Now you may or may not want to fess up to it, for fear of public flogging, BUT would be curious to hear from any ya'll that have had "the experience". One we'd all like to avoid, but I know for a fact a number of members have slid into the icy chill at some point. And I'm not talking about just dunking a boot at the shore as you step up - we're talking knees and up here folks!
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=22849"]Here's an old post I came across. [/url]
Just don't try it like THESE guys did!
[center]The comical
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First [url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9zY3nxZBmE"]Attempt[/url] Second [url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQbZaXtdkLI"]Attempt[/url]
Ok [url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHtj79EQMnA"]Beggin[/url] for it, and [url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScJ2x3preiw&NR=1&feature=endscreen"]really begging[/url] for it!
[center]The educational
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[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os7iRCI74OM"]How to survive[/url]
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysnKtuUTt8k"]What to do[/url]
[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LLWqBo9LkQ"]Falling Thru[/url]
not while fishing but riding my bike out duck hunting on the ice. I usually ride with my waders on but this time I didn't. went straight through up to almost my chest. that was cold!!!!
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I stepped in a hole, but it was a BIG hole and should have been easily avoided. There was an obvious place where known 7" thick ice abruptly thinned to 1" or less. I went in waist deep, and was out on the ice about 2 seconds after that.
I was wearing snow bibs with elastics around my boots, and a snowboarding parka which is waterproof/breathable and has a drawstring around the bottom of the coat. I didn't get wet in any layer below that, even though I was actually in, and had to press myself out of the water and roll out of the hole. I went back to fishing.
I had rescue spikes, but I was in and out before I could think to use them.
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I have had the pleasure of finding a "spring" at Mantua two winters ago. It was early ice with one to two inches of good ice with four inches of slush on top. I went in like springbuck, and was out before I knew what had happened.
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Been there three times. Once to the waist twice completely in. Made for a long chilly "Frankenstein" walk as pants and coat froze solid. All happened when I was a teen growing up in Wisconsin. Very careful now. My bibs and coat now are survival type - if I did break through I would float. Checked it out in the swimming pool in the summer. Made by Arctic Armor. Very warm too.
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I made it in at Rockport 2 years ago. I saw people at the state park side and figured the ice was good on the opposite shore. I was wrong. I got out pretty far and the next thing you know I was in up to my waist. And out almost as fast while trying to save my sled with my auger and fishfinder on it. I made it up to the car and sat in the heat for a half hour. Then went to the state park side and made it on with no problems. I could only stand 4 hours of that but it was one hell of a cold 4 hours!! Was rewarded with 2 nice browns though!
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I fished Joe's a couple of years ago with K-trout and it was a super cold day (-20 or colder). We got out and drilled some test holes, which showed about 6 inches, so we didn't think much of it except for the occasional hole of open water here and there (springs).
I happened to find a spring that hadn't made a hole yet and it scared the crap out of me to have my entire right leg go in. I popped through about an inch of crusty ice.
After that, I knew what to look for. The ice was just a slightly elevated hump and whiter than the other ice.
Luckily, I was wearing waders. It was way too cold to be wet out there. Trout froze solid in about 5 minutes that day.
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Gone in twice - both times at Strawberry, once on my ATV.
The first time a friend of mine says we ought to go out on our ATV's. He states that he has gone out several times before with his brother and they have had a great time. I told him, I was afraid of going through. Anyway, he talks me into going. We off load our ATV's at the Marina & get ready. I say "OK, where do you want to go" he says "I don't know". I said "I thought you had been up here before with your brother".Anyway he did not where to go. So I said lets go over to the meadows, its usually good fishing over there. So I take the lead and head out. Being cautious, I head out over the lake & then hugged the shore line after reaching Haws Point. This was my first mistake. As I went over the old dike, I hit a patch of ice that was about 1-inch in thickness went through. This was the second weekend in February, the ice over the rest of the lake was over 12-inches thick and the temps were 20 degrees below. I only got wet up to my waste. ATV's are slow to sink and you are able to kick off of them as they go down. The water was about 8 feet deep, I was able to retrieve the ATV with help from my friend and Paul Phillips on a snowmobile. Paul stated this area is normally open water as there is a warm spring located here. It had just froze over with the cold temps and there was a covering of snow that masked it from the rest of the lake. He mentioned that a lot of other people have gone through at this location. Lesson learned: stay out in the deep water where the ice thickness is constant.
The second time was on Christmas eve a couple of years ago. We were fishing Mud Creek. Both my son and myself went in at the same time. It was like walking off a cliff. The ice went from 4-iches to 1/2-inch. Again the ice was covered with a fresh skiff of snow & we could not tell the old ice from the new. This time I went in up to my arm pits. With all of the clothes on you are quite bouyant. You can lay flat and swing a leg over the ice & pull yourself out. I assume you should hurry before coming water logged. We both got ourselves out and back to good ice. Ruined a good day of fishing with my son from out of state; however, it could have easily turned out worse.
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All the way twice. Once in the middle of Strawberry Bay and once at Otter Creek. Both times on a four wheeler. Still have both wheelers and still going strong.(Knock on wood!) Wasn't as scary as you would think. Posted pic's from Otter Creek on this site.
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So far Ive never had the Pleasure of falling through, Knock on Water
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In one of my finer moments as a novice bird hunter I shot a hen pheasant that went down in the middle of the Bear River. My black lab dutifully dove in after the bird. It was mid January on the club and the river was full of flowing ice. Thinking that my dog would surely drown, I dove in after her in Carhartt overalls and coat, gun vest, boots, the whole deal..My dog, meanwhile, was doing just fine swimming down river with the bird in her mouth looking for a place to get out. I swam to her and we found a spot to get up the mud banks about 50 yds downstream. In a frozen panic I shotputted my dog, bird in mouth, up on the banks. I then grabbed a Russian Olive tree to assist my escape, crucifying my hands on huge thorns in the process. Once on the bank I was miserable and pissed. The dog was fine, but looking at me as if I had lost my mind. We ran for the truck, where I made the worst mistake of the day. I stripped down naked to get out of my cold clothing and threw them in the truck along with my gun. Seeing that my dry clothes were on the other side of the truck, I swung the drivers door shut and ran around the other side....locking my keys, clothes and gun inside. Ever seen a butt naked redneck screaming swear words in the middle of a frozen alfalfa field? Well, one broken window later I was on my way home lucky to be alive. My dog still thinks there is something wrong with me.
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I know for a fact skunked again has slipped on ice and landed flat on his back breaking through the ice goose hunting 5 years ago I still laugh when i think of that!
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this warm spring wouldnt happen to be around haws point on your wat to renegade would it if so sank snowmobile there same deal
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Now that was hilarious patstarfish!
Last year I was on crutches throughout the ice season as I had a bad knee injury. At East Canyon late season some laughing butt heads broke my boards at the shoreline. Well nightfall came and there was my board, busted in half.
We scavenged some less than 2x4's boards. Well my buddies got across but the poor crippled (me) could not "walk the plank". I had to sit along the edge and go for it. The water went above my belly button and my hands as I had to move on crutches. Luckily I had 2 buddies that helped me through the water and back to shore that night as the bottom was tough to maneuver when you cannot put weight on 1 leg. They got plenty wet as well.
I never moved so quick up the ramp to the car on crutches before.
I hope those guys get what's coming to them for breaking a cripples way of the ice. They went 2 at a time with 2 sleds and laughed really hard about breaking it.
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Three times once I jumped in a hole, and the other was ice fishing..
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[quote patstarfish]In one of my finer moments as a novice bird hunter I shot a hen pheasant that went down in the middle of the Bear River. My black lab dutifully dove in after the bird. It was mid January on the club and the river was full of flowing ice. Thinking that my dog would surely drown, I dove in after her in Carhartt overalls and coat, gun vest, boots, the whole deal..My dog, meanwhile, was doing just fine swimming down river with the bird in her mouth looking for a place to get out. I swam to her and we found a spot to get up the mud banks about 50 yds downstream. In a frozen panic I shotputted my dog, bird in mouth, up on the banks. I then grabbed a Russian Olive tree to assist my escape, crucifying my hands on huge thorns in the process. Once on the bank I was miserable and pissed. The dog was fine, but looking at me as if I had lost my mind. We ran for the truck, where I made the worst mistake of the day. I stripped down naked to get out of my cold clothing and threw them in the truck along with my gun. Seeing that my dry clothes were on the other side of the truck, I swung the drivers door shut and ran around the other side....locking my keys, clothes and gun inside. Ever seen a butt naked redneck screaming swear words in the middle of a frozen alfalfa field? Well, one broken window later I was on my way home lucky to be alive. My dog still thinks there is something wrong with me.[/quote]
Dude you are a total stud [
] You survived, and you admitted having had this experience, even the locking the keys in part. My hat is off to you!
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Ive been in twice, once at Panguitch and once a otter creek. Panguitch was in march and the ice was soft around shore. Luckily I was by the lodge where its shallow and tapers off slowly, about 100 yards off shore. Went into my waist with my buddy. We got back to shore, found some plywood and made it back out to thicker ice. Froze our arses off in the strong wind and were solid ice when done but caught a lot of fish. Then we swapped ends in his camaro on the way home on the icy road but made it back to cedar city eventually and chalked it all up to adventure. I think we are braver or stupider in college before we grow up and learn some sense.
Otter creek w not as bad, about 5 feet from shore, both legs to the knees, was able slog out to shore and dry off in the car. Again soft ice, late in the year etc. Doesn't help that I weigh well over 300 lbs either[laugh]. Both have been years ago and haven't had any problems for a while.
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LOAH, that was the coldest day of fishing I can ever remember having. I cutt my finger that day and it later froze solid. There were some big springs to fall through for sure. Glad you only went through one of the smaller ones.
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Fell through last February at Deer Creek. Ice was 12 inches but there was several inches of snow on the ice. My glasses were fogged up and I started walking towards what appeared to be good solid ice to pull my sled on. Ended up being open water through a spring. As I realized what I was walking towards, I just dropped. Took me a few seconds for my mental preparation for this event to kick in. Put arms on the ice and seal kicked and was on good ice before I knew it.
But it took us 30 minutes to walk that far and it took another 30 minutes to walk back. My wife and daughter had come and a friend and his two kids had come. I felt horrible ruining everyone's day but they insisted we go back. I was wet to my waist but it wasn't so cold once we started pulling the sled back. I probably could have made it if I had my tent and heater.
Crazy thing is that I am a hardcore early ice chaser. I have been the first to ice fish Scofield for likely 4 of the past 5 years and one of the first for Strawberry and several other local places. 2 or 2.5 inches of solid ice on cold days is nothing to me. But I fall in in during the middle of the ice season with 12 inch ice on the lake.
Sounds like springs are the culprit for most of us.
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You would remember that. I think I'm still seeing stars from that bump on the head. Guess I better fess up to being five steps behind my dad when he dropped through cutler hunting geese. He was in and out so fast he hardly got wet but it was so cold he could hardly move for frozen clothes by the time we got to the truck. Hope not to repeat these oops J
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