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Different people have differing opinions on what is "safe" ice. I have fished on an inch and half of ice. I didn't think it was safe, but for some reason I still did it. Anyway, I just found this ice chart. Who knows how accurate this chart is. We've all met somebody that has said, "You're crazy for walking on three inches of ice! I wouldn't be caught on any less than ten inches." To which you reply, (at least I have replied) "I would drive a truck on ten inches." Well, here it is, according to the chart you can drive a truck on ten inches of ice. Granted there are different qualities of ice. Clear ice is obviously more dense, and hence more safe than white ice. Just thought I would share this chart. Enjoy.
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I also found this informative article. A lot of it applies to ice fishing in Utah, and a lot of it is overkill for the conditions we see. It is nonetheless helpful and informative.
[url "http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice_safety/safety.html"]http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice_safety/safety.html[/url]
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Thanks for the charts. Good info.
In the "[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC6G-m6aAiw"]what not to try[/url]" category - click THIS.
Fishing for Hummers
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I've always seen pictures of people pulling sleds and sometimes an old truck or two out of the ice. I have never seen a video of the process like that. I've never seen an expensive vehicle like that come out of the ice either. Good video. Thanks.
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One inch of ice!! You might be a little insane! I like about 3 inches of ice. I feel 3 inches is plenty solid to walk a ways from shore on. I would fish on 2" really close to shore in shallow water. I have had a machine on 5 inches of ice with no problems. Good luck to all, check your ice before going to far from shore, most important have fun!!
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These are good basic rules to live by but an icer should never forget that stained water ice rots/softens/honey combs a lot faster/sooner than clear water ice.
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What about places near inlets or outlets, where the water stays open? Are there guidelines to follow or things to look out for.
I'm new on the ice. The thing that got me was the cracking noises while walking, or even sitting still. When are the noises serious and when are they normal?
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Sharp pops and snaps are a good thing to hear, means the ice is growing and hard. You'll note you hear them when the temps are COLD. When you dont hear the snaps and pops is when to watch your step..
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One thing you forget buddy is that ice isn't always a consistent thickness. It can be 4 inches in one spot and 1 in another. Maybe you remember a few years back when when we were walking on a solid 4 inches and Flycastin suddenly disappaered under the ice. Remember that? I remember pretty well since he was walking 5 feet in front of me [sly]
From now on, you and your chart can lead the pack out there on the first trip [cool]
There are alot of things that happen when a lake freezes. If the lake stays calm and freezes quick, you will have a bunch of solid clear ice. If it's windy, all churned up, and freezes slowly, you have chunky ice with soft spots. Then a layer freezes over that making it seem like nice thick ice, when in reality it's inconsistent and unpredictable.
It all depends on the risk you are willing to take. When we were young we did some pretty stupid stuff. But now that we have family's to take care of, fish are a little lower on my "Priority List".
I'm still planning on the 27th for our Berry trip, but don't laugh when you see me wearing a "LunkerHunter2 special Life jacket" out on the ice [cool].
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I certainly did not forget that ice isn't always consistent. These charts were just food for thought. I thought that some people might find it interesting how much weight ten inches of ice has the potential to hold. That's also why I gave the disclaimer: "Who knows how accurate this chart is?" followed by "...there are different qualities of ice". Also, if you read the article from my second post, it pretty much says everything you just said about inconsistent ice, which is all true.
One thing you should take note of from the article which isn't quite in line with what you wrote:
"Contrary to what you would expect, a rapid, large air temperature drop makes an ice sheet brittle, and the ice may not be safe to use for 24 hours or more.
Charts and graphs are just that, charts and graphs. Conditions will vary greatly from place to place, and from day to day. When determining ice safety, nothing should replace sound judgment, and that sound judgment should be made at the margin. In other words, a little at a time. Don't assume the whole lake (like you said, is 4 inches) just because one drilled hole turns up 4 inches. Check a little, move a little, check again ...etc.
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I've always worried about freak occurrences (you never know when an asteroid will hit the ice in from of you) though the the ice I was on was always well over five inches, most of the time it was probably almost a foot thick. One thing I did to calm myself down was to make a device to help climb out, basically two ice picks tied together (one ice pick and one really sharp phillips head). I made sure it was easy to reach and safe from stabbing me.
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