"Bobber" Ice Fishing House

"Bobber" Ice Fishing House BUILDINGS Miscellaneous 30-6-44 Jerry Forss wanted to build an ice fishing house as inexpensively as possible. So the Ellsworth, Wis., man made one out of a 1,100-gal. poly tank. It's painted red, black and white to look like a giant fishing bobber. His "bobber house" sits on a small lake near Spring Valley, Wis. It's big enough for two people to fish comfortably. It sits on wood skids for easy transport. "I used it last winter and got a lot of nice comments on it," says Forss. "I bought the tank from a friend for $100." The house has a black top made from a 15-gal. plastic barrel, three plexiglass windows, an LP heater, sky lights, and a 12-volt battery to power an ice auger as well as interior and exterior lights. An LP tank that supplies the heater mounts on a wooden platform just outside the tank. There's a yard light outside over the door and four interior spotlights (off a conversion van). He used a sawzall to cut the plexiglass windows into the tank. Ventilation is provided by a pair of sliding vents. The floor is formed from a 2 by 4 framework covered by plywood and carpet. There are four ice fishing holes in the floor, each equipped with a latch-type wooden door. "I pull it around on two landscaping timbers that serve as skids," says Forss. "When I took it out to the lake last fall the ice was thin so I used an ATV, but at the end of the season when I took it off I used a pickup. It's actually light enough that I can move it around by hand if I have to." He bolted a rattle reel with a fishing line on one wall. "When a fish bites, ball bearings in the reel make a rattling sound so I know there's a fish on the line," says Forss. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jerry Forss, N4658 Cty. Rd. DD, Ellsworth, Wis. 54011 (ph 715 273-3102 or 715 222-0757; fireman@pressenter.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.