Ice season is (almost) here

Post by **jethro** » 05 Dec 2018, 16:25

Well, I had a fun experience last weekend for the first time (and hopefully the last). I fell through the ice. Swimming in NH in December is not recommended. Anyway, hopefully I will have much more fun reports in the near future.

richg99 · Post by **richg99** » 06 Dec 2018, 08:53

Ice fishing is definitely not my thing. 40 years in the Chicago area left me with no further desire to see; shovel and touch snow. I did my share of skiing, etc. long ago.

However, doesn't the ice have to 6 inches thick or so before you even try??? How did you happen to fall in?

Post by **jethro** » 06 Dec 2018, 11:32

Well Rich, it was a comedy of errors, this should be a good read. The first factor was that my good ice fishing buddy is getting surgery on her ankle in a few weeks, so she'll be out of commission for most if not all of the hardwater season. She's in a walking boot and has a really hard time getting around, but I really wanted to get her on the ice. We had to travel quite a ways north because the ice is no good locally (either) and the first lake we tried was really no good. 1 hit with the ice chisel and I was through. So we drove another 45 minutes north to a small pond that is usually one of the first to freeze because it's at quite an elevation. Hindsight is 20/20, but my first indicator should have been that no one was out there fishing. But someone had fished in the last week, I saw holes and footprints and tracks where someone dragged a sled around. So I take my trusty chisel and walk about 5 feet out and find about 1-2" of clear ice with about 6" of white ice on top which is not good at all. White ice on top of clear is bad unless the clear is thicker than the white. I know this, but I decide to walk further out and chip another hole. I find about the same, but it seems to be holding me just fine, so I walk another 10 feet and chip again, maybe a little more clear ice, but still not good. This is where I should have called it, but I want to have a better look at the ice pack, so I go back to the truck and put on my Muck boots and ice auger. I started walking to the ice but something in my head told me to grab my ice picks, that thought just may have saved my life. I walk out to my furthest chipped hole and drill a hole, I do not like what I see... again, I should have called it right there. But I decide to check one more time and walk out a bit further. At this point I am probably 150 feet from the boat launch and in what is probably 15 feet of water. I send the ice auger and in the first few inches I feel a pocket of water within the white ice layer... I know I am in big trouble at this point but my auger is sharp and fast and it's through the ice in just a couple seconds. I feel my feet drop about an inch when the water layer within the white ice collapses and in a split second I am crashing through the ice. Luckily I know exactly what to do and how to self rescue, but with no snow on the ice I would have had a hard time without my picks. I got out of the ice fairly quick after I let the cold shock pass.

I saw all the signs and for some reason ignored them fully. I've ice fished for 25 years and even fallen through the ice before, but never this bad, it's always been real close to shore. One thing for sure is I will never go on the ice without those picks around my neck... $4 item:

richg99 · Post by **richg99** » 06 Dec 2018, 12:01

Yikes. Glad you are still with us. Bet you won't do that testing again.

Post by **jethro** » 07 Dec 2018, 11:16

richg99 wrote:Yikes. Glad you are still with us. Bet you won't do that testing again.

Will be doing it tomorrow morning! But this time I will be much smarter about it. Damn cold here the last week with no precip, I'm sure I'll be in good shape.

richg99 · Post by **richg99** » 07 Dec 2018, 12:58

Seems like wearing my auto-inflatable PFD would be in order.

At least they could find your body quicker that way.

Post by **jethro** » 11 Dec 2018, 12:31

richg99 wrote:Seems like wearing my auto-inflatable PFD would be in order.

At least they could find your body quicker that way.

Yeah, the problem with any PFD on the ice is it makes it very hard to self extricate. The process is wait for the cold shock to pass (5 to 10 seconds) then facing the way you came from, let your legs float up behind you as much as possible, then use your ice picks and kick like crazy to put your belly on the ice like a penguin. PFD's want to keep your head and face floating with your legs in front of you. But yes, at least your body would be easier to recover.

Anyway, I shouldn't have to worry until either next season or this spring, we now have a lot of ice. LOTS AND LOTS of ice.

richg99 · Post by **richg99** » 11 Dec 2018, 13:44

Here you go. I just found this article this morning.

Might help...or not.

https://newatlas.com/buddy-life-collar- ... ead%20more

Post by **WV1951** » 13 Dec 2018, 21:17

Start at the 6 minute mark.

richg99 · Post by **richg99** » 13 Dec 2018, 22:41

Very impressive.

LDUBS · Post by **LDUBS** » 14 Dec 2018, 02:01

I've made an executive decision. I am not doing any cold shock response therapy. I'm not walking on frozen lakes.

Crazyboat · Post by **Crazyboat** » 18 Dec 2018, 21:04

I've enjoyed ice fishing a few times in my life, with no large lakes near by I would go to the local reservoir and fish for perch, most of the fun was bonding with buddies and pulling a few perch though the hole we'd chop with a pocket knife.

paper · Post by **paper** » 29 Jan 2019, 03:01

I've been out a few times on the Mississippi backwaters. Stepson and I managed to catch 20 NICE bluegills for a New Years dinner of fillets.
He'd never been out ice fishing before, and his first was a WHOPPER!!!

Little perch that got tossed back.. He actually caught a 3" minnow, and I had him toss it to me, and I drilled a hole about 50' away and put it on a tip-up and 20 minutes later I pulled out this.

That got that Kentucky kid's attention, and now ice fishing has a whole different meaning to him..

He's all fired up for the next outing!!!

Currently we've got 7-8" of ice, and about a foot of snow on top that's insulating it from the crazy low temps we're getting over the next few days. Supposed to be -25F tomorrow night, and -32F on Wednesday night.

And I have a set of picks with me at all times, too!!

Post by **jethro** » 01 Mar 2019, 10:51

I've got two to three feet of ice here in NH now, I've had the auger extension on for 3 weeks! We are fishing with machines and some even with trucks. Here we are, waiting for fish!