Winter fishing is a lot of positive emotions that can be diluted with some of the negative emotions associated with weather conditions. It is not difficult to imagine what discomfort the angler feels in the presence of frost, and even wind, which enhances the feeling of cold. The wind may not be strong, but it can bring a lot of problems. If you have a winter tent for fishing, then some of the problems can be reduced to zero.
The presence of a tent allows you to increase the total time the fisherman stays on the pond in the winter. Moreover, you can easily raise the temperature in the tent to a positive mark, which will allow the fisherman to feel very comfortable.
Depending on the design features, winter tents are divided into specific models.
These are the simplest designs that are easy to assemble and install. To make the frame of such a tent, you should use durable, but lightweight materials. Synthetic fabrics or their combinations with tarpaulin are more suitable as an awning for covering.
The design is designed in such a way that the frame acts as a spring, which takes the desired shape when it is released from the package. They are quite popular due to their simplicity of design and lightness. Despite this, these tents have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, they are not very resistant to strong winds, and secondly, it is not so easy to fold it. Therefore, going fishing, you will have to work out before that. It unfolds itself, but without skills, it will be very difficult to fold it, and if you overdo it, you can break it.
This tent consists of several folding arcs and an awning, which covers this frame. We can safely say that this is the same simple option, but it takes a long time to assemble and disassemble. In addition, it is not particularly durable. Therefore, anglers rarely acquire a similar design.
A winter fishing tent should protect the angler from wind, frost and precipitation. Not only that, the tent should have enough space to relax so that you can cook dinner or just drink tea to keep warm.
In specialized outlets, you can buy any tent, especially since the range is very large. Be that as it may, some anglers make them on their own, taking into account all the requirements. In addition, who, if not fishermen, knows what kind of tent is required. Moreover, not all factory-made models meet the requirements of winter fishing enthusiasts.
A homemade tent should be:
- quite light and compact;
- mobile so that you can easily move;
- covered with dense but breathable fabric;
- easy to install and dismantle;
- durable and strong, as well as keep warm for a long time.
To work, you will need to stock up on such tools
Most angler-made tents fit in a fishing box. The box, by the way, can also be made independently, which is what many fishermen do, although you can buy it. In addition to the box, you will need the following accessories:
- two pairs of skis, one for children, one for school;
- tubes. In this case, it can be ski poles;
- unnecessary folding bed;
- thick fabric, such as a tarpaulin.
At first glance, how can a tent be built from such a set of elements. But, nevertheless, such a design proved that it has the right to life. The final product fits into a fishing box, which is very easy to transport across the ice. The construction is quick and easy to assemble and just as easy to move across the ice in working order.
The only negative is that there is not enough space in it. But if you approach the problem constructively, then there is an opportunity to solve it and increase the tent in volume. Paradoxically, but it protects from the cold, and this is the main thing.
Judging from the drawings, the tent is mounted on skis, which simplifies its installation on the ice. Ordinary tents require special fasteners. In addition, skis allow you to move the entire structure around the pond countless times. As a rule, winter fishing is not limited to one punched hole - there can be ten or even more, and each hole has to be caught.
The only thing is that it is problematic to use it in the presence of a strong wind, since it is installed on skis, the wind will be able to move it around the pond on its own. In this case, you can get used to it and use the power of the wind to move it. The main thing is to drill holes correctly.
Despite the fact that this design was born a long time ago, many anglers have tested it in the harsh conditions of winter.
How to make a tent with your own hands
- Ski poles serve as a frame and are installed vertically. Horizontal tubes should be thinner. At the corners, the frame is connected using tees, the diameter of which must match the diameter of both vertical and horizontal tubes.
- The next step is to attach the vertical tubes to the skis. A metal plate is attached to the ski, into which a tongue is inserted in the letter T, fixed at the lower end of the tube. To fix the stick, it is enough to turn it at an angle of 90 degrees.
- From an old folding bed, two sticks are being prepared that will connect the frame to the box. A bent tube is taken, at the end of which there is a docking station. At the other end of the tube is a latch, which serves as a fastener for the docking station.
- A spring is made from a copper strip, which connects the box with the tubes.
- In conclusion, it remains to stretch the awning. Metal strips with holes are attached to the bottom of the tent. Brackets fixed to the ends of the skis are pulled into these holes. The awning is connected with brackets using ropes. For stable behavior of the tent on ice, it is equipped with two anchors.
How to make fasteners
If the tent is not fixed on the ice, then at the slightest movement it will move in any direction, especially in the presence of wind. Therefore, it is necessary to make special pegs, at the end of which there is a thread. For this purpose, long and durable self-tapping screws are suitable, the top of which is bent in the form of a hook. By the way, hooks with threads of any size are available in hardware stores.
How to sew a tent with your own hands
Alternatively, you can make a tent in the form of a house. To make it you need to take:
- Water-repellent fabric, 14 sq. meters.
- Metal washers, 1.5 mm in diameter, 20 pcs.
- Braided rope, up to 15 m long.
- Narrow tape, about 9 m long.
- Bedding fabric, rubberized within 6 m.
Such a tent can accommodate one or even two people. First of all, you need to prepare two pieces of fabric, measuring 1.8x0.9 m. On the side of 1.8 m, marks are made every 65 centimeters. The same is done with the other (0.9 m) side. The fabric should be cut at the connection points, then you get the entrance and the back wall of the tent.
The diagram shows step-by-step the implementation of further work. Most importantly, all details must be sewn securely. Tape should be used to reinforce the seams. There are times when a tent is sewn from ordinary fabric. In case of bad weather, a polyethylene film is used, which is able to protect against wind and precipitation. Metal rings are sewn into the fabric for fastening. As a rule, they are placed along the bottom of the awning, as well as in the places where the fabric is attached to the frame.
Setting up a tent on a pond
Assembling a homemade ski tent takes a minimum of useful time:
- The skis, on which the tongues are fixed, are connected to the halves of the tubes located parallel to the skis. They should be directed inside the tent.
- Each pair of bent tubes is threaded through special holes located on the ski racks.
- Skis are interconnected so that a rectangle is obtained.
- A fishing box is installed on the structure prepared in this way.
- At the ends of each ski, vertical racks are installed. There should be four of them.
- Tees are taken and with the help of them a roof is formed. They are installed on each vertical rack.
- With the help of horizontal tubes, the frame is finally formed.
- A fabric is thrown over the frame, which is attached to the frame with short ropes.
A similar tent is disassembled in the reverse order. If each structural element is numbered, then the assembly and disassembly process will take somewhat less precious time.
And accessories you can find a fairly rich assortment of tents, however, if desired, they can be made from improvised means.
How to do it right is our article.
The use of tents has recently become quite popular. And all thanks to the desire of fishermen to increase the comfort of fishing in bad weather conditions. Tents have gained the greatest popularity, since frosts complicate the long-term expectation of a bite from a person sitting above the hole.
Requirements for a homemade tent
The main purpose is to create favorable conditions for fishing in snowy or windy weather. In addition, there is a place where it is more convenient to cook food, drink tea and warm up using special heating devices.
You can, of course, purchase such a tent (especially since the choice is now huge), but it’s better to make it.
During self-tailoring, you need to pay special attention to the following points:
- The tent must be light, compact and mobile as it has to be carried long distances during site selection.
- The fabric is selected dense. It is better if it is waterproof (for example, tarpaulin).
- The tent should be quick to deploy and easy to set up.
- It is not recommended to use plastic material for the manufacture of the frame, but the aluminum frame is quite durable.
- The tent must be warm.
Types of structures
There are different designs of tents. The most common are three varieties:
- A tent in the form of an umbrella is made using duralumin rods or tubes. Any synthetic fabrics are suitable for tent covering (sometimes combined use in combination with a tarpaulin is possible). The result is a fairly rigid and durable structure.
- A tent with automatic reshaping is less common than umbrellas. The peculiarity of this design is the ability to roll the fabric sewn to the frame into a circle.
- Tent with a frame in the form of 2-3 arcs made of duralumin or fiberglass, which are laid out on the spot. Then an awning is pulled over them.
The geometric shape of the tent can be any: triangular, trapezoid, in the form of a sphere or a cube. It all depends on the taste of the fisherman.
Details for a homemade tent
The details that will be needed to make a tent can be taken from improvised means:
- a pair of the smallest children's skis or school skis (up to 1.6 m long);
- duralumin tubes (you can use ski poles);
- old unnecessary folding bed;
- awning waterproof fabric.
Making a homemade fishing tent
You can assemble the structure in the following sequence:
- A frame of duralumin ski poles is mounted in two steps: first, vertical racks are installed, and horizontal tubes (thinner than vertical ones) are attached to them. The top of the tent is assembled from tees ending in cylinders 5 cm long. In this case, the diameter of the cylinders must be the same as that of the joined tubes.
- The lower ends of the vertical tubes are attached to the skis. There is a T-shaped tongue at the bottom of the tube. It must be inserted into a metal plate that is attached to the ski. The tube is then rotated 90 degrees.
- The frame of the tent is connected to the box. For this, two tubes bent at the ends from an unnecessary clamshell are used. A docking product is attached to one end, and a latch is installed at the other end. It is she who, when docked, gets the tongue into the hole on the other bent tube.
- The box is connected to the tubes by means of strips made of steel or copper attached to the posts.
- Tensioning the awning is possible due to the slotted metal plates installed on the lower edge. U-shaped brackets pass through them, which must be driven into the side ends of the skis. Connections are fixed with shoelaces.
- Setting up the tent is possible with the help of two anchors - penknives with a double-sided blade.
Accessories for comfortable fishing
To increase comfort in a homemade tent in winter, various devices are used. One of them is a special floor for the tent. It is better to make such a flooring from a material with low thermal conductivity (for example, polyethylene foam) no thinner than 15 mm.
The selected floor thickness is due to two requirements.
First of all, so you can protect yourself from melting ice under your feet.
Secondly, at a temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero, the floor will add comfort.
While fishing in a tent in the winter, it becomes necessary to heat the internal space. Resourceful anglers get warm with homemade or commercial heating devices. The use of candles is advisable for temperatures up to 15 degrees below zero.
If it is colder, then this method is ineffective and will not allow warming up the space inside the tent. The use of dry fuel is possible even with the use of homemade coasters made from cans. However, when dry fuel is burned for a long time, a large amount of carbon monoxide is released. In this regard, you often have to ventilate the tent, and this is unlikely to help keep warm.
There are also a variety of heating devices that run on natural gas or solid fuel. Just keep in mind that these devices are quite bulky and heavy. They can be applied only if they are delivered to the reservoir by car.
In fact, there are a lot of various designs of tents, and there is a wide field for imagination. The shape of a fishing shelter can be absolutely any: both rounded and acute-angled. 
The design is selected based on the capabilities and availability of the necessary materials.
The main thing to keep in mind is the lightweight design and compact appearance when disassembled. After all, it should be possible to transfer manually over a long distance when looking for a place on a pond. During the installation of the tent, you should pay attention to which side the wind is blowing. It is necessary to position the tent in such a way that the exit and ventilation holes are on the side perpendicular to the wind.
Useful video
Video about how you can make a winter transforming tent with your own hands:
Video on how to make a mobile fishing tent:
If a folded metal fan is bent in the middle by 45 degrees, and then unfolded, you get a miniature tent. On this principle, a home-made winter tent was made. The tent is quadrangular, but there are five posts - the fifth post, when the tent is “closing”, is superimposed on the fourth. It is convenient to transport it in a case with a height of 1 meter and a diameter of 15 centimeters. The total weight is 3 kilograms. Disassembly and assembly takes less than a minute.
Scheme of a homemade tent
Fig. 1 Unfolded self-made tent: 1 - a rack fixed rigidly; 2, 3, 4, 5 - movable racks
Fig. 2 Homemade tent folded to move to a new place
Fig. 3 Homemade tent in transport position
Fig. 4 The top of the tent, covered with oilcloth or tarpaulin and pressed with a wing bolt.
The frame of the homemade winter tent is made of duralumin ski poles. On the top plate (duralumin 3 mm thick), let's call it a "circle", three solidly threaded M6 bolts are rigidly installed from bottom to top, which are the rotation axes of racks 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Rack 1 is fixed rigidly. Each bolt on top of the plate is tightly tightened with a nut. The middle bolt rises above the two side bolts in such a way that the posts 4 and 5 pass freely over them.
In front of the circle from below, a plate with bends for hooks of racks 2 and 3 is rigidly fixed; hooks fix the posts when the tent is fully opened. Racks 4 and 5 can be in an intermediate position - next to racks 2 and 3 or connected to each other.
All racks, except for the fifth, have spacers that keep them from folding inward. When deploying a homemade tent, it is necessary to squeeze each one with your hand, and when folding, pull it towards you.
For greater lateral stability of a homemade tent, posts 1, 2 and 3 are interconnected by crosses made of narrow braid. The crosspieces also protect the polyethylene film from being "punched" by the wind inside the tent.
The awning is made of a polyethylene film. Ribbons are sewn on the outside and inside of each rack with a stitch with a large step. To attach the awning to the frame, strings are sewn to the awning against each break of the uprights and the bottom of the uprights. At the top of the awning, the film is neatly collected and closed with a cap made of oilcloth or tarpaulin and is not tightly clamped with a wing bolt.
It is desirable to fold the tent in the wind so that the awning moves away from the racks. If this is not done, then the awning may be cut by struts. In calm weather, you just need to spread the awning with your hand, then fold the racks in one motion, straighten the film and put it in the cover the way you lay an umbrella.
All parts and components of the tent structure are easy to manufacture, and there is no need to describe the technology in detail. Connections - like in a camping cot, but on bolts and nuts. If you replace them with rivets, the tent will become even lighter.
Fishermen have to spend many hours in the cold and strong winds in anticipation of a bite. Therefore, to protect against adverse weather conditions, a tent for winter fishing is necessary. It is not difficult to make it at home with your own hands. The use of shelter will significantly increase the period of stay of the fisherman on the ice. Thanks to the use of heating devices, the air under the awning can be heated up to 20 degrees.
Types of tents
There is a wide variety of options for homemade winter tents that are used in both summer and winter. The choice of design depends on the method of ice fishing.
For stationary fishing, a frame structure is installed in one place. Lightweight mobile models that can be quickly assembled are used mainly for running fishing.
According to its design and assembly methods tents are divided into the following types:
DIY manufacturing
The manufacture and assembly of a tent for a fisherman includes several important steps.
Frame installation
A rigid collapsible frame is assembled from several main and additional side supports, for which aluminum ski poles, metal or plastic tubes are suitable. Details are connected using trilateral and angular hinges, special tubes. The frame can be mounted on sleds made from skis and other materials at hand using special tube mounts.
Creation and fastening of an awning
To make an awning, the drawing of the product is carefully calculated in accordance with the required dimensions. The finished pattern is cut out of water-repellent fabric with a seam allowance of two centimeters. The attachment points for installing the dome are fixed with eyelets, they are reinforced with reinforced tape on a plastic film.
Screws are most often used to secure the structure. For a do-it-yourself winter tent, such fasteners are made from a metal bar and self-tapping screws. A piece of rod is welded to a long self-tapping screw in the form of a handle. To make it more convenient to handle the screws in the cold, rubber or silicone tubes are put on the bar.
Threaded hooks, pegs, etc. can also be used as fasteners.
Floor making
In order for fishing to take place in comfortable conditions, you can make a floor. For these purposes, isolon (polyethylene foam) is well suited - a sheet insulation with high thermal insulation properties.
A piece of the appropriate size is cut out of the insulation sheet and holes are made in it for the holes. Such flooring perfectly retains heat inside the shelter. The ice under it does not melt even when using the furnace.
Alternatives
If the fisherman often changes fishing places, it makes sense to consider the most lightweight and mobile options for tents.
Cape tent
Represents the simplest version of a fishing tent, which can be made at home from a dense plastic film. An isosceles triangle is cut out of polyethylene, a zipper is sewn along the edge of the film. To support the dome of the tent, an ice ax is used, which is extended to the appropriate length. To attach the film to the ice, holes are made along its perimeter through which pins or self-tapping screws are driven into the ice.
The disadvantage of the cape is that there is quite a bit of space left inside, so the fisherman is in cramped conditions. Polyethylene film is not a very durable material.
However, thanks to its transparent structure, there is a good overview during the fishing process. The tent is easy to transport as it is quite compact and light in weight.
dome tent
Instead of an ice ax, a metal pole with a pointed end is used as a central support. The support can be made collapsible from several metal tubes, which facilitates the transportation of the tent. The pole is driven into the ice and a film or an awning made of a denser material is stretched from it. The canopy of a folding house is strengthened with pins or stretch ropes. This design is more reliable and also quickly mounted and installed.
Tent requirements:
- the design should be lightweight and mobile;
- can be quickly mounted and installed;
- it is desirable to sew fabric for an awning from a tarpaulin or other moisture-resistant material;
- for the frame, it is recommended to use products made of aluminum or composite materials.
In addition, the tent must have good ventilation and thermal insulation to protect the fisherman from adverse weather conditions, as well as to keep warm for a long time. In the ideal case, it is possible to provide for the possibility of placing heating devices in it.
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