We pulled up to the edge of our lake, and as we were loading our gear onto the sled we noticed 3 guys on the other side, struggling against the wind, trying to set up their shelter. It appeared that they were piecing together some poles to make a frame for their tent, which they had to keep chasing down as the wind blew it around.
Well, me and Red got to our favorite spot, drilled two holes, positioned our Frabill® Predator Portable Ice Shelter
over the holes, sat on the two deluxe boat seats that are molded in, grabbed the shelter and fliped it over our heads. In about 2 minutes after drilling our holes the shelter was set up, frame and all. The frame by the way is 1 1/4 inch aluminum, the strongest in the industry.My buddy, Red, started setting up our gear inside, while I went out to anchor down. In doing so I again noticed the 3 poor souls on the other side. They had gotten their shelter frame together and were struggling to put the tent over it. Struggling being an understatement as the tent was now acting more like a parachute. As all 3 had ahold of what appeared to be light-weight polyester, and tried to hoist it over the frame, the wind would catch it, lift them about 2 feet into the air and to the left.
"Wow, better them than me" I thought to myself.
As I got to the back anchor I glanced up to see Red's face peering out the clear view window at the 3 guys with a big grin. "Been there, done that" he chuckled.
Now that we were properly anchored down I went back around front to the large zippered door and climbed in. Red had us all set up. He even had the heater going and was already jigging. So I settled in on the other deluxe swivel boat seat and commenced to fish.
"Remember back in the day when we went through that?" Red asked. Struggling for an hour, or sometimes more, just to set up a shelter. By the time we were set up we were too tired and too cold to fish". "No" I
mumbled. "I have blocked those events from my memory".
I no sooner got those words out of my mouth when something flashed by Red's window. "Did you see that?" he said as he spun around to look out. He stood up, looked out the window, and busted out laughing.
"What was it?" I asked.
"Apparently it was those guys tent" he laughed."They are chasing it across the lake. I don't think they will catch it anytime soon."
Red sat down, leaned back in his swivel chair, put his arms behind his head,"I only got one thing to say after seeing that" he grinned. "God bless this Frabill Shelter. It's the best investment we ever made."
"Sure is" I agreed. "Fishing cadillac style."
After about an hour, and a bucket full of crappies and perch, a cold and half frozen face appeared in Red's window. It was one of the three poor souls holding two poles and the tent wrapped around his body for warmth. "This is a sweet shelter you guys have here" he said shivering."Where did you get it?" Red looked at me with his patented grin and winked. "Well young fella, I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you". You gotta love Red's sense of humor. "Just kidding" he chuckled. "We got this baby from Amazon. They have 4 styles to choose from".
"The Commando
has more space than any other solo. 10sq feet of fishable area and 1 of these deluxe padded swivel seats I'm sitting on"."The Excursion
has a fishable area of 70"W x 50"L for up to 3 anglers, a deluxe padded bench seat, and is made with 300 denier fabric"."The Guardian
has a fishable area of 66"W x 56"L with 2 deluxe padded swivel seats and is made of 600 denier fabric with front and rear doors and 4 clear view windows"."The Predator
is the one you're looking at now young fella. 900 denier fabric, roto molded sled base, 2 deluxe padded swivel seats, front and rear doors with heavy duty zippers, and a 75'W x 53"l fishable area"."All 4 models have a polyurethane coating to keep water and light out, and all 4 have the MaxVent Air Exchange System for optimal venting and minimization of condensation, while holding in the heat."
"Holy Crap!!" I said in amazement. "You're a walking encyclopedia, Red".
"You know it." he said. "The last time we went through what I've seen these young fellas go through today, I said never again. So I did some research and found Fabrill Shelters to be the best value in their price
range today. That's why I suggested we get one".
"Sheer genius Red" I exclaimed.
The shivering young fella thanked Red for his information and wandered off to rejoin his buddies. We decided to pack up and head home ourselves. It took us about 5 minutes to get our gear into the sled and back to the truck where we found our 3 poor souls struggling to get their stuff packed up. "Catch anything?" Red asked.
"No" said one of the shivering fellas. "By the time we managed to even come close to fishing we were too tired and too cold to fish".
"Yeah, I know the feeling" Red grinned.
Article copyright 2010 by Dirk Marshall. May not be reproduced elsewhere without express written permission.
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