If you’ve used any piece of ice fishing equipment over the last few decades, there’s a good chance it was at least partially inspired by a Clam Outdoors product. We have long served as the industry’s leading innovators, and it all started with the FishTrap in 1980.

Dave Genz hosts his first Trap Attack ice fishing tournament on Pelican Lake in Orr, Minnesota

After the Trap Attack tournament, Dave Genz built the first FishTrap in his garage in Minnesota. His wife, Patsy, sewed the canvas pieces together on her home sewing machine.

The first FishTrap is sold by Dave Genz. Genz would travel around the ice belt selling FishTrap shelters and hosting the Trap Attack ice fishing tournaments.

Dave Genz partnered his FishTrap shelter with a portable shelter brand known as Clam —named for the way its shelters opened like a clam. Bringing these two concepts together united sled-style mobility with flip-over functionality, marking the beginning of the Clam brand.

Clam quickly became the largest manufacturer of portable ice shelters in North America.

Ice Team is formed, with founding partners including Clam Outdoors and Vexilar. It quickly grew into the world’s largest ice fishing organization, uniting leading brands and promotional staff to work together in advancing, educating, and promoting the sport of ice fishing.

Dave Osborne purchases Clam Corporation from USL Products and it becomes a privately held company. At the time of the company purchase, Clam had 8 product SKUs.

IceArmor by Clam introduced. The product line was launched with the iconic “Blue Suit" which was known as a portable ice fishing shelter for your body.

Clam Corp. trademarks their distinctive color of blue on FishTrap and The Clam.

Clam Corp. purchases Polar Sports, which consists of ATV utility trailers and accessories.

Clam Corp. manufacturing and offices merge into a 100,000 sq. ft. facility in Medina, Minnesota.

The X-Series line of FishTrap ice shelters debut as "The best ice fishing shelters ever built."

Clam engineers become the first to use Thermal Trap insulation in portable ice fishing shelters and also used this technology on IceArmor by Clam suits.

Clam introduces the Six Pack 1660 screen shelter modeled after our hub ice fishing shelters. The first of it's kind as a portable screen tent to be ready to use out of the box with no assembly required and can be set up in 60 seconds or less.

Clam builds and moves into 150,000 square foot building in Rogers, MN for their company headquarters.

Clam releases a complete line of Clam Pro Tackle for ice fishing with a full assortment of Tungsten jigs.

Clam expands to over 1,000 SKUs and continues to grow.

Polar Trailers by Clam introduces the LG series of trailers with the LG7 and LG10 models.

Clam introduces its hard sided ice fishing shelter, the Clam 612V with different features than other portable drop down ice shelters on the market.

Clam introduces the Quick-Set by Clam lineup of screen shelters.

Clam releases Stealth Series line up of ice shelters that feature Tri-Bond Thermal Technology (Patent 9,777,507) that creates complete darkness in the shelter which is perfect for sight fishing and spearing.

Clam releases cutting edge MotionFloat Technology for their IceArmor by Clam suits. This technology assists in floatation in the event of an ice breakthrough, while also providing the mobility necessary to move easily.

Clam Outdoors and Ice Team celebrates the 20th anniversary of Ice Team by coming out with two exclusive 20th anniversary ice shelters.

Clam Outdoors releases a new brand and product line called Blackfish that consists of high-quality performance outdoor apparel that includes UPF, soft-shell outwear, and rain gear.

Clam Outdoors releases Side Symmetry Door technology in the new FishTraps. These new doors combined front and side access doors and allowed anglers to easily enter and exit their shelter.

Clam acquires All-Terrain Tackle which specializes in a wide variety of bass fishing jigs.

Clam Outdoors releases a line of open water fishing nets and expanded to the open water fishing market.

Clam Outdoors celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first FishTrap created by Dave and Patsy Genz by releasing three special edition FishTrap models that are similar to the first FishTraps they created and sold.

Clam Outdoors releases over 80 new ice fishing products for the 2021–2022 season—marking the largest product launch in the company’s history.

Clam Outdoors releases a full new line up of FishTrap shelters with side doors that made for more interior space and easy entry.

Clam Outdoors introduces a lineup of portable propane heaters designed for ice fishing and versatile enough for multiple outdoor uses, along with Clam Live electronics accessories built to pair seamlessly with modern ice fishing electronics.

Stay tuned! We have many new exciting items coming soon that we can't wait to share with other ice anglers and outdoor enthusiasts!