If money is tight i wouldn't worry about the coat... Just get your self a nice pair of water proof ice fishing bibs and youll be more than happy. I have a pair of striker ice bibs and would not hesitate to purchase them again!

i bought a pro-4 lite in 2016 and in my opinion the auger is under powered even for the 8" blade. I had issues with mine bogging down a lot at the slightest amount of resistance. I believe that jiffy has made some upgrades to the more recent models, however i still would not recommend using anything wider than the 8" blade they come with.

i switched to trilene 100% fluorocarbon XL.... right on the box it says unique formula for spinning reels & in my opinion it has been an improvement over how other fluorocarbons have preformed on my spinning reels. I also use it only in 6lb or less which seems to help. I also never fill the spool over 3/4th full.

+1 on two separate graphs.... Its just nice to have GPS up on one graph and your sonar/down/side scan on the other.

As its been pointed out ice castles are not the most expensive or well made houses out there. That being said i have numerous friends who all own ice castles, keep up on regular maintenance and have had Zero problems.

especially the 8' wide houses are big and heavy putting a lot of weight on the single axles and if regular maintenance wasn't done you can and will have issues (in my opinion this goes from all ice houses not just ice castle). Like millhouse mentioned look over the pivot points around the wheels and crank the house up and down a couple times. If the wheel stub is slightly bent i would think you'll notice uneven wear on the tires or visually be able to tell they are sitting at a slight angle. I would also add make sure to try every light/switch and any other gadgets the house might have just to make sure they are still working as intended. If its an RV edition make sure you don't see any leaks around sky lights or the air conditioner.

I have a friend who has the same 1675 pro guide with a 60hp Yamaha and id say it tops out at around 30mph with two guys in the boat. If you plan to fish with 3 guys alot id recommend the 75hp if you can afford the extra $2000. If not get the 60hp and use the money to take a few fishing trips and enjoy your new boat!!!

I purchase a Pro4 Lite last winter and have had issues with it similar to what your are describing. If i put any weight down on the auger (yes i know you shouldn't have to put weight down on the auger) or if it has any resistance it will for lack of a better word, bind.

basically the power head/transmission will stop spinning the drill and i have to pull the drill out of the hole before it will start spinning again. I had contacted jiffy last year and they suggested bringing it to a certified shop and having the carb/fuel ratio adjusted.

I also noticed that the pro4 lite has a "upgraded transmission" for 2016 so i'm not sure if that was the problem with previous models or if a simple adjustment will fix the problem.

Needless to say i am a bit disappointed with the 2015 model i purchased.

Sweet house!! Only way id ever consider a bathroom inside a wheel house is if the wife said its the only way i could spend the $$ on one. We too have always just used a heated portable outside for a bathroom and never had an issue. Ill take the extra space every time

I purchased a fenwick elite tech 26" mL and paired with a pfluger president reel. Rod/Reel and line came in just under $100. Haven't been able to use it yet but having had fenwicks before I'm sure it's gonna be a nice set up for the price!! I went with the mL because A 1/8th ounce lure is about as big as I fish with 90% of the time. If your using 1/4oz or lures like a lindy darter etc.... I'd probably suggest the med. Now hopefully the weather turns cold and we have some good ice soon.

Good luck and happy shopping

I can not speak to performance of the Xi5 but have heard good things especially about its spot-lock. I run Lowrance graphs also so the only thing keeping me from changing from my Terrova is the remote. I'm not always sitting right in front of my graphs so having speed etc. visible on the remote screen is a big plus.