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I have taken several trips to MN over the past few years and experienced ice fishing from sleeper houses and small solid structure trailers pulled out on the ice. As I was just talking to a friend in MN setting up this years trip he was asking me why there aren't any of them in Utah.
I could not come up with an answer.....a lot of guesses, but no answer.
My thoughts are that the ice doesn't get thick enough....but I have been in a hut in MN on 14 inches of ice and been totally fine. I know there are local lakes that can get thick ice and should be able to support them.
So then I started wondering about other possible reasons.
First of all...are they even legal?
If so...is it because we get a lot more snow (MN gets the cold for the ice but not as deep of snow) or because of the slush?
Years ago I use to see several trucks drive out on the ice (Scofield) but have not seen that for a long time. Are we too chicken?
Is our ice not as solid as ice in MN?
Just a curiosity question. Had not really thought about it and was just wondering if my thoughts were on the right track.
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Just my opinion, but I believe the edge ice is more stable on the natural lakes back east. Most of our water is in reservoirs which are subject to dramatic fluctuations during the winter which makes the edge ice more dicey for large vehicle traffic getting on and off safely. Our 12" to 18" ice is plenty strong but that ice at the edge might only be 3" to 6". In Minnesota they also have thick ice from December to early March some years where our thick ice is typically only from January into mid February, hardly enough time to justify a permanent house. You have to get those things off the ice before the ice starts deteriorating so you might have a month to use it before you had to retrieve it. Additionally, I can't see why anyone would want to be stuck in one spot waiting for fish to come to them and also Utahn's/westerners aren't known for leaving fishing stuff alone. Can't leave a buoy marker or a crayfish trap unattended for an hour without some idiot coming along and taking it thinking it's been abandoned. You'd probably find your fish house used for a bon fire material.
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You got some good reasons so far, my guess is we don't fish walleye as much out here, so we can catch fish in the daylight and not need to stay out all night to do well... Plus the short season also means it takes a while before the ice is thick enough to get a shack on it and then it starts going bad fast and a couple weeks of our season is on questionable ice on both ends, so you probably have 2-3 weeks you could use a shack at best... and I like to move when the fish aren't biting, so moving a shack wouldn't be near as easy... Just my guesses, I know I don't want to bother with a permanent shack... even though some of them are as nice as being home... I'd rather fish when I'm fishing and be comfortable when I'm home with my family... Later J
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I don't know about State Parks, but on Forest land camping is restricted to 16 days. While it isn't always enforced, campers are required to move camp every 16 days. Wouldn't this same logic apply to an ice-house on the frozen lake?
I would just hate to see permanent structures put on the ice -- we already have enough issues with hunters "reserving" their hunting spots. Wouldn't we start seeing conflicts with fishers due to this same issue? I'm sure people would set up a structure at first ice-on over the top of the "prime" spot on any given lake, and leave it there all season long....and probably not clean it up prior to ice-off!
Sounds like a problem to me...
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Sometimes they'll raise the levels in some reservoirs during the ice season, like they did with Pineview last season. Even while the ice was thick there was water and slush on top and edges pulling away from the shore because the ice shelf was floating around on a lake that was increasing in volume. Then there's Rockport, it will melt along one side and the wind blows the ice shelf 50-60 feet from the shore on one side. Strawberry is covered with warm springs that create thin spots, like that guy found out last year when he dumped a 6x6 in the Big Hole area. Rivers running under the ice play a role too, the currents make for unpredictable ice over the river channel in the narrows...not enough for a person or ATV to go through but I sure wouldn't want to drive a vehicle onto the ice at Rock Cliffs with the Provo flowing back and forth under there.
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