An ice shelter is not necessary to catch fish. Heck, when I’m hunting fish over deep water I rarely use one. Even when I’m hopping from hole to hole, jigging for walleye in extremely low light I won’t use one. But in other situations, without question, ice shelters have helped me catch more fish! That’s because most fish I chase during winter months come shallow at least during part of the day, making ice shelters an excellent choice. In shallow or clear water situations, an ice tent helps to prevent the hole from freezing, and gives me the ability to see fish that come in range of my hook. That is not to mention the fact that when it’s cold and windy I’m sitting in a warm, comfortable shelter and not out fighting the elements making those sometimes long waits for action easier to take
The dark tent gives me the ability to actually see the fish below my hole and tells me whether they are interested in the bait or hook I am using at the time. Whitefish, perch, and trout can be very effectively fished from an ice shelter as they are often caught in quite shallow water throughout the winter. Pike and burbot will also come shallow making more regular appearances as the winter ice fishing progresses toward spring. Watching your hook from above takes out a great deal of the guess work.
Knowing at what level the fish are active is a huge advantage while ice fishing. That is, are they hugging bottom, a foot off bottom or a foot under the ice. With a tent, I can see where the fish are swimming, even if they don’t bite the hook. That gives me the confidence that I’m fishing at the right depth and all that’s left is figuring out what bait will work and I’m off to the races.
Ice fishing shelters are more than a luxury for the hard water fishing crowd as they ultimately allow better catches in much more comfortable surroundings.