Family turns fishing into year-round fun

PALMER - Between the two sides of Butch and Jehnifer Ehmann's family, they figure they are related to at least half of the Mat-Su Valley.

The two grew up in Palmer and now live in Equestrian Acres with their children Kaylee, 11, and Callie, 8. Jehnifer is their step-mother.

For fun, they hunt and fish as a family, Jehnifer said, though so far their kids prefer playing in the snow to pressing their faces into an ice hole to scan the clear water of this or that Mat-Su Borough lake for fish, she said.

Their love of year-round fishing has led the couple to craft an ice fishing shack that doubles as housing for the family when they make the trip to Lake Louise.

Since Jehnifer wrote about their experience building the shack for the 2011 October-November issue of Fish Alaska, they've received several requests for more information about how they built their own custom ice fishing shack.

To that end, the couple has made presentations on the topic to the Mat-Su Angler's group Jan. 12 and are scheduled to be part of the 2012 Mat-Su Home Show April 27-29.

They also share information about how to build a custom ice fishing shack on the Outdoor's page in this issue of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

"I have a lot of years of trial and error and I am willing to share that," Butch said.

And that's a pretty good offer, considering he builds things for a living, like the new Valley Community Recycling Center, which he built working for F-E Contracting.

"People don't realize the size of the fish under the ice," Jehnifer said. "This is the only way to do it."

After a decade of mulling the idea, Butch said he decided to combine his experience as a builder with his experience trying to stay warm while ice fishing to craft an ice shack that would serve as a fishing and warming shack by day and by night provide a warm place for the family to sleep.

"It's amazing how many mistakes you can make on a $2,500 shack," he said.

The two say spring is the main season for ice fishing and this is the perfect time to design and build an ice shack to use this spring.

See Page B3 for more tricks and tips for a do-it-yourself ice shack.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.