I built this fish house with a friend of mine, Mark Williams, and kept it at his cabin on Lone Lake near Aitkin.
We initially built it in my garage, here in the metro. After we put it together, we knew we had to seal it, to protect it from the weather in some fashion. The cheapest treatment we found was some redwood stain for about $8 a gallon.
Our shack also needed to be identified. Most people use their license numbers. We thought an easier way was to just spray some paint on it. Once we did that, we felt maybe it should be embellished a bit more. The contrasting colors of our paint job stood out like a sore thumb on Lone Lake and attracted many a snowmobiler and ice fisherman.
"Dead Reckoning Fishing Team" got its name because we never used electronics or GPS to locate specific spots. We always just gave it our best guess. "Jenny" is from a Tommy Tutone song, popular in the early '80s. There were numerous inquiries if Jenny were, in fact, with us, which always kept us entertained.
PAUL SCHWARK, EAGAN
SEND US YOUR ICE-FISHING HOUSES! Cabin Country wants to celebrate your cold-weather hideouts this winter, everything from ice-fishing houses to cozy winter cabins. Send your story and photos to cabins@startribune.com or submit online at www.startribune.com/hideouts.
