you just never know

[smokepoles]

Walked onto Mantua about 7:30 with grandson pulling sled.  Could tell had been soft due to past warm days for first couple feet from shore, but froze with no problem.  Didn't expect any issues as have been fishing it regularly last few weeks and always 8-10+ inches ice. Nonetheless walking near where others have been and visiting with grandson, wham, my left leg dropped into over knee till I caught myself with other leg.  Quickly go out and watched water flowing into the dark hole like a toilet tank emptying.  The hole entrance was ragged through an ice shelf that was 3-4 inches over the flowing water.  Not sure all that played into such, but don't think size 10 pac-type boots go through any allowable size ice fishing hole unless it had enlarged owing to melting around edges with the warm weather and perhaps water from another hole......heck I don't know.  Anyway, kinda wet foot but kept on and fished the morning anyway.  Glad it was not -8 as when we went on a couple weeks ago.  

Just listening about a man died on Steinaker after falling through ice this morning.......

Two died after hitting several elk..........

Be safe, you just never know......

[Cowboypirate]

Glad it was just a wet foot. I know there is plenty of good ice left but spring ice is not my thing. I put the gear away yesterday and started exercising my flyrod while I wait for early ice off shore fishing to kick off.

[fishnate]

I was fishing on 11" of ice last Saturday near where that guy died this morning at Steinaker. Ice went from 18" to 11" in not too far. There is an inlet in that area which is why the variable ice. So with current, warmth and wind, it made for a bad situation. Other lakes around our area have gone from 12" to 6" recently (Pelican) and 10" to 1" at a smaller lake. Be careful out there y'all!

[meancuznalfy]

Even a 1' of bad ice will give you problems, have seen 2 guys go in one night and we were on 18", pretty much was all bad ice, learned to look at ice pretty carefully after that.

[MrShane]

I saw an appx. 3’x5’ hole cut at Tibble Fork, most likely for stupid polar plungers/Instammer likes.
Technically not illegal but an overnights below freeze temp 1/4” ice and a couple inches fresh snow on top is a recipe for death.

[lavaman]

Dang, Chuck I'm glad you didn't go all the way under! Be safe out there bud. I rarely ice fish past V-Day for that reason, the ice integrity softens up a bit in late winter.

[smokepoles]

Dang, Chuck I'm glad you didn't go all the way under! Be safe out there bud. I rarely ice fish past V-Day for that reason, the ice integrity softens up a bit in late winter.

The ice itself was great where we fished.  We were at least a couple hundred yards from the inlet open water, and on the far side of where others had went, but can't help but think from the flow of water I observed that a water stream finding its way from the open inlet over the ice.    I have indeed in the past observed holes that do not appear to be from drilling, and those to to the east (inlet) of where we normally go in from the south dike between the no parking signs.

[wiperhunter2]

Dang, Chuck I'm glad you didn't go all the way under! Be safe out there bud. I rarely ice fish past V-Day for that reason, the ice integrity softens up a bit in late winter.

The ice itself was great where we fished.  We were at least a couple hundred yards from the inlet open water, and on the far side of where others had went, but can't help but think from the flow of water I observed that a water stream finding its way from the open inlet over the ice.    I have indeed in the past observed holes that do not appear to be from drilling, and those to to the east (inlet) of where we normally go in from the south dike between the no parking signs.

The weak spot you found is all because of the methane venting from decomposing underwater plants. They do it all Winter long but when it is really cold they freeze over and you can walk right over them and never know it but as soon as a little warm weather hits, those are the first spots to thaw out because the methane has weakened the ice so much. The first time it happened to me there I thought it was because someone used a 10" augar but as you said the hole wasn't even, in size.

[smokepoles]

Dang, Chuck I'm glad you didn't go all the way under! Be safe out there bud. I rarely ice fish past V-Day for that reason, the ice integrity softens up a bit in late winter.

The ice itself was great where we fished.  We were at least a couple hundred yards from the inlet open water, and on the far side of where others had went, but can't help but think from the flow of water I observed that a water stream finding its way from the open inlet over the ice.    I have indeed in the past observed holes that do not appear to be from drilling, and those to to the east (inlet) of where we normally go in from the south dike between the no parking signs.

The weak spot you found is all because of the methane venting from decomposing underwater plants. They do it all Winter long but when it is really cold they freeze over and you can walk right over them and never know it but as soon as a little warm weather hits, those are the first spots to thaw out because the methane has weakened the ice so much. The first time it happened to me there I thought it was because someone used a 10" augar but as you said the hole wasn't even, in size.

Yeah, I wonder if those methane vents tend to find their way to a previously drilled hole, then come up through the hole and spread out horizontally creating a layer of water between thin shelves of ice?  As I said, there sure seemed to be a unexpectedly large flow of water back down into where I pulled my foot out.   I don't expect its more than 5-6 feet deep where we I broke trough, and that probably plays into it all. 

Thanks all for sharing your wisdom.

[wiperhunter2]

Dang, Chuck I'm glad you didn't go all the way under! Be safe out there bud. I rarely ice fish past V-Day for that reason, the ice integrity softens up a bit in late winter.

The ice itself was great where we fished.  We were at least a couple hundred yards from the inlet open water, and on the far side of where others had went, but can't help but think from the flow of water I observed that a water stream finding its way from the open inlet over the ice.    I have indeed in the past observed holes that do not appear to be from drilling, and those to to the east (inlet) of where we normally go in from the south dike between the no parking signs.

The weak spot you found is all because of the methane venting from decomposing underwater plants. They do it all Winter long but when it is really cold they freeze over and you can walk right over them and never know it but as soon as a little warm weather hits, those are the first spots to thaw out because the methane has weakened the ice so much. The first time it happened to me there I thought it was because someone used a 10" augar but as you said the hole wasn't even, in size.

Yeah, I wonder if those methane vents tend to find their way to a previously drilled hole, then come up through the hole and spread out horizontally creating a layer of water between thin shelves of ice?  As I said, there sure seemed to be a unexpectedly large flow of water back down into where I pulled my foot out.   I don't expect its more than 5-6 feet deep where we I broke trough, and that probably plays into it all. 

Thanks all for sharing your wisdom.

I think you are correct because the methane will look for any hole in the ice to escape and it makes sense that it would weaken the ice there but I have also seen spots in the early ice that appear weak. I always stay away from those areas but as the ice gets thicker and snow covers those areas, as soon as someone drills a hole there, that methane will escape because it was already collecting under the ice there. I use a bubbler to keep ice from forming while ice fishing on those really cold days and i have noticed that it will side cut the hole, if you leave it in one place too long, so it makes sense that methane would do the same thing as it comes up any drilled hole.

[SkunkedAgain]

Curt, as you have noticed with your bubbler, the bubbles stir up the warmer water and that is what keeps your hole open on cold days. The methane does the same thing as the bubbler and takes the warm water from down deeper in the lake and creates a current of warm water that is focused at the ice above which melts out of the way as that warmer water comes to the surface with the bubbles. This doesn't explain the water flowing back into the hole, but I'm not sure I understand what exactly happened there. I have seen water from snowmelt or rain on the surface flow through ice holes and cut weird shaped bigger holes in the past, so if there had been slush or water on the surface of the ice that can be a factor as well, but this year hasn't seen a lot of that situation, at least where I have been... Kind of hard to believe our ice season is almost over already this year... Won't be much longer on the lower lakes... Be careful spring ice is a wild card and needs special caution... Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

Curt, as you have noticed with your bubbler, the bubbles stir up the warmer water and that is what keeps your hole open on cold days. The methane does the same thing as the bubbler and takes the warm water from down deeper in the lake and creates a current of warm water that is focused at the ice above which melts out of the way as that warmer water comes to the surface with the bubbles.  This doesn't explain the water flowing back into the hole, but I'm not sure I understand what exactly happened there.  I have seen water from snowmelt or rain on the surface flow through ice holes and cut weird shaped bigger holes in the past, so if there had been slush or water on the surface of the ice that can be a factor as well, but this year hasn't seen a lot of that situation, at least where I have been...  Kind of hard to believe our ice season is almost over already this year... Won't be much longer on the lower lakes...  Be careful spring ice is a wild card and needs special caution... Later Jeff

It seems possible because they are expecting snow to start melting soon, they let water out of the lake and that dropped the water level, causing the situation where the water ran back into the hole. The way to know for sure would be to look when you dril your hole, if the water does not fill the hole after you drill it but is an inch or more below the level of the ice, then that is what happened.