Windriver stated in another thread that he is more afraid of late ice than new ice. I'd love for some of you to educate me on late ice.
Even though I've been ice fishing since 1987 (not necessarily every year), I've never gone completely through the ice (put 1 foot through on new ice once), nor have I ever fished what I'd consider "late ice". When late ice comes, I've always been focused on scouting for turkey, shooting ground squirrels, or getting ready to float tube fly fish for trout, or ????. Just never been on late ice.
Is there something different I need to look out for? Please teach me.
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My experience has been go out on good ice in the morning and breaking through on the edge getting off latter in the day . In March I have used my ATV Ramp to get my 4 wheeler on and off the ice at Mackay . Good Luck and be Safe . Curt G.
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I watch for areas where the ice changes color. I also avoid any new pressure cracks if possible. The edges are obvious but if you take a step and see water come up through the ice you know it's time to back up.
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Late ice is dangerous for many different reasons...Of course all ice is dangerous to a certain degree...
1. The melting snow lifts the cap and seperates the ice from the edge. Without really cold weather the warm water on the edge wears away at the edge ice creating punk (soft) ice.
2. The longer days and the continual sunlight soften the ice even if it freezes at night the thawing/freezing action makes the ice soft and may create unsafe gaps lines etc...
3. The sunlight warms anything on or around the ice like sticks, rocks, etc... This creates little pockets of soft ice.
4. If there are any springs or warmer water they find the soft ice pocket and create sink holes. Yes I found one of them at Rire. I believe the warm water from the melting snow went in the Res then found a soft spot and created a sink hole. I went all the way in, scared the crud out of me. There was 14" of ice all the way around me no problem getting out... just the perfect size hole to swallow me.
Be careful out there. Remember there is a calculated risk in all activities. Your risk factor goes up from here on out.
Windriver
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It's about time to consider a spud bar when climbing onboard the hard deck. You can pick your way across the ice with a bar to test for soft ice and weak spots. Me, I'm hanging up my cleats for the year. It was a great season and a special thanks to all the guys from this board that I met and fished with! It was a blast!
Don
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We pulled the ice house off of Ririe today. Still might make it out one more time, but wanted to get the ice house off while we could still use a four wheeler.
Windriver
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Can we use snow machines now at Ririe . I have a 4 wheeler , but the snow machine is on the trailer and I am to lazy to swap them around if I don't have to . Curt G.
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No you can't use snowmachines. Getting a four wheeler on is really tricky right now with bad shore ice. Still possible but really tricky.
Windriver
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