Hillman's Sleeper Houses

[MNCPRGUY]

I'll be fishing out of one of Hillman's sleeper houses next weekend. Can anyone comment on what I can expect?

Also, they told me their houses do not have rattle reels. What options do I have to keep a couple lines in the water through the night?

Thanks,

PJ

[minndonn]

Bells on the rod tip or a buzzer. I use both with a rocking road holder.

[bak2MN]

Go buy a portable rattle reel, one with a clamp.

[gspman]

Quote:

What options do I have to keep a couple lines in the water through the night?

Get your own rattle reels. Problem solved.

[Borch]

Go buy a portable rattle reel, one with a clamp.

The work pretty well.

[greebs]

my son and I spent rented from them couple weeks ago. sleeper shack we used was nothing fancy but it worked fine for us. they put us on a decent walleye bite so we were happy with what we got from them. they drove out a couple times and checked on us to make sure all was ok. no complaints at all from me. we had one rattle reel provided by them and we brought our own up as well.

[Aces In The Hole]

Does anyone know if their houses has a oven in them? We are staying in their 6 man sleeper in a couple of weeks. I was just wondering so I can buy Pizza for my dinners up there.

[MNCPRGUY]

I don't know how much different their bigger houses (10 x 20) are from their 4-man houses (8 x 16) but I was told they had a two burner stove, porta-potti, & bunks. No mention of a stove. If you want electricity, bring a 12v battery. I'm planning to bring an inverter as well.

I'll give you a full report after next weekend. It's too bad they don't have a website with some pictures, but aside from that, I have been very satisfied with their communication and service. I'm looking forward to meeting Buddy & the crew.

Come on Friday!!!

[upnorthfishin]

Hillman's houses have no lighting period? We are renting a 6 man from them and I was told we don't have to worry about heat or lighting?

[FISHINGURU]

they have lights ran off propane and yeah the 6 mans i've been in have ovens...bring your own rattle reels.

[RedDB76]

Stayed in a 6-man last year. No oven and no rattle reels. We are going back to Hillmans in February. Our house had gas AND electric lights, as well as fans. You could hook up your generator or battery to run the lights and fans. The fans were sweet! Helped the temperature differential a lot.

Nothing fancy about the house. It would have been very cramped with 6 guys, but it worked for 4. We caught fish and were comfortable. That is what was important....I can't say the same about some other places I've stayed at.

[upnorthfishin]

Were you in one of Hillmans newer 6-man sleepers? Did the house have 12 holes? Were you disappointed with anything? Thank you for info. I have been making this trip with buddies now for 5 years and this is the first time going through Hillmans. We have hammered the fish every year and been very satisfied. I recently met Buddy on opening weekend 08. He was a class act and I respect him and his business. Hopefully we don't regret our decision of change and are satisfied.

[GotOne]

On a scale of 1-10 (10-best) how would you rate his smaller houses (6x12"s)? We all know Buddy will put us on fish, so that's not a question. How about taking into consideration, cleanliness, warmth, beds, dry-no leaks, etc. Hopefully, this will not violate any rules. Don't need a castle, however, don't want a dump for the $$$.

[RedDB76]

I am guessing we were in one of the older houses...I didn't know they had "older" and "newer" ones until I just read the recent posts.

I believe the house had 12 holes, though I'm not certain. We only had 3 people, and they gave us a 6-person house - BONUS! So we only needed 6 holes anyway. I set some structure on a string in the holes we weren't using.

The good things....we were on fish, and they have a good rep for putting their shacks on fish. We caught crappies last February when many people weren't. House was warm, and the fans they had did a great job of pushing the warm air down so the top bunk isn't 150 degrees. No leaks, dry house. Gas and electric lights. The electric lights are BRIGHT! Just make sure you have enough juice to run them, or have a generator. The gas lights are standard....they warm the house up, and leave a lot of dark corners.

The not so good things...the shack was old, and didn't look real clean. Beds were 3-high bunks, and not overly comfy. If you are a big guy, the beds are a challenge. My shoulders were too broad to roll over - I ended up with a nice scratch and a few ripped t-shirts from trying to roll over in the bed (bottom bunk). Makes it difficult to get out of bed quickly when the rattle reel goes off at 4am!

BUT - we are going back again this year. We were very happy with the service. They aren't the nicest houses I've stayed in, but they aren't the worst either. They were good enough to earn our repeat business, and we have stayed at 2 other places on URL.

[GotOne]

Thanks for the report and information.