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THROUGH THE ICE!! Share your story and save a life!


dsludge

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Please share your stories and knowledge of "the ice". You may save a life. I know that some of you have been through the ice and recovered. My sincere condolences to the family and friends of those who have not survived. Hopefully, at least one person will learn from this site and avoid the same fate.

Some of us have broken through the ice and were lucky enough not to go all the way into the freezing water. Although I've never gone completely under, I've busted through the ice two times. The first time I fell through the water was only two and-a-half feet deep and I got wet and cold. The second time was on early ice over much deeper water.

I was shuffling over early ice, testing the ice thickness with my chisel. I wanted to be the first on the spot. I had my hand spikes and was holding one in my left hand. I heard a "pop"; I stepped back; I turned around to run and the ice was moving underneath me! Adrenalin rushed through me; my right boot broke through the ice; I held my breath; everything seemed to be in slow motion; my left boot broke through the ice as I yanked my right leg free; I fell down and sprawled forward; I slithered as fast as I could until the ice stopped moving; I felt my heart beating; I just laid there; I was LUCKY!!! There was maybe 5 or 10 seconds between the ice "popping" and just laying there wet on top of the ice. I was LUCKY.

Last year "Bucketmouth" started a thread on the noise of "ice-cracking" or, as some call it, "makin' ice". From last season, the ice makes a lot of "sounds":

"I love the sound of the ice. The phrase comes to mind, "Oh yeah, makin' ice!"

You know how it is before good ice - you can't wait. You're out on three inches of early ice, sitting in your portable, waiting for that first tasty walleye - there's probably still open water on the lake...

...First ice on the spot and you already caught a nice pan-size fish. Your candle goes out, you reach for the matches, and then you hear it coming. The sound gets louder and louder and then suddenly, like a lightning bolt, you see the ice crack right beneath your feet! You can feel the ice sink, water comes up through the chiseled hole, and you're going under! The adrenalin rush hits you so hard and fast at that instant that you only think survival. You breathe deep, hold your breath, close your eyes, clench your hand spikes, AND-YOUR-LIFE-FLASHES-THROUGH-YOUR-MIND-AT-LIGHT-SPEED!!!

Then...it's over...

...And you didn't even notice that your bobber was gone again, another nice fish!"

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!

dsludge

--------------------

"Lost fishing time can never be found again"

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easy way to avoid it...if there is ANY doubt in my mind as to wheather or not I'll make it home safe AND dry, I'm staying home with my family. Take this year for instance. without the snow on top, we'd have a solid 6-8". with this snow, it is "spotty" at best. you may be on 4-5 good inches in one spot, but the spot you go to releive yourself a few feet away from your holes, may be 1-2" or less. I've read the ice reports from my area, and they all say the same thing.....spotty, but pretty good. not good enough for me. I'll wait a little and be that much more confident in the condition of the ice. I realize as we all do that ice is never safe, but I've got alot riding on me getting home and am not willing to risk that unecessarily. in my "younger" days, I was always out with the first group!!! sometimes "planking" to get to ice!!! but a family and kids has changed my perspective alot!!! It's tough to see others out there and I want to be there too, but I think I'll give it another week of ice-making, if nothing else to make myself feel better!!!

just my 2 cents worth, if it's even worth that!!! good luck out there this year everyone!!!

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I'm the same way Ryan, as bad as i want out there I know that the ice just isnt ready. I went out today and found 8" in one spot and four on the other side of the lake (only 100 yrds wide) Fortunatly I have finals to keep my mind occupied for the rest of this week and untill next weds. By then I am hoping for some pretty decent ice cover all around the area.

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When I was very young, I had a day off of school. I was maybe 6 and my brother was 3. We went to work with my dad that day and he was working on some a new construction house. There was a pond on the property and being curious young boys we decided to head over and check it out. At first we were playing catch over the pond with an orange, but my brother being so young didn't quite have what it took to get the orange accross the pond and it landed in the middle. We decided to both go out to get it meeting in the middle, unfortunately we didn't know the pond just froze over the night before. We both me in the middle where the orange was and I leaned down to pick it up and it happened. All of a sudden there was a loud cracking noise and the ice just gave way. Both of us were under well over our heads. First I found my brother and got him to about his chest on the ice and lifted his legs and slid him accross the ice toward the shoreline on his belly. He was screaming to try and get me out, but as we all know, screaming doesn't do much good when you are trying to get out of the cold water. I managed to get myself up to my waist on top of the ice, tried to kick, and went back in. I repeated that about 6 times before I was shallow enough to touch the bottom, when I got to that point, I crouched down on jumped up far enough to make it all the way onto the ice. I shimmied accross the ice to the shore and by that time my brother had run to get my dad. We were both ashamed that we were on the ice and I didn't want to tell my dad, but my brother did. My dad started up his work van and cranked the heat and we stripped down to our underware to get the wet clothes off and stayed in the van the rest of the day. It was one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me and I deffinately hope to not repeat that. I was lucky, and smart for 6, I knew how to get out and for my brother to not stand back up while he was on the ice.

I just hope that reading this story will help people understand how dangerous it is out there. Many have passed by not using common sense on the ice. If you go through, don't panic, when you start to panic, your adreneline rushes and it will just advance the onset of hypothermia. Lift yourself with your arms flat on the ice and kick to level your body, then shimmy up onto the ice, and no matter what, do not stand up or even kneel on the ice, cause you will go back through. Roll if you have to or try to do a combat style crawl. I am now 24 years old, and haven't been through since, but if I do go through, I know what to do.

Thanks for your patience in reading this story of survival.

Tom Dobbins

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polarsusd81,

That story reminds me of when I was in about 2nd grade and living in Albert Lea. A fellow 2nd grade friend named Chris and I went out on a lake behind his house in the early winter. It never crossed our minds that we shouldn't be out there. We walked all over the lake until we got to a narrows area and Chris broke through. He was a smaller kid than I was, so I was suprised that I didn't go in. Luckily he wedged at about his waist and we got him out. Scared the dump out of us. Now I am very careful and I am still hesitant to go out on less than 6 inches walking some 25 years later.

Glockwinger

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I've done it twice. First time was about 1980 and I put a snowmobile in at night with my friend on a toboggan behind. I was too close to a creek inlet. It was only about 3 feet deep but I didn't know it. My friend jumped in to help me out and he came up under the ice. He broke through, we got out and ran back to his cabin. The adrenaline rush was incredible. I didn't get cold until I was in the cabin. The second time was 5 years ago. The main ice was about 18 inches thick. There was still plenty of snow on the ice but it had been warm for a few days. I partially fell into a drain hole in 20 feet of water. The hole was covered with snow and some crust. I was repositioning my Otter and I started to sink. I threw myself to the side before it totally gave way and got wet on one leg up to the waist and up to the knee on the other. My dad had a close call at about 68 years old. He fell in up to his arm pits in a channel. He got out on his third try and is still kickin' today at age 82. He was very lucky. Last Sunday I tried to get to a spot on Tonka less than 150 feet from shore. Half-way out the ice went from 4-5 inches to about 3. I didn't think twice about getting off the lake. With this snow we'll get tonight and tomorrow the ice formation is really going to slow down. Everyone be safe!

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I was playing boot hockey on Crooked Lake in Coon Rapids many years ago and went through the ice. I sure hope I handle it better now as an adult, because at that time I simply went into panic mode and pretty much lost control of my senses. Luckily, my buddy was brave enough to swoop in and pull me out.

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Funny thing about ice and falling through. One minute you are dry and warm and the next wet. I went in back in the eighties on X-mas eve morning. One of those no snow clear ice years. The weather changed from twenties to 40ish with snizzle in one week. The little snow that was on thwe ice melted and left pools of water on top. I went out to block up my permanant shack which was sitting on a solid 16-18 inches of ice. Drove around the edge of the lake with the three wheeler untill I got near where my shack was. It was hard to see with the thick layer of fog. Fished a couple of hours and went to return home ~ 9 a.m. to call the buddy that didn't meet me like he was supposed to, to help block up "our shack". Started back around the shore towards home, Splashing through puddles here and there as I went across the lake. I decided to cut the corner and head across to the house because it would take less time. Blasting along on my three wheeler when I skip across a really big crack and it dawns on me I just crossed open water! I hit the brakes and with the water on top of the black clear ice it was useless. I decided to can it in case I ran into anymore areas like that. About the time I canned it I hit open water again, skipped twice and the three wheeler flips over and the next thing I know I'm neck deep, can't feel bottom, and don't know where the shore is in the fog. I panicked, hollered help a couple times. A few poor souls heard me from some shacks not far away and began to come to my rescue. Big problem! They couldn't get across the first crack. I was fatiguing fast and it dawned on me I had to calm down and think or I was a dead man. I swam to the edge of the crack and tried to press up and belly flop 2x only to have my hands slip off the edge of the ice and bang my chin soundly. Nothing to grab(wish I had picks back then!), Then it hit me! A large chunk of ice was floating nearby about 4-5 inches thick 3'x6'. I pulled myself across that and got a much needed rest. I then paddled it to the edge of the crack and kind of leap frogged, rolled off it and onto the edge of the ice. Only my upper torsomade it from above the waist and I had to kick with all my strength to get up. Exhausted I layed there and panted for a minute then dazed, I knew I had to find some dry, warm clothes and get off that lake. Again in the fog I couldn't see shore. I don't know what happened to the people that started to come to my rescue and they didn't answer when I hollered out. I finally reached shore about 3/4 of a mile from where I went in. If I could have seen land I would have had about a 600 yd walk to my parents house. Looking back, I had read an article in Outdoor life in weeks prior explaining about getting out if you fall in. They said, that one of the main reasons people drown is they panic and use up all of their energy rather then think and use the resources that they have on hand. Unknowingly, the three wheeler was floating upside down right behind me while I was struggling to get out. Luckily I find something that worked! I carry picks with me at all times on the ice, and wear a PFD under my jacket on early ice(helps keep you warm too) and try to always travel with a partner. One thing to do is always tell someone where you are going, when you'll be back. I don't fish on 3-4 inches and will wait the extra week if needed to let things thicken up. Always remember that no ice is 100 percent safe! Good luck fishing all!

Tunrevir~

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My story is a little different. I had almost forgotten until I read this post. I can't remember the exact year but it was the early 1980s. Do to unusually warm weather the DNR moved up the date for fish house removal. I had been up north and came home early to remove my house from Bald Eagle lake in White Bear. I drove out to my house in the dark thinking I would pull my house to shore and load it up in the morning. I had a watter crecent around 1 side and my house was leaning slightly. Things did not seem right. I pulled out my brand new 400,000 candlepower spot light and started checking things out. 30 yards from me I saw what looked like a tent and realized it was the roof of a house. I was on the south east side of the island. I shined my spot across the lake and found out there was open water with waves less than 100 yards away from me. Then with the aid of my light I realized that just about anywhere a house used to be would be an open hole. Several people saw my light and we all realized that we were in big trouble. Cars were driving all over and we all were flagging each other down because the open holes around where the houses were large enough to drive a car into. I left my house and drove from the island to the access very slowly with my spotlight out. I did not end up wet that evening. The drive in was intense. The access was closed within an hour and somehow as far as I know nobody died that night. Some of you may have been there that night. Remember you can have 18 inches of solid ice and drive into open water. That same year several people drowned in white bear lake. 2 cars actually went though an open hole and landed on top of each other. Ice is never safe. I wear my pfd in the car on solid ice in the middle of Jan. Ice picks out and around my neck during any transportation. For the hardcore enviromentalists, I was just going to leave my house and gladdly pay the fine but the luck I had driving out in the swiss cheese ice stayed with me because the wind blew my house to the south shore that night and It had to take quite a right turn to not go in the open water at the tip of the island.

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Thanks for your responses. Anyone reading your posts will gain valuable knowledge that may one day save a life.

This season's late ice-over and heavy snow cover have resulted in dangerous conditions. Carry your chisel to check the ice, wear your hand spikes and PFD, and travel light.

I can't wait until my brother comes home on Thursday, first on the vacation agenda - fishing.

BE SAFE AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

dsludge

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Bob,

A drain hole is an old fishing hole or a crack through which the water on top of the ice drains into the lake. My theory on the one I fell into was formed because the water from the melting snow was held in place by the hard –packed snowmobile trail that went across the lake. A lot of water built up and when it found its way through the ice it opened up a large hole. I would have driven on the lake but the snow was too deep. One year on Tonka we had some warm weather and some rain before the close of the walleye season. There was about 3-4 inches of water on top of the ice in some places. We drilled our holes and fished for 3-4 hours. After fishing the area we were in didn't have much water left on top. It had all drained into the lake. We had to drill some drain holes around our tip-up holes to stop our tip-up holes from being the drain holes because the force of the water going into the holes would trip the tip-up. These drain holes usually form later in the season but can form anytime there is a lot of standing water on the ice.

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