truck through the ice

[dairyman]

read in our local paper that a truck with 4 ice fishermen went through the ice on Little Pine Lake down by Perham,Mn. Now setting in 50-75 feet of water. Guess I'll be walkin out from now on

[H two O]

It is time for the ice picks around the neck!

[jwhjr]

Not good, hopefully everyone was ok and they're able to get the vehicle out quickly.

[norm25]

Sounds like the guys didn't even get wet according to the local paper. They are lucky!!

[SomethingFishy*]

ATV use for us from now till the end of the month, walking or wait for open water after April 1st.

[Pooh]

went on the lake right after they got picked up this morning, just missed them getting picked up by a family member; yes 4 guys about 3/4 mile out from the access, if i remember right 45 FOW.

i stopped my truck 150-200 feet away and drilled a hole to check the ice near my truck and there was almost no auger left when it broke through.

yes they did get wet. one of the guys in the middle of the seat said the dash was covered with water when he was wiggleing out the window.

I've heard that tulibees will make a current in the water and the moveing water will eat the ice away, not sure if that is true, if it is, that is a good explanation for why it happened where it did.

it was a real erie feeling seeing truck tracks going into that hole!! which by the way isnt that big, and is marked by a green pail with 2 8 foot sticks in it.

[SDbowhunter]

I wouldnt be suprised if the guys that went in were my friends.

[bassNspear]

there is no reason that anyone should be driving on the ice ne more.

[TonkaBass]

I agree. That story is enough to make me not drive out there. PLus the quality of the ice goes down in a hurry.

[zamboni]

Guys went through by New Ulm yesterday, too.

[tisosy11]

TUlibees or carp can weaken the ice...

be safe out there - the snow and the next warm up will really cause some issues!

[chris63]

I see it as a way of combating high gas prices.No truck to fill,no more 100 dollar fills!c63

[striker2160]

south side of mille lacs ice is still 24 to 36 inches thick

[youngie22]

yes, but it can still be unsafe. I remember seeing a car drive off a chunk of ice in the middle of the plowed road and when he got off that piece it started bobboing like an ice cube in a frozen cocktail. kind of eiry to see in february in the middle of the night.

[mrklean]

Crazy some lakes still have almost 3 feet then this truck goes down

[Bassman55]

The ice thickness can change so much for many reasons. There could be 3' of ice some places and 3" in the next for a multitude of reasons. Also just because the ice is thick, dosn't mean its safe.

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

yea they went through because they were in the current and because of tubilees. thy were only about 40-50 yards from the river opening so thats kind of a given spot not to drive. Many other locals have also stated that the spot is a known tubillee hole which causes the ice to wear from their current.

I was just driving on lakes in NW WI with 32" of solid ice...

Later,

Ryan

[JP Z]

WE still have 3 feet of SOLID ice in Brainerd. I'm sure I probably only have another week for driving but it is good ice.

[Pooh]

i was on little pine on the morning the guys went down. i missed seeing the guys walking to shore by just a few minutes. when i got there it looked like a few people had forgot a couple buckets on the ice. the closer i got the more i could see the hole. i stopped only 100 feet short of that hole.

i went back to my truck and backed it up grabbed my auger and drilled a hole where i had stopped, LOTS of ice. auger was about 3 inches from bottoming out. that could have been my truck at the bottom of that hole.

[mr_jman]

It can be pretty crazy this time of year. Even with some thick ice, there's no guarantee of safe ice out there. I am still driving on Lake Bemidji to get to BSU but that will all be over really soon!

[Random guy]

Upper Red is holding strong, we are never faced with week ice in deep enough water (over two feet) to get into trouble in the sprin. The shallow shoreline melts off and cuts us off from 3 feet of ice every spring. Old ma nature put in a pretty good safety measure on Red.

[JigginIsLife]

This only reaffirms that you should always stop by a local bait shop and get the 411 on the lake you intend to fish, ask about springs, places where ice might be thin later in the year, and any type of current the lake might have. that kind of information is crucial this time of year.

[Dooley87]

i keep on hearing people talk about the thickness of the ice, thickness doesn't matter. a truck can fall through 5 feet of bad water soaked ice. in the spring the ice doesn't really "melt" it more or less turns into a sponge and absorbs water, like a honeycomb, that is why it turns black before it disapeers. i'm sure that all of you know this but there might be somebody who thinks the ice just melts from the bottom up and as long as they have 2 feet of ice it is safe, its not.

[DEADhead]

 Originally Posted By: bearbait87

i keep on hearing people talk about the thickness of the ice, thickness doesn't matter. a truck can fall through 5 feet of bad water soaked ice. in the spring the ice doesn't really "melt" it more or less turns into a sponge and absorbs water, like a honeycomb, that is why it turns black before it disapeers. i'm sure that all of you know this but there might be somebody who thinks the ice just melts from the bottom up and as long as they have 2 feet of ice it is safe, its not.

From the Minnesota Climatology Working Group webpage:

How Lake Ice Melts

A wonderful description of how lake ice melts away appeared on the web blog "Air Mass", hosted by the Star Tribune's Bill McAuliffe. Ed Swain, of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency describes the process of freezing and thawing lakes.

In the late fall, the lake loses heat to the atmosphere, and then on a day or night when the wind is not blowing, ice forms. The ice gets thicker as long as the lake can continue to lose heat.

In most Januaries and Februaries, snow both reflects sunlight and insulates the lake. With a thick snow layer, the lake neither gains nor loses heat. The bottom sediment is actually heating the lake water slightly over the winter, from stored summer heat.

Around March, as the air warms and the sun gets more intense, the snow melts, allowing light to penetrate the ice. Because the ice acts like the glass in a greenhouse, the water beneath it begins to warm, and the ice begins to melt FROM THE BOTTOM.

When the ice thickness erodes to between 4 and 12 inches, it transforms into long vertical crystals called "candles." These conduct light even better, so the ice starts to look black, because it is not reflecting much sunlight.

Warming continues because the light energy is being transferred to the water below the ice. Meltwater fills in between the crystals, which begin breaking apart. The surface appears grayish as the ice reflects a bit more light than before.

The wind comes up, and breaks the surface apart. The candles will often be blown to one side of the lake, making a tinkling sound as they knock against one another, and piling up on the shore. In hours, a sparkling blue lake, once again!

Last modified: March 18, 2008

[zamboni]

 Originally Posted By: H two O

It is time for the ice picks around the neck!

Bought my first set at Wal-Mart yesterday. On clearance for $2.