(12-17-2020, 02:55 PM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: Dude I can't believe it was you that went in... You're pretty ice smart... We better all take this as a warning to be extremely careful... Larry you've been an ice fisherman for as long as I've known you and have done a ton of ice fishing... I did not expect this to be someone that I consider an ice expert... I figured it was someone that didn't know ice very well and wandered into a spring or something... Do you have any idea what happened? Why was the ice weak where you fell through, any ideas? Did you happen to be probing with a spud, or did you assume with the numbers of fishermen on the ice that it must be fine? I don't know what it is about Mantua, but that pond always freaks me out for it's ice conditions... I guess because I usually fish it first ice and it has those thin spots from springs or bubblers, but now I'm really concerned about trying it this year...Jeff. Started out at the stairs midway on the south dike. Reports, including my brother this weekend, were all about good ice. I could see where test holes were drilled and did one 100 ft out. Good solid ice guessing 5 inches thick. Continued on to my normal honey hole and saw a small patch of open water . Swing way west to avoid it. Should have drilled more test holes. Walking along and no cracking or indications of weakness. Boom, I was in and had to figure out how to get out. Luckily, I didn't panic and I knew another fisherman was about to come out. Absolutely my own fault. Extremely fortunate that it was a rescue and not a recovery. 66 years old so it's time to focus on cross country skiing and wait for spring before more fishing.
Hey I'm sure glad you are okay, did you have picks on to help you get out? I heard the harness and sled weighted you down and wouldn't let you get out, guess being able to get free of your sled is a good thing... Sorry to hear you lost your gear and you're going to give up on the ice, but I don't blame you after that close of a call... Thanks for letting us know, I think that will make all of us pay a little more attention to what we're doing when we go out.. Best of luck on your recovery... Jeff
(12-17-2020, 04:16 PM)RockyRaab2 Wrote: Holy carp, Larry! I'm glad you'll be able to use Hobie-Maru again when its open water time.Rocky, if it wasn't for the corona virus, the SS Rocky would be on a trailer headed to Louisiana behind my motor home in a few weeks. Always did want to catch reds on a flyrod. Maybe next winter.
I gave up ice fishing a year before I decided to sell the kayak - and for much the same reason. As hardy as I may feel, being out there alone is not a good plan for a 74-yo man.