02-15-2007, 06:47 PM
[size 2]Due to what some would call "an obsession" with Mac fishing I thought I might show, and tell, of an event that took place a couple years back. All but 1 name will remain nameless to protect the innocent. Let me here and now advice that NO one try doing what was done that morning, nor the following day.
This particular morning there were 5 souls in our fishing party, 1 very gutsy lady and 4 gentalmen. After arriving at our unloading location we guickly tossed our gear in our sleds and high step it across a solid 4 inches. Ice bars struck the ice every few steps testing the hardness and thickness and all was good. After about 1/3 mile travel a report was given from the leader that the thickness had suddenly dropped to 2 and 1/2 inches but it was good hard clear ice at which time a short discussion took place. It was clear ice alright, as clear as a sheet of glass and as black as coal below due to the depth of water below. But the group was not to be denied so the hike continued although their spacing became wider, safety equipment was at the ready, and the lightess of the men was placed out from on point. Mememe/3M, our very gutsy female member of BFT, took up the tail end of the pack and she had our backs just incase some idiot tried to beat us to our secret spot.
For the next 200 yards the steps were short but steady as this bunch of Mac chasers crossed the cap in single file. Suddenly the leader was softly stepping backwards rather quickly after the rest watched his ice bar strike the ice and 10" of its nose drive below the cap. "Man its soft and getting thin!!" he yells. Someone (who shall remain nameless) yeps back,, "Hey dont worry bout it,, we've got yer back, keep goin'!!". The look given was classic.
Again a discussion took place, some of us wanted to turn back but the female in the group kept cracking that bull whip demanding we continue! On we went, step by step but the members of the trip were spaced a little farther apart because she was not to be denied. OK I admit 4 of the party was not to be denied. The one member wasnt quite so sure she made the right choice getting out of bed that morning, yet alone following this group of fine Mac chasers morons onto the ice. Her postition was then even farther behind.
My mind kept darting back to a event that had taken place two weeks sooner. Just minutes before dark my wheeler and I had taken a nose dive through a Big ice fracture up lake that had happend before we'd arrived to fish for a weekend and it had resealed nicely, 10". We had crossed that fracture 3 days in a role over and over again. We'd drug the old Coldfooter Hilton all over the area that day hunting Mac and as it started to get dust it was desided we'd do a little night fishing. So I jumped on the wheeler and made a beeline for the pickup to grab a lanturn and the heat. As I went to cross the fracture suddenly I found my wheeler dropping out from under me at 30 mph. I was tickled to live to report the ordeal and the wheeler and I were able to fish another day. So while crossing the cap that fine morning on foot it had my PUKER FACTOR was 100%! but upon reflection one person claims her puker factor was sighlty higher than that by this point.
Our travel then took us in a large half circle for perhap 1/3 mile around the soft section until we were able to detemine we'd located our secret spot on the GPS. We then stopped and while a power auger had been drug along it wasnt called for and five 18" holes were clipped through the ice. We were all well spaced apart and several fish were then hooked and ice over the next 2 hours. As the morning wore on the ice began to soften a tad and one member claimed "My butt is so pukered a gorilla could brake loose!" as she sat in her chair and inticed the Doo's. I have to admit I too found it a tad spooky staring through a ice sheet as black as coal and 2 and 1/2 inches thick when each step taken cause the ice to sheer front and back of my feet.
By 10:30am the five had their fill of nerves and chose to softly high tail it back to the sweet 4 inch ice. We'd iced few 20's+ and a couple teener's and a couple 30's so there wasnt a need in risking it any farther.
The following day two of the 4 gentalmen chose to fish a different location up lake but they in view of the other 3, perhap 3/4 mile away. The 3 traveled back to the area fished the day before and actually the ice was a tad thicker, a good 3 inches. The bite was slow, infact not a fish was marker. Then,,, after perhaps an hour of staring at the finders a HUGE shutter came down lake from the direact the two buds were fishing! It bounced our 3 brave souls around in their chair like they were mere rag dolls. As it did one person jumped up and tried to run as someone grabbed her snowmoble suit from behind. She would have ran start across into the 1.5 inch area. We'd been fishing right along the lip of the thin stuff both days. As I turned and looked back the other feller with us eyes were as big as coffee cups! I said, Hey Ash!, you ready ta get ta hell out of there?!". And in a shot we'd loaded the sled and high tailed it for that sweet 4 inches of ice again..
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In the following pictures note how much water would boil up though the ice as the pressure to fight the fish was aplied to the ice..
One gutsy gal in a battle with a 20+lb Mac. Does anyone recognize that feller standing with crutches on 3M's right? Note how far she's trying to stand back wkile battling the Mac. The ice hole had melted back quite large, 3'. And I heard it said,, "If you guys dont get back you can reel this thing in!"
[inline "Dang that ice is thin!.jpg"]
This is a photo of me ol' buddy in battle with one of the two 30's he turned loose that morning.[inline "a throbbin' rod.jpg"]
my bad
[inline "a throbbin' rod.jpg"]
Finally yours truly in battle that morning
[inline "me, throbbin' roddin'.jpg"]
Somewhere I have more pictures that were taken that day but at this time I cant find em. Will post if I run across them..
[signature]
This particular morning there were 5 souls in our fishing party, 1 very gutsy lady and 4 gentalmen. After arriving at our unloading location we guickly tossed our gear in our sleds and high step it across a solid 4 inches. Ice bars struck the ice every few steps testing the hardness and thickness and all was good. After about 1/3 mile travel a report was given from the leader that the thickness had suddenly dropped to 2 and 1/2 inches but it was good hard clear ice at which time a short discussion took place. It was clear ice alright, as clear as a sheet of glass and as black as coal below due to the depth of water below. But the group was not to be denied so the hike continued although their spacing became wider, safety equipment was at the ready, and the lightess of the men was placed out from on point. Mememe/3M, our very gutsy female member of BFT, took up the tail end of the pack and she had our backs just incase some idiot tried to beat us to our secret spot.
For the next 200 yards the steps were short but steady as this bunch of Mac chasers crossed the cap in single file. Suddenly the leader was softly stepping backwards rather quickly after the rest watched his ice bar strike the ice and 10" of its nose drive below the cap. "Man its soft and getting thin!!" he yells. Someone (who shall remain nameless) yeps back,, "Hey dont worry bout it,, we've got yer back, keep goin'!!". The look given was classic.
Again a discussion took place, some of us wanted to turn back but the female in the group kept cracking that bull whip demanding we continue! On we went, step by step but the members of the trip were spaced a little farther apart because she was not to be denied. OK I admit 4 of the party was not to be denied. The one member wasnt quite so sure she made the right choice getting out of bed that morning, yet alone following this group of fine Mac chasers morons onto the ice. Her postition was then even farther behind.
My mind kept darting back to a event that had taken place two weeks sooner. Just minutes before dark my wheeler and I had taken a nose dive through a Big ice fracture up lake that had happend before we'd arrived to fish for a weekend and it had resealed nicely, 10". We had crossed that fracture 3 days in a role over and over again. We'd drug the old Coldfooter Hilton all over the area that day hunting Mac and as it started to get dust it was desided we'd do a little night fishing. So I jumped on the wheeler and made a beeline for the pickup to grab a lanturn and the heat. As I went to cross the fracture suddenly I found my wheeler dropping out from under me at 30 mph. I was tickled to live to report the ordeal and the wheeler and I were able to fish another day. So while crossing the cap that fine morning on foot it had my PUKER FACTOR was 100%! but upon reflection one person claims her puker factor was sighlty higher than that by this point.
Our travel then took us in a large half circle for perhap 1/3 mile around the soft section until we were able to detemine we'd located our secret spot on the GPS. We then stopped and while a power auger had been drug along it wasnt called for and five 18" holes were clipped through the ice. We were all well spaced apart and several fish were then hooked and ice over the next 2 hours. As the morning wore on the ice began to soften a tad and one member claimed "My butt is so pukered a gorilla could brake loose!" as she sat in her chair and inticed the Doo's. I have to admit I too found it a tad spooky staring through a ice sheet as black as coal and 2 and 1/2 inches thick when each step taken cause the ice to sheer front and back of my feet.
By 10:30am the five had their fill of nerves and chose to softly high tail it back to the sweet 4 inch ice. We'd iced few 20's+ and a couple teener's and a couple 30's so there wasnt a need in risking it any farther.
The following day two of the 4 gentalmen chose to fish a different location up lake but they in view of the other 3, perhap 3/4 mile away. The 3 traveled back to the area fished the day before and actually the ice was a tad thicker, a good 3 inches. The bite was slow, infact not a fish was marker. Then,,, after perhaps an hour of staring at the finders a HUGE shutter came down lake from the direact the two buds were fishing! It bounced our 3 brave souls around in their chair like they were mere rag dolls. As it did one person jumped up and tried to run as someone grabbed her snowmoble suit from behind. She would have ran start across into the 1.5 inch area. We'd been fishing right along the lip of the thin stuff both days. As I turned and looked back the other feller with us eyes were as big as coffee cups! I said, Hey Ash!, you ready ta get ta hell out of there?!". And in a shot we'd loaded the sled and high tailed it for that sweet 4 inches of ice again..
[/size]
In the following pictures note how much water would boil up though the ice as the pressure to fight the fish was aplied to the ice..
One gutsy gal in a battle with a 20+lb Mac. Does anyone recognize that feller standing with crutches on 3M's right? Note how far she's trying to stand back wkile battling the Mac. The ice hole had melted back quite large, 3'. And I heard it said,, "If you guys dont get back you can reel this thing in!"
[inline "Dang that ice is thin!.jpg"]
This is a photo of me ol' buddy in battle with one of the two 30's he turned loose that morning.[inline "a throbbin' rod.jpg"]
my bad
[inline "a throbbin' rod.jpg"]
Finally yours truly in battle that morning
[inline "me, throbbin' roddin'.jpg"]
Somewhere I have more pictures that were taken that day but at this time I cant find em. Will post if I run across them..
[signature]
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