Otter Den Portable Ice House Modifications The topic of modifications to your portable ice house wasn't even in vogue yet when I started this little project. Now, log into an online fishing forum and you can't scroll through the menus too far without seeing the words "customization" or "modification". This modification to my Otter Den fish house was a summer project a few years ago that started life on the frozen surface of Lake of the woods during the IceLeaders I.C.E. Series event of 2004. During a 10 mile snowmobile ride to our spot, I lost my shovel, nearly lost my auger, smashed my minnow bucket and had bait swimming in my Otter tub, and nearly had my Zercom flasher come apart.

Before departing on the snowmobile ride, I had packed the Otter sled as tight as possible and strapped things down. Upon arriving at our spot, imagine my surprise as I found all my gear in disarray. During the rest of the afternoon, as I was jigging up walleyes and perch, my mind was working overtime to create some order to this madness and keep a catastrophe like this from replicating itself. I continued to think about this idea of mine for a few months but the solution didn't present itself until my Otter Den found its home on the coffee table in my living room. It was here where I started arranging and simplifying my ice fishing gear in my shack. I started cutting up cardboard templates, dividers, and making compartments out of the cardboard. After several weeks of staring, fooling around, and being creative; I had the beginnings of what you now see in the photos.

While fishing alone, there are certain pieces of equipment that I require that needed to accommodate me on my trips. I've been able to simplify my gear to these necessities- Marcum LX-3 flasher, Strikemaster Lazer auger, Stone Legacy Revolution rod bag & rod and reel combos, Cabela's soft-sided tackle bag and tackle, 11lb propane tank and Mr. Heater sunflower heater, Little Dipper slush scoop, Frabill minnow bucket with minnows, and a Rubbermaid tub for keeping fish in. All of this equipment fits within my Otter Den shack and my modification assured that it safely arrives at my fishing spot neat and organized. The two pieces of equipment that I'm most concerned with are my Marcum LX-3 flasher and my minnows and minnow bucket. While bait may be cheap, having lively bait can make or break your day and they have to be treated accordingly.

While designing this modification for my Otter Den, I payed particular attention to how I was going to protect the minnow bucket and my flasher. Protecting the flasher was the easy part, I would make a compartment that fit the flasher perfectly, that wouldn't be a problem. But coming up with a way to support the minnow bucket was a little trickier. What I decided on was to cut a hole through the deck of the plywood insert and slide the bucket through the hole. So far, this has worked perfectly and I have to admit, was quite ingenious. The two pieces of equipment that I'm most concerned about are my Marcum LX-3 Flasher and my minnow bucket & bait. These tend to be the 2 most fragile items I'm transporting. To protect these items, I upgraded to Frabill's Min-O-Life minnow bucket and cretated a hole in my modification to hold & protect the bucket.

You may ask, "Do the minnows and water spill?" Yes! I learned that lesson as well. After only a couple trips of putting up with that hassle, I learned to buy my minnows oxygen bagged and then place the entire bag in the minnow bucket. The minnows are now protected, won't spill, and exactly where I need them when I am fishing. My Marcum flasher is my other piece of fragile equipment. I created a compartment with a hinged lid that I place my flasher in. It may bounce and shake a little but it is protected from other stuff. Construction of this "insert" is very simple. I used 1/2" plywood and screwed the pieces together with a little construction adhesive for good measure. The entire insert was then covered in marine carpet from Cabela's with some indoor/outdoor adhesive to make the carpet stick. The carpet came from Cabela's tent sale for $4!

This modification to my Otter house has proved to be one of the most useful things I have done. The carpeted, flat top provides a great working area for placing small tackle trays, pliers, nailclippers, wax worm containers, cell phone, GPS, etc. while using the house. If you are interested in doing a project like this, I'd highly recommend going for it. Assemble all your ice fishing gear and start arranging and rearranging stuff in your sled. Cardboard templates are a great way to start the planning. And rememeber, we all fish a little differently. What I have done here may not suit your fishing style or equipment very well. Play around, get creative, and you'll find something that works for you. Hopefully my modification might give you some ideas! Stay tuned for my Otter Lodge Modification!! I hope to have it completed by Thanksgiving weekend...