Feb 11th - Horrible Day at Strawberry

[OCF]

Decided to get up early this a.m. and go to Strawberry. Noticed as I traveled through the valley that a lot of snow fell over the past 4 days because of the storm. Most of the fence posts were buried under snow. Decided to head over to the East Side road & fish Soldier Creek. Most of the parking areas had not been plowed out making it difficult to park.

Unloaded the ATV & headed out for fishing around 7:00 to 7:30 a.m. As soon as I got off the ice I hit slush. Normally this isn't an issue for me as I have traveled through 6 to 8 inches of slush with no problems. However, the slush got deeper & all of the sudden I was buried in the snow & slush about 200 yds off shore. As I got off the ATV, the water on top of the ice was 12-inches deep & the snow on top of the water was another 12 to 16 inches deep. I was buried good and this is one heavy ATV for one guy to manhandle.

Photo No. 1 - is after I had just dug out the ATV for the first time and able to back up out of the hole. (Sorry the photos are from an iphone & not the best)

I ended up having to dig myself out another 8 to 10 times before getting back to shore. The closer I got to shore the deeper the water became - probably 16-inches deep. I flooded my boots while trying to get unstuck. Spent 5 to 6 hours digging out and getting back to shore - extremely hard work for an old fat guy. Can't wait for rigor mortis to set in.

Photo No. 2 - I see this snowmobile abandoned on the ice - not sure if he bogged down in the slush or mechanical breakdown??

Everyone beware, the slush is the worst I have ever seen it - at least on the Soldier Creek side. Never did go fishing!
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[albinotrout]

Yikes, with this weather I think this will be the trend everywhere.
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[rctalbot]

Wow! That had to be so frustrating. At least you were able to get off the ice though. Looks like I'm not heading the the berry any time soon.
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[OCF]

Yes, I will not be making any trips up there soon either! I can only image the storm predicted for Wed & Thurs will only make conditions worse.
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[kastmaster]

Sorry to hear about your bummer day. I guess it's that bad if an ATV with tracks is not able to handle the slush.

[flygoddess]

That sounds like a nightmare! I would have thought that machine of yours could go anywhere
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[Hookinup]

Today a couple of us at work were day dreaming about ice fishing the Berry, wondering if it was worth trying to go up and fish with all the new snow and potential slush. Now we don't have to wonder any more.
Sorry you had to be the one to give us all the scouting report, but THANK YOU for sharing your experience with us. I guess the bright side is your trip will not have been in vain.
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[OCF]

First time in 3 years I have been stuck. I was lucky today to get the ATV off the ice. I am grateful the temps were mild and the sun was shining; otherwise it could have turned out much worse..
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