Of Ice and Men

By Eve Byron - 01/19/2008

Bob Hanson drills a hole outside his homemade ice-fishing house.

Bob Hanson had an epiphany watching the movie classic “Grumpy Old Men.” His revelation had nothing to do with the film’s subject, characters or story line. Instead, it was the resplendent fish houses — known by some as shanties — that moved him.

“I told my wife ‘That’s what I want to do’ and she said to go for it,” Hanson recalled on Tuesday. “So I did.” His isn’t quite as elaborate as the fish houses in the Minnesota-based comedy, which featured pine paneling, recliner chairs and table lamps. But it’s quite a step up from the early days, when Native Americans would chisel holes in the ice, lie on branches to hide their reflections, cover up with a teepee and wait for the fish.

Pre-built ice-fishing houses can be purchased at just about any sporting goods store in southwest Montana. They basically consist of a wooden frame covered with a tarp, and one or two holes in the bottom. Anglers auger through the ice via the floor holes, then sit in relative comfort while they wait for the fish to bite.

That wasn’t good enough for Hanson, who had a ready supply of materials through his job at United Building Center, and a willing cohort in buddy Bart Thompson.

On a recent morning, they proudly showed off their second home, an oasis in a sea of ice at the south end of Canyon Ferry Reservoir.

Hanson began the fish house with a recycled 5-foot-by-8-foot plywood overseas shipping crate from Mergenthaler Transfer and Storage, which is next to UBC.

He hammered wooden studs to the base, creating little sled runners to make it slide easier across the ice. He painted it camouflage green, since that was the color he had on hand. They cut a hole for a door, and attached one complete with handle and lock, and cut a hole for a sliding window.

But it’s the interior that makes this a place to hang out for hours on end.

The fish house has an L-shaped bench to sit on, which doubles as storage. Pink curtains frame the window, held back by plastic flowers.

“They were a special gift from my wife,” Thompson said.

“She did it as a gag, but I thought we had to put them in,” Hanson added with a laugh.

It’s toasty warm here, heated with a homemade pot-bellied stove. A fire extinguisher is nearby, since Thompson notes he’s “had some experience” with fires.

Coat hooks line the walls, a necessity when the stove is stoked. Two pie tins are affixed to the ceiling with hooks under them; when it’s dark, Hanson and Thompson hang Coleman lanterns from them. The tins direct the heat downward.

Today, Thompson’s fired up the fish finder, an underwater camera that looks like a fish but projects images onto a small television screen in the fish house. He’s not seeing a lot of action down below, so they’re thinking about pulling up the stake — a piece of PVC pipe tied to the fish house and embedded in the ice — and moving east a few hundred feet.

When they get hungry, they might pull the sauce pan off the wall and cook up a little soup. When they get bored, they might turn on the battery-operated television and try to catch a football game if it’s a Sunday.

The fish house also is wired for 12-volt power, “so we can do just about anything we want,” Hanson said proudly.

They have a line of holes outside the fish house — each angler can have up to six holes — with tip-ups placed over the holes and lines dropped in the water. They check the lines by occasionally glancing out the window or the open door. On weekends, it’s not unusual for them to see skaters, ice boats and all-terrain vehicles whiz by, and get a visitor or two checking to see if the fish are biting.

Sure, they’re sitting on a frozen lake when temperatures and wind can make it feel like 20 below zero. But in here, it’s as cozy as a cabin with all the comforts of home.

Well, maybe not all. After a couple of cups of coffee, or a few beers, there’s that nature call that bites.

But that’s not important to a REAL ice fisherman. It may not look like much to the untrained eye, but this is a little piece of paradise to all those people standing out on the Canyon Ferry ice.

“We’ve done our time (sitting outside) on a bucket,” Hanson said, laughing. “This is more than just a box. This is the best.

“As long as I have a tight line, I’m happy.” Independent Record reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com.