What should I get?

[BWCAW]

I'm just starting to get serious about ice fishing. I'm looking for advice on which ice house, flasher, and auger to get. I am in high school so I don't have a whole lot of money to work with here. I would need the ice house to be able to hold at least two people, but I don't have a snowmobile or 4-wheeler to haul it with so it can't be too heavy. Thanks for your help!

[anyfishwilldo]

Your best bet will be to start with used stuff, to get you on the ice, and replace it as you get more money. I would look into the otterskin house Otter house on the used post on the forum for a house, I think it is going for 150. You can get a brand new eskimo 8" gas auger from Fleet Farm for 199. It is only a 1.2 hp, but it should be OK. Also look for a used fl8 on the forum also. usually 150-175. There you go $500, everything you need except rods. Wow, I look back at this and wonder how come I have so much money tied up into this sport.

[Slave to the Slab]

can't go wrong looking on e-bay!!

paying is easy. i just go to the post office, tell them i need a money order, and sent it. no need for credit card or anything. (pending you have an e-bay account)

[icehousebob]

A high schooler's budget can be tight, so I would suggest starting with a hand auger, lots of times you can find used Moras for five bucks or less. Get it resharpened and you're in business. There are several patterns of portable houses that you could build from plywood and tarps fairly cheaply. Many times, used Vexilars go for a price very close to what you can get a reconditioned one from the service center for, and the reconditioned ones come with a two year warranty. When I had five little kids and a tight budget, I used to buy old fishing rods at garage and rummage sales and shorten them up for winter use. I built a fishing sled from plywood with old shortened downhill skis for runners that I used for several years. With a little imagination and some effort, you can equip yourself okay until you can afford something better.

[f1sh1nfool]

one simple solution is to find a friend with some of the gear, then you go out and get whatever he doesn't have. requests for fishing items for christmas or birthdays, or gift cards for cabelas or gander also help. but mostly like already reccomended, find some good used equipment. much cheaper.

[shorefisher]

Call around to some pawn shop's for the gas auger I picked one up for less the the cost of a good hand auger at one. I also made a small fish house for my son out of old extra wood and some plastic tarp. It works fine to keep out the cold and wind and he can pull it bt him self at 10 years old. Cost about 20$ to make if you ask around for some old 2X4's and Plywood most people have sitting around. And some old downhill ski's from any Goodwill will get you started. And you can pick up jig sticks and tip up's real cheap these days as you can still fish hand over hand like we all did when starting out. As for a Vex or ? Buy one when you can but you can still get fish with out one I did for 20 years. Once you get fishing and find you love it you can up-grade each item as you see fit. Long and short you can get ice fishing for very little $$$ and still get fish through the hole. Hope this helps and the hunt for equipment is some of the fun.

[BWCAW]

Thanks a lot for your help guys. I've been keeping my eye open for used gear, hopefully I can find what I'm looking for.