Safety measures for early ice

[WAeyes]

With our mild winter weather this year, there is going to be some anxious fishermen (myself included) trying to get on ice that may be a little risky. I would sure like to hear some safety measures that you guys take and your methods of exploring early ice. How about a personal experience that you have witnessed?

[ETT]

Ist off don't venture out on new ice by yourself. Carry ice spikes (nail in a dowel) and a 50' pc of 3/8ths rope. Walk with a spud bar and strike the ice ahead of you with the spud, hard enough to have a feel for it's thickness.

Hopefully you'll live long enough to learn to wait for real safe ice. It took me to about 45 years to get there. Maybe you'll be a faster learner.

Good luck and be safe. Happy holidays, and catch a biggun.

[River_eye]

My rule is, don't be the first one out there. If there's tracks, I go, if there aren't I don't, unless it really really really looks safe. :-)

[THUMPER]

Good replies so far. Never being alone is real good advice. Wear a life jacket or floater suit if you are going out on the ice. Never go out on the ice at night unless you are very familiar with your surroundings. A lot of drownings happen at night.

[vetspet(ind)]

what about if the tracks end?...hows it going up there in manitoba eric...we may want to begin a discussion on out previous stuff one of these days...if you think you can handle me...steve

[River_eye]

Well, if there are only one set of tracks one way, and they end, then I turn around and go back as quickly as I came, or drill my hole right there, depends on how lucky I'm feeling that day.

Steve, our discussions are just the perpetual strugle between religion and philosophy, if we were to somehow find a conclusion or a mutual agreement to one of them, the sun probably wouldn't rise the next day. Otherwise, it's going pretty good here in Manitoba, although our ice up here is very thin, very unusual for this time of the year, it was raining last night. I don't imagine it's any colder down where you are.

[Backwater Eddy]

#1 rule- NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SAFETY IN THE OUTDOORS BUT YOURSELF, use your head, stay off questionable ice. Live to fish another day.

But....if that thinking is overridden by ice fever think on these suggestions.

Early ice I opt to leave the power auger home and use the hand auger, less weight and the exercise won't kill me, I hope.

I keep a 4' spud bar with a "T" handle as a walking stick and check every yard I walk on with a solid strike with the bar. If it hits a soft spot back out along your own trail.

A good set of boot cleats are handy for traction on early slick wet ice, and may aid in crawling out of a hole if you find or create one.

A set of safety spikes pre-threaded into your sleves for quick access have been known to save many lives, cheap life insurance. (Like that set of mittens was when you were a kid, thanks Mom)

The rope trick is a good safety recovery system if you or some other unlucky ice ranger hits a hole. A 50' to 100' of anchor rope on a wind up electrical cord reel with a quick clips on both ends can be tossed to a floundering angler or attacked to a tree as a static line. The reel is handy to quickly store the rope so it will not be all knotted up when it is needed.

Have a safe Holiday Season to all & PLEASE do not push your luck on poor ice.

Backwater Eddy.........><,Ho-Ho,>

[mtwalleye]

In researching information for ice fishing stories that I've written for the Billings Gazette, I found the Minnesota DNR site has some very good information -- even for us folks who don't live in Minnesota. A couple of web pages worth checking out are:

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/information_and_education/water_safety/ice_safety.html

and

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/information_and_education/ice_safety/icetips.html

Be safe out there! -- mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walleyes Unlimited
www.walleyesunlimited.com

[WAeyes]

Great information guys. Sure we have all heard some of these things before, but you always here something new that you didn't consider or have forgotten about. These kinds of reminders can be life or death serious, and I for one, value all of this information temendously. Anybody else have anything?

[vetspet(ind)]

just bought a new otterskin...somebody told me on this site that if i do this we would not get much ice....i almost bought a snowblower which would have been a double whammy....i went crappie fishing last wk with footdoc and had a ball on his boat....so at least i'm fishin but really want to use my new hardwater rig...steve

[vetspet(ind)]

somebody posted on this last yr stating that if you go down and look up you should head for either the light area or the dark area overhead but i don't remember which one...any ice divers out there?...steve

[AquaMan]

Send your overweight friend out first. If he makes it, you are OK. ;-)

Just kidding..

The recommendations are solid. B.E. said it best. You are responsible for your self until you get into trouble, then its the rescuer's problem, so be smart!

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It all begins and ends at the water's edge...

[Suzuki]

Try to get out on early thin ice around the edge of a lake or on a local pond where it is not to deep and experiment. Observe the type of ice and thickness. Shift your weight. Jump up a down. Get a feel for it. I learned alot about ice when I was a kid just being around it all the time. These days I always carry a spud and wack the ice with every stride like some of the previous posters said. Also I generaly wont go out unless someone else did it first. If I do go out on unproven ice I use the above procedures. Don't forget your ears. Ice makes lots of sounds to indicate its condition. Also like Aquaman said if there's a fat guy out there, I'm going out too!