is only 4x6 and has 1/4 paneling for walls to save on weight.I mounted an old set of water skis to the side and the shanty can be flip on its side and pulled by a rope.Last year 2 of us set it up ourselves.Being only 4 feet wide it also fits in the back of the truck.My hole takes up most of the floor and you step over it when getting to either side to sit and fish. Just something to think about.

[mallardtone-man]

Its a secret ;) ;) . I would die before I told!! Last week 2 of us fished for 3 hours and ice 17 pike, nothing smaller than 20", we lost 10 others as well. Today the fishing was tuff, as all the rain lately made the water really murky.

Keeping its identity a secret may turn out to be harder than we would like it to be, and Jimmy Gretzinger from MOOD has asked us to do a spearing/tip-up segment out there. We will have to have em "fuzz" out all of the scenary. :lol:

[mallardtone-man]

I am planning on building it, and either trailering it to the lake (I have a BIG trailer), or building it, unscrewing it into 3 or 4 peices, and then sledding it out there and screwing it back together.

[Sailor]

Anybody sees a huge shanty going down the road on a trailer, follow it and tell all of us where it goes (so we can admire the fish coop of course)!

[Ed Stringer]

I'm going to have Mike aka IFN stop by your house a put a lowjack on your car.

[mallardtone-man]

Lol, I dont mean to brag guys, but this place really is a honey hole. Here is a report from there when the water wasnt messed up.

Lake X report (http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84670&highlight=pike)

Oh, and IFN has already been sent an invitation to come out and work the decoys some day. The only problem is finding time with that rigid work schedual of his.

Now, Cmon' Shanty advice NEEDED!

[Duckman Racing]

Doesnt look too bad, only thing I might suggest is if you want to be able to stand up comfortably you might want to make the roof a little taller.

From the dimensions you gave for the roof, each side of the slope would be just over 3 ft from the peak to the edge. But if you use whole 4' x 10' sheets for the roof you should get a little more than 3' in height from the top of the sides to the peak. This would also give you more head room away from the peak as well.

I know its just a rough sketch and this is probably more of an analysis than you wanted, but hey I got use all that education for something :lol:

[bucko12pt]

My friend and I had a 4X8 for the last 7-8 years. We finally sold it because it was just too heavy to move around. We were constantly jacking it up because of the weight. With a hole that big and the 8x10 size, you will be putting an enormous amount of pressure on the ice and forcing water up on the ice and under your shanty. You could end up having water around your shanty all winter, which is a pain.
You could probabably cut the size of the hole down somewhat. Most pike won't stand for a lot of movement and noise above them, especially in real shallow water. If you stick with that size, you might need a spear on both sides of the hole, if you are fishing two guys. Paint the inside a dark color and eliminate any light from the outside. The darker the better on the inside. Also, I would cut a hole in the floor in each corner for fishing panfish, etc when you aren't spearing. You can fish four or more that way. Cut it out the size you want, save the piece you cut out, make some supports for that piece on the underside of the floor, so you can set them back in place when you are spearing.
I've speared all my life and built a pile of shantys. The ideal size for me is 4x6, built of the lightest material possible. I'm thinking my next one will be 4x6, made of a material similar to the portables and 1" foam insulation over a wood frame. Should be good and light. Good luck.

[Sailor]

My new one is 4x6 x7' high. The hole is 3 1\2 x 3. It's framed with 2x2s, sided
with 1/4" luan plywood, roofed with a peice cut out from the bottom of an old plastic pickup bed liner, isulated with plastic bubble wrap(copied another guy who says his floats) and I think thats a good size for a spearing shanty. I can load it myself in my pickup, pull it by hand, and it's snug. I do anchor it though so it dosen't turn into a box kite. The best part of spearing for me is the solitude and watching. In many ways it's a lot like bowhunting. IMO if you build a big chickencoop and invite all of your buddies you'll see about as many fish as you would deer if you had four guys in your treestand.

[MSUICEMAN]

i'd worry about the shear weight of something that big bowing the ice and pushing water up the holes into the shanty, and refreezing, then you have one heck of a mess on your hands. I wouldn't go any longer than 8' and even that is stretching it. Think of any ideas you can to save weight. and yes, you may want it tall enough that you can stand on it comfortable. instead of doing a peaked roof, why dont' you do a simple slant?

steve

[Banditto]

Ya I have to agree with the other guys. All the spearing shanty's I have ever been in were a heck of a lot smaller than 10' long. One that large will need to be removed before prime time (last ice) it being so heavy and large. You should only be using a hole no larger than 2'X2' for safety sake as the ice will melt under your shanty no matter how cold it is. And maybe you'll be safe that trip but when you move your shanty (with a spearing shanty it should be often) you are leaving a quad sized hole as it is.

So for materials hand pick cedar boards as you can find some really light ones. We built one out of cedar 1"X4" which we split into boards that actual size were 3/4"X1.5" then used diagonal bracing and the whole setup was pretty stiff. The only part of the shanty that needs to be beefy is the base.

[DRAG-N-BALLZ]

Ours is 8x6 and studed with 2x2's. Bought them at Home Depot for 97 cents/ea. Cheaper than buying 4x4's and ripping them. The hole is 48"x28". Plenty of room for 3 plus cook stove and heater. We are using exhaust tubing for the skis. A buddy of ours gave us rubber roofing material for the roof. Not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be.

[mkroulik]

Just my opinion, but that shanty will have to be jacked up on something. The sheer weight of it empty will have so much water on the ice that the bottom 3-6 inches will be completely frozen into the ice. I agree with everyone else, that it seems a bit to large. If you want to accomadate 4 people, I would build two smaller ones. We're not trying to crap on your plans, we're just giving you some more things to consider, based on our experiences. Also, when you move that thing through out the year, PLEASE mark that hole with a lot of Brush. Two people walking next to each other could easily both fit through that thing.

Mike

[mallardtone-man]

Ok guys, these are all valid points, and I will take them into mind as constructive criticism. Everyone is telling me roughly the dimensions of THIER shanty, and most sound pretty good. But, I would like some more info. I am not exactly a master carpenter, but I have pleanty of tools, and people who can help build. If anyone has pictures of a shanty that they have built, and that works well for them, please share. Building plans would be even better. I have never built a shanty, and have not been spearing for long, so I am looking to benefit from the wisdom of those who have been involved in the sport longer.

Ours is 8x6 and studed with 2x2's. Bought them at Home Depot for 97 cents/ea. Cheaper than buying 4x4's and ripping them. The hole is 48"x28". Plenty of room for 3 plus cook stove and heater. We are using exhaust tubing for the skis. A buddy of ours gave us rubber roofing material for the roof. Not nearly as heavy as I thought it would be.

I like the sound of this shanty. I really dont want something that is going to be too small. We are looking to fish a minumum of 2 guys, maybe 3. Some of these that are 4 by 6', I really dont know if they will be big enough. I already have a big pair of metal skis that I could use, or I could have a welder freind of mine build a new pair. I am not sure what I would use for the roof though.

Keep the ideas coming guys, I wont be buying anything untill next week.

[IceFishingManiac]

Mallard, I posted quite a few links a few weeks back. Here you go and goofd luck. If you get a chance post some pictures for us as you make it.


http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?p=674190#post674190



The first link in the old post is bad but the others work.

[wally-eye]

When I lived in Jackson I helped my father build a 6X8 foot shanty. We used three (3) old water skis as runners. We had it sitting on 4X4s so it was off the ice. We then shimmed the sides of the spearing hole that was 3X4 up to the bottom of the floor. This way there was no problem with water coming inside or the shanty freezing. Worked better than we could imagine. After we got it where we wanted it we just screwed plywood from the floor to the waters edge to stop the wind/snow/light from coming in. Setting up on the 4X4s worked excellent and we NEVER had a problem with it settling into the ice, with the air blowing underneath it never settled into the ice. We insulated the walls and floors. Had a propane heater in it. Some great memories in that spearing shanty. One person could spear and 2 others could jig on each side of the hole all at the same time.

Had it for several years and we hauled it out on the lake with a john deere garden tractor.
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Fish long and hard.

You can build them big and they do work.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

James, instead of a hole right in the middle, why not put a 2ft.X 5 ft. hole along one side. Sit along the other side. I think you would have more room (to move around) in a smaller shanty with this setup. Smaller shanty would be a lot easier to haul.

Plus make your roof slant from the high side down (one piece of plywood) instead of making a double sided pitched roof. Where you sit and stand 6ft. or so and along the side where the hole is make it 4.5 - 5ft. high from the hole.

If you watched MUCC footage of us perch spearing, Treemans hole in that shanty was about 2' X 4' plenty of room to spear. I spear very easily in a 2 X 2 ft hole in my portable.

[wild bill]

my last 2 spearing shantys have been 4'x8'x6'. made with 2x2 and luan or cheap paneling. whichever is cheapest at the time.(look around for closeout paneling. most times you can get it for 5 bucks a sheet) the floor is made out of 2x4 treated and 7/16 osb with a 2x4 foot hole in the center. that way with 2 people your looking under the other person when facing each other.i build the sides and floor first.put a couple screws in it to hold them together. then drill a couple holes through the 2x2 into the other wall big enough to fit a 1/4 bolt through. i then take some 2"x1/4" flat stock and cut 2x2 pieces of it. dril a 1/4 hole in the center and weld a 1/4 nut to one side. mount the plate to one side of the wall where you drilled the hole at and put the bolt through the other wall and tighten up.do this to all the walls where they connect and to the roof and floor. i use a old pairs of snow skis mounted on the roof to pile the walls onto and pull out on the lake. i use exterior paint on the whole shanty with the inside being black or a very dark color. lots of times lowes or home depot have paints that where returned or mixed wrong and you can get them dirt cheap.i also keep the wood from the spearing hole i cut out to lay it back in when im not there. seems to keep the hole from freezing so much. for checking tipups i usually have a couple small peek holes in the walls to look out of. you can use a cork or whatever you want to close the hole back up when your not checking tipups. you dont want to have windows or be opening the door to check tipups. any light will scare the fish as will shadows for light. noises from foot movement or moving around will scare them too.

[DRAG-N-BALLZ]

The hole in our shanty is on the opposite corner from the door and it is on the 8' wall. Does that make sense? It is a good idea to put a 1"x2" border around the hole. It is easy to feel with your foot and might keep you from stepping in the hole. I like the black rubber roof. Even without a heater, on a sunny day it stays well above freezing even if it is 10 deg. outside. The only problem I have had is that mice like it too.

[Mtnman198]

one piece of advice for using roof material or dark paint on the exterior of your darkhouse: The roofing material and dark paint reflect light at a much higher temp. causing the ice around your shanty to melt and freeze on a daily basis. Ever see the bowl effect around a shanty? Go light on color and material. I like to recess my floor and have my perimeter rails set on the ice. This includes framing the hole with the same material. leave a couple notches in the rail so you can get under the shanty to break loose if neccessary. Mine usually pops pretty easy. remember the darker the better on the inside. caulk all cracks. use peep holes instead of windows, use cork for window plugs. This helps keep light out as well and allows for undisturbed spearing.keep ypur shack small for the reason mentioned above. "Last Ice" I have been spearing on 6-8 inches of ice and at 2pm had to pull it off. Its common to watch shanties going down. Yours (if that big) will be a likely candidate. I set mine on one of those heavy duty otter sleds to reset or remove it. it has been the best thing I have found yet.In snow, the skis work but it is still tuff when the snow piles up in front of the shanty do to the shack not being high enough abve the top of snow.
It is killing me to talk about this, as my shanty awits good ice in the drive way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[harsens hunter]

I know where the secret spot is!!!! :lol:

[Bassbug]

I didn't finish all of the posts to your original post, but I would recommend that you keep your spearing shanty as small and lightweight as possible. A large hole is very beneficial (I would recommend nothing smaller than 20" by 24" - and though this may actually smaller than you might consider, it is actually large enough to land a 40" + sized pike).

Additionally, the lack of light inside the shanty is the most critical aspect of a spearing shanty. Even single nail holes can result in distracting amounts of light on the hole. And the floor of your shanty should be elevated from the ice. Place your flooring material -- furring strips work great, as they are less likely to sag than plywood or pressboard; as well as allowing snow melt to drip through the floor -- on top of a 2X2, and make that the foundation for your shanty.

An elevated floor will not only help defray the noise transference through the ice, but will also keep you dry when there is water on the ice, and in conditions where the shifts and you find your shanty in a puddle.

Take advantage of your good pike spearing/catching spot. It won't last forever (Strangely, no matter how good pike fishing is in a particular spot, they invariably run dry within ten years or so).

Keep up the good fishing, and keep us posted about your success.

PM me if you need additional ideas or if you would like to hear some advice about spearing. I've been spearing for 25 years, and I've learned a few subtle techniques that might help you.

Bassbug

[bias]

Just my .02 here, but I have just finished building my fifth spearing shack for a buddy. I have built, and fished out of, several 4 x 8 shacks, and there isn't quite enough room for a big hole. The last three I have built have been 5 x 8, with a 2 x 3 hole in each corner, and two feet in the middle for a heater. You can seat four guys side by side fairly comfortably, with plenty of room to spear. Those folks who have speared out of my shanties swear they will never build anything but a 5 x 8 spearing shanty again (unless they're making a one man). Here in the UP, many of the unemployed spend 6 to 8 hours a day in their shanties throughout the two month season, so we're all pretty serious about having a nice shantie.

To build one, you need 7 sheets of luan, 6 sheets of black foil faced celotex (1/2" or 3/4") about ten 2x6x12, three 2 x 4 x 12, one sheet of 1/2" OSB several tubes of liquid nails and plenty of screws. All the 2x 6 are ripped down to 1 3/8" x 1 1/2" for the framing. You'll end up with a roomy, lightweight, and strong shack that can still have one end lifted by and average guy for blocking. If you're interested in more info, let me know.