One serious drawback to winter steelhead fishing is cold. If they would only let me win the lottery I would have a river boat built with with jet drive, forward controls, and a small cabin. Being able to sit inside, out of the wind, and with a propane infra-red heater would be ideal.
Since the chances of that happening are almost totaling non existent I will continue to dress as warmly as possible and pick the slightly warmer days. The one drawback to dressing warmly is bulk. Once you have on long johns, polar fleece lined pants, a wool sweater, down bibs and parka the cold becomes bearable but you wind up sitting in the boat puffed up like a big old toad. Being in a boat floating in ice cold water without a life jacket would be foolhardy so I add that to my increased bulk. Even an extra large PDF is difficult to put on over all the clothes so I decided that to make it less cumbersome I needed an auto inflating jacket.
After reseaching the various types and brands I decided to purchase two Mustang auto inflate PDFs with hydrostatic inflation. The down side was the cost. Cabela's carries them but they were going to cost over $600. By the time I bought them I would be able to afford to go fishing for several months.
So I decided to check out Ebay. I found several listed that were exactly what I was looking for but each time I would be outbid. Then I noticed two brand new Mustangs that no one had bid on. When I looked at the shipping charge I saw that it was $40. All the others I had looked at the fee was $7-15; maybe that was the reason for no bids. Quickly I sent a email to the seller asking if they offered less expensive shippings, that other were much cheaper. They replied that their shipping was priority but if I wasn't in a hurry $12 would work.
Much to my surprise when I bid on them I was the only bidder for one and the 2nd bidder on the other. They both closed with my purchasing both for a total cost of $326 including shipping.
I know what you mean about the cold Opa - got this for a christmas present for BF so that I don;t have to freeze this year ice fishing
Good score on the vests. ebay can be great, if you have the time to keep checking the new listings. If you scroll down you can also sometimes find Buy It Now stuff good deals if you don't love bidding. I love auctions so ebay has good entertainment value as well.
The Clam is a great shanty. I bought one 25 years ago and loved it. Then one year I impulsively bought a 6x6 shanty that goes up quite easily. Since it was a season end close out I didn't get to use it until the following year. Between the time I bought it and when I used it, at the onset of the icefishing season, I overhead a guy explaining to his young son why they couldn't afford to buy a Clam. I got him to the side and told him I had one in excellent condition that I would sell him cheap to make icefishing more enjoyable for the boy.
They came to my house, bought the 2 man Clam, and went away happy. I too felt pretty good about how happy the kid was and patted myself on the back for my generousity.
The next week I went icefishing and discovered that the engineer that designed my new shanty had never gone icefishing. The floor of the shanty is two 3x6 plastic boxes with runners molded into them. The poles and canvas are all attached and it goes up in mere minutes. The only problem is getting it to where you want to fish. It's almost impossible to pull. The two boxes are hinged together with serving as the sled and the other the lid. The problem is that the runners are 90 degrees from what would be the desired direction. It's like trying to drag a snowplow.
It's just a matter of hours till another year has come to an end. It has been a rather odd year. So many things affected by weather and some due to illness or age. Its been a year with some sadness tempered by pleasant memories.
Thru all that life places before us it is the comraderie of friends and family that helps us endure. For your kindness in sharing life's journey I am truly thankful and look forward to sharing the coming year with you all.
May God bless and keep you in the new year.