Close calls with ice fishing?

[Jacksonman]

I just read about a man falling thru the ice and drowning in Palies up on the Idaho/Wyoming border:

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=552177;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=552177;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread[/url]

This article really got me thinking about close calls I have had as I have ice fished Palies a few times on thin ice while visiting the in-laws.

I love early ice and commonly fish on 2.5-3 inches of ice (only if I determine it is good ice and it is well below freezing temps). The article recommends waiting for 6 inches. I almost always fish on less than 6 inches until all the lakes have more than that.

If you have fallen through the ice or have been with others who have fallen through the ice, please post your story with these facts:

1. Where was it?
2. How thick was the ice?
3. What was the weather like that day?
4. What time of year was it?
5. How did you get out?
6. Why do you think you fell through?
7. What you would have done differently?
8. What lessons you learned?

I would really like to learn from others experiences in thie regard. I have never fallen through but hear it is a cold experience that can cause one to go into shock and stop thinking clearly.

My closest call was fishing at Huntington on 2.5 inches last year in November. The ice was new ice but very solid. It was in the low teens when we got there and no wind. We only wandered about 20 yards away from the dam. Fuzzy was there too. At about 10 a.m., we noticed that the weather had drastically changed and was much warmer with a slight breeze. I also noticed the ice didn't look so healthy and there was some water starting to acumulate on the ice. It was super scary getting off the ice and am very grateful to have made it. Fuzzy told me that his car registered a temp of 51degrees later that afternoon when driving past the lake.

Thanks in advance for your responses and time. Hopefully many people will be able to learn from it to prevent a learning or possible fatal experience for themselves.
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[k2muskie]

Thanks for the reminder...we look at it this way no ice is safe...wear your ice spikes and most importantly no matter how 'manly' one is don't go ice fish'n ALONE.

Wind and warm weather can make a great day on the ice turn into one that is terrifying...I hale from Illinois and trust me...IL has thick ice but when it comes to warm weather and any type of slight breeze/wind...well it can go down hill very fast.

Again always be prepared error on the side of caution and never go out ALONE no matter how manly you may think you are. If you can't find someone to go with you DON'T GO is my recommendation.
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[KC5]

It must have been about 10 years ago, we were fishing just out past the harbor at lincoln Beach, it was late ice, the whities were biting like crazy, there was a bunch of guys fishing that day, I was with a group of about 10 other guys fishing by the springs to the northwest, there was another group of 15-20 guys fishing a bit further out. I remember the day well, and I wonder if any others on this site were there that day. The temps were really warming up, the ice was still 5-6 inches thick, the wind was blowing a bit, someone in our group notice the ice was breaking up between us and the larger group, we were closer to shore, then slowly a large section of ice broke loose and started drifting towards the island, with the 20 guys on the ice slab. there was no way for the fishermen to get back off the ice. A sherrif was called and a full scale rescue was in place, the ice sheet they were on was melting quickly, Fortunately search and rescue got to them in time and got them all off the ice. That was an interesting day!
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[bowhunter3]

Well, I already disclosed this experiance on another post a few weeks ago, but I have ice fished for quite a few years and do not weight very much. Therefore, I push my luck more than I should quite often. I have put a leg though stepping on an old hole, or a foot through on a soft edge many times. BUT, I went through with both legs for the first time this year. Not a very enjoyable experience. I t was on Utah Lake (Luckily). The ice was about 3 inches. The weather was not too warm, but above freezing (maybe 35-40). I had fished most of the afternoon with a buddy of mine. He had to leave and go to work. I fished a little while longer, then packed up. As I walked back the same way I came, I stepped pretty close to where he had been fishing and ...... I was wet. I went in up to my waist... straight to the bottom. I got out within a couple seconds at that depth. I am very glad it was shallow old Utah Lake. Needless to say, not a fun experience and it was quite chilly, but it could have been much worse. I don't really think there is much I could have done differently, besides maybe not being on 3 inches on a day the temp was above freezing, but I was walking out the same way I went in and the way my friend left just a little while earlier.
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[SmokeOnTheWater]

An aquaintance of mine lost a snowmobile throught he ice at Flaming Gorge a few years ago. It was a shock to all of us in the party that day as the ice was atleast a foot thick and many other machines ATVs and snowmobiles were running back and forth across the lake. We just happened to hit the wrong patch of ice.

I was put in charge of leading the pack (fat guy in front) so I headed for our pre-determined spot. The rest of the party started following me a liitle too close for my comfort so I stopped and told them to give me some space. With that one of them on a snowmobile started to swing farther out on the lake. I came upon a pressure ridge that I wasn't sure the ATV would make it over. Immediately on the other side of the pressure rige was a one foot gap covered with "CLEAR ICE". Front tires made it, back tires broke through but never-the-less made it across. At that very instant to my right I heard his engine sound like it was redlining. I looked over and saw the front skis on good ice and the rear of the snowmobile sinking below the surface. He had broken through an expanse of "CLEAR ICE" that was about 20' across. This "CLEAR ICE" was the result of that pressure ridge and the two main ice sheets seperating and then refreezing the night before. The "CLEAR ICE" was only an inch thick! He may have made across the "CLEAR ICE" had he not been pulling a home-built sled for all his gear. Fortunately, he made it out of the water safely as we stood there watching all his machinery and fishing gear sink out of sight. Needless to say, that put a real damper on the day.

Moral of the story; Ice conditions are constantly changing. Be very careful around pressure ridges especially if the lake is snow-covered. The Gorge was not snow-covered that day and the ice condition was completely visible. Even a light dusting of snow could have hidden that mennace.

One more mennace that many of us tend to forget is open water around the edges especially on reservoirs. When the sun begins to create runnoff faster than the water being left out of the dam can also cause a swim or drowning. Many times some well meaning individual will lay a plank across the open water to allow access to the good ice. As the day progresses, the open water expanse gets even wider and the plank is left floating. I witnessed this at Rockport about 10 years ago. Depending on the slope of the shoreline, it could be floating in depper water than expected. With heavy winter clothing on, swimming is not as easy.

Be Extremely Careful This Ice Fishing Season.
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[AFDan52]

I went through the ice once at Lost Creek Reservoir a few years ago. I was fishing with a good friend of mine from work. The ice was somewhere around 6-8 inches thick that day and the weather was not Icey cold , just a dull gray type of day in the winter.
We had decided to get on the ice from the parking area west of the dam, and go down the hill to the ice . Once there we headed North just past a little point I remember talking to my friend side - by -side and then all of a sudden I am in the coldest water I have have ever been in in my life.
This happened so fast It took a second to register in my mind that I had just fallen through the ice . I was carrying my Ice Auger and a bucket with my gear in it, somehow I had pulled the Auger into my chest and that was all that was holding me from going under. My friend started shouting for help from some other people that were fishing near by . They got the rope from my bucket and tossed an end with a loop on and helped me to get out.
I have never been so scared in all of my life, and I still thank those folks today. I don't remember thinking about anything except how am I going to get out of this. After I had been out for a bit we went back over near the hole and we could see that someone maybe the day before had cut out a large hole with a chainsaw and over night the hole had glazed over and covered with a little snow to look like the rest of the Ice. I just stepped in a bad spot
As for lessons learned , I was very glad that I had brought that coil of rope with me and that I wasn't alone. I carry a few more safety items with now , you can never be too careful.
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[PACKFAN]

Did you ever retrieve the snowmobile and sled from the Gorge or is it like a sunken ship that is a haven for fish.[crazy]
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