Tricking your ice-fishing trap

I started using a Dave Genz Fish Trap about 20 years ago for much of my ice fishing. It was a one-seater. As my kids grew, the larger Yukon, with two full seats and a good deal more room, served us well for quite a while. However, like many things in life, it was set aside as life changed, and the once well-used pop-up shelter was relegated to spending winter under a tarp in the backyard. Last winter — inspired by a Facebook group devoted to the subject — I took it upon myself to update my tired old Yukon. The term used now for hot-rodding these units is “Trick your Trap.” So that’s what I set out to do. Salvage operation (free) The first thing I did was pull the old shelter out and give it a good look over. The plastic tub was in remarkably good shape, considering its age. The plastic was not cracked, and the bottom of the tub was solid, thanks to some old plastic runners. The original blue nylon tent was stained, sun damaged, and sported several holes. It would have to go. The original frame poles were in decent shape and could be salvaged. Overall, the two-decade old Fish Trap showed signs it had life left and was ready for an extreme makeover. Now came the fun part. Get a thermal tent ($250) I’d been looking at a variety of new tents and flip-overs made of thermal material. An insulated tent would be a lot warmer than the nylon, but it would also be heavier, which had to be taken into consideration. The Fish Trap is made by a company called Clam, and when I visited their website, I was pleased to see that they had replacement tents for my vintage Yukon. This was purchase number one. For the record, Otter, Eskimo, Frabill and other companies also make good trap-style shelters that can be upgraded and customized. My dad installs the new thermal material on my old Yukon. Considering a brand new version of this shelter is $1,000+, the refurbish was well worth it. Add a pole rack ($65) Spreader poles add tension to your tent material. Having the poles rolling loose in the bottom of the tub always bothered me. They often froze together and bent. A storage rack, installed on the back of the tub, keeps the poles bound and out of