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Got a call last night from a close friend as he was driving home from LCR. He was noticeably shook up. He told me one minute he was drilling 8" of ice and upon moving the next minute he had gone through to his waist, 100 yards from shore, 40' of water. Was able to pull himself and crawl to shore. Blew me away. We both figured there would be no issues once safely on the ice cap. He said he saw 3 groups by the dam on the way out. I sure pray they made it off safe. Please be careful friends. It is not worth it!
Sliverslinger
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That is some scarry stuff there. The problem with ice fishing this time of the year is that when the ice starts going bad, you just never know where a soft spot is. Could be an underwater spring that is slightly warmer or some current that undercuts the ice and weakens it but it sure isn't worth taking a chance. Was your friend fishing by himself?
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That is why I almost never ice fish after Febuary. Alot of people don't understand just how fast the ice cap can rot and soften up as the weather warms.
People think that since it is more than a few inches thick that it is still safe when it is far from safe.
I was down a Deer Creek last weekend looking around and watched the wind push the ice up onto the shore line. The ice was about eight inches thick but as I would step on it it would just crumble befor I even really put my weight on it.
I picked a piece of it up and was looking at it and it looked like is had about the same consistency as a snow cone.
Glad that your friend made it off ok.
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This time of year has to be the most dangerous for falling through. The ice gets rotten and kinda like it's porous. It can be 12" thick and still not support a man. The worst part is that it doesn't give you any warning at all. No cracking , crunching, sagging or anything else, the bottom just falls out from under you. Getting out can be really tough too because the edges will often just crumble away as you try to get back on the ice. If I chuck a rock out onto it & it doesn't bounce, I aint goin' out on it.
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I called it quits early this year too, I just don't like ice fishing enough to risk my life doing it.
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Thanks for the replies guys. A lot of good info given that is applicable to nearly all lakes. I hope many have read it. I have had a great ice season and its tough to call it quits for the year for me too. But this may have done it for me.
Yes, my buddy was alone on this trip. Sure grateful he was able to call me on his way home.
Sliverslinger
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