THE AGE OF ICE CLAMping

“W hy do you need another ice hut?”, my girlfriend asked while I was browsing the new clam catalouge? “Because we are going clamping” I replied with a tone of eagerness and excitement.

With Covid restrictions in effect in our region it looked like travelling any distance during the pandemic was going to be a headache. Living in rural Northwestern Ontario the options for a “staycation” are limited. We are however blessed to have an abundance of lakes and a diverse variety of species to chase around. The need to get outside and travel is real during the winter months. What better way to explore our home waters then to go camping on the ice or as we call it “clamping”. Here’s how we went about planning our adventure!

Location:

We knew that we wanted to set up on a familiar spot to ensure our success and to hopefully provide us with some food. We choose a spot that regularly produces walleye with a genuine shot at a big laker. It was a classic underwater point that topped at 32’ fow and we were surrounded by 60 plus fow. We also wanted to pick a spot that wasn’t going to be slush, so we scouted our location a few days prior. It was less than an hour ride to get back to civilization if we had an emergency.

The set up:

Last year Clam brought out the insulated floors for some models of their shelters. We decided to purchase the x600 hub with the floor. It met and exceeded our expectations out on the ice to be our main shelter. Be sure to always insert in ALL the ice anchors to avoid being caught off guard by the wind. We decided to try and back my X200 to one of the doors and seal it tight (we used boat shrink wrap tape and two giant alligator clips). This allowed us to set up our camping gear in the hub and leave the holes for fishing in the X200. What a setup!

Gear and food:

We decided to meal prep most of our meals and precook. The reason we choose to take that route is because it seemed cooking in the hut produces a lot of steam and smoke from past outings. We wanted to reduce that to a minimum to help keep are hub fresh so to speak. Here’s a gear list that we compiled to ensure we had all the comforts of home

Battery operated CO detector Clam X600 Clam insulated floor Clam X200 Clam hub lights

Clam rattle real x2 Cots x2 Sleeping bag x2 Sleeping pad x2 Folding table Buddy heater x2 Lots of propane (enough for an extra night) Pots,pans, cutlery (fillet knife) Extra batteries Battery box Ice fishing gear Auger Flasher x2 Slippers TP 5 gallon bucket Toilet seat (attachable to 5g bucket) Biodegradable bags Garbage bags Extra clothing Food (lots of snacks) Water Coleman stove Drill Ice anchors Inreach Cellphone First aid kit

Conclusion: After a few weeks of tedious planning and packing it made it all worth the effort watching the sun fade below the harsh winter landscape. There’s just something about immersing yourself in the vast wilderness and seclusion of the boreal forest that sends a calming vibe through your soul. I think we both can say with confidence that clamping will become part of our regular winter pass times.

Tips:

-Let some friends know your game plan and return time especially if you are camping out of cell phone service.

-Have a look at the weather before you head out and make sure conditions are suitable.