Author Topic: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016  (Read 4419 times)

Offline straightShot

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My heart goes out to this guy's family.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/12/ice_fisherman_killed_after_fal.html

Be careful on the ice.  Be especially careful as we are early into the new season and ice conditions aren't the greatest yet.  Also, fish with a buddy if you can. 



Offline Idahogator

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #1 on: Dec 18, 2016, 06:43 PM »
So sad.     :'(

It's who you leave behind to suffer the most and forever.     :angel
      

Online SpitzoMT

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #2 on: Dec 18, 2016, 07:54 PM »
Very saddening  :( !! I just hate hearing/reading about these tragedies.....Unfortun ately, this comes up every hardwater season.

Thoughts & prayers to his family/friends !!
        

Offline GCD

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #3 on: Dec 18, 2016, 08:43 PM »
... and it comes up more than once every year! A dozen or more people die every year by falling through the ice, so sad and so tragic... and so preventable!!! WEAR YOUR FLOATATION!!!!!!!

This man was 61 y.o. (the same age as me) and should have known much better! I know better! But, maybe this man had never been through the ice before and he thought if he had made it for 61 years and not gone through the ice he would never go through the ice, big mistake. I wonder if he had a pair of ice picks on his person when he was found??? Probably.

I'm trying my best to inform the people on this forum about the merits of floatation, but it falls on deaf ears for many. They think if they have a couple of pieces of 6 inch broom sticks with a half inch of 8 penny nail sticking out, they're invincible... so sad.

At the very least, floatation will make your body much easier to find... at the most, it will give you an hour or more of life to perform a self rescue, for someone to find you, for you to call for help, for someone to notice you need help!!!

You only have 10 to 15 minutes without floatation before your body succumbs to the frigid water without floatation, less than that if you fill your lungs with water on the initial plunge when you gasp for air. Remember, your winter clothes and boots are heavy, and much heavier when they're saturated with water.



Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, give him a religion and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish... author unknown


Offline UFCreel

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #4 on: Dec 19, 2016, 07:16 AM »
He was alone. First and last ice no one should go out alone. The safety picks have helped me get out of the water before. They are a must have.
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Offline GCD

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #5 on: Dec 19, 2016, 05:03 PM »
He was alone. First and last ice no one should go out alone. The safety picks have helped me get out of the water before. They are a must have.

Just because he didn't get out of the water doesn't mean he didn't have picks. He could have had them and never had a chance to use them when his head went under the water the first time and he gasped for air and breathed in water instead and drowned... or at 61 yrs. old he could have had picks but was overweight and out of shape and unable to pull himself out to safety. Had this man been wearing floatation, he would have  had a much better chance for survival. It's not that hard to figure out.
Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, give him a religion and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish... author unknown


Offline UFCreel

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #6 on: Dec 19, 2016, 09:11 PM »
His car was covered with snow per press release. So we have to assume that he was in the water for a while. You are assuming also. Had he had flotation. They would have found him. Probably just as dead. Picks have saved many people.
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Offline GCD

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #7 on: Dec 19, 2016, 09:57 PM »
His car was covered with snow per press release. So we have to assume that he was in the water for a while. You are assuming also. Had he had flotation. They would have found him. Probably just as dead. Picks have saved many people.

Picks are overrated and a third line of defense! The first line is your brain, be smart enough to wear  the second line of defense, floatation. Third, while you're floating around on top of the water instead of sinking and drowning, use your picks to get yourself back on the ice.

Without floatation, this persons window for survival was very very small... maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Had he been wearing floatation and couldn't get back on the ice he would have had enough time to activate a PLB or dialed 911 on his cell phone instead of struggling to keep his head above water before his muscles cramped and he slowly sank to the bottom.

Safety picks give a false sense of security to those that don't know any better, floatation gives you extra time to save yourself by whatever means necessary!

So what would you rather do? Franticly claw at the thin ice in front of you that keeps breaking away with your "safety picks" or leisurely float around on top of the water as you make a 911 call for help? I'm sure many have sunk to the bottom with safety picks in hand or around their neck, never to return to the surface again!
Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, give him a religion and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish... author unknown


Offline Mr.Seaguar

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #8 on: Dec 20, 2016, 02:22 AM »
This guy is lucky in that he will never have to read another post about how we are all gonna die unless we wear a life jacket. I envy him.
Every plastics manufacturer claims plastics outfish livebait. So now I use livebait just for the increased challenge.

Offline UFCreel

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #9 on: Dec 20, 2016, 06:00 AM »
x2
Flags up! Bobbers down!

Offline GCD

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #10 on: Dec 20, 2016, 07:32 AM »
This guy is lucky in that he will never have to read another post about how we are all gonna die unless we wear a life jacket. I envy him.

I'm sure it only bothers the ones that know they should wear floatation out on the ice but don't for fear of being made fun of or some other lame excuse.

There are reasons why so many ice fishermen are buying and wearing floatation suits, any guesses as to what those reasons may be?
Peace of mind, live to fish another day, not ending up like the poor guy this thread is about... probably.
Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, give him a religion and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish... author unknown


Offline 3300

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Re: Body of ice fisherman found in Otsego County, MI 17 Dec 2016
« Reply #11 on: Dec 22, 2016, 10:37 AM »
i posted this in the michigan board and feel it should be posted here too. it would be good to see a sticky/pinned of others who have saved life's including their own so others can learn from it. it is the most important topic here and should be easy to find and not shoved back with time for others to not see easily.

since being a member here i have read a few posts where others were trying to hear from others on how they saved their own life, a certain few would chime in and say your stupid and ridicule you for speaking up by saying yes i fell in.
it happens and no you are not stupid because it happened to you. spuds are for early and late ice and we all know no ice is never safe, but when many are on one lake and no one is falling in, then we presume it is safe enough to not need a spud.
it is then a true waste of information from others who would like to tell their story, but are in fear of ridicule from those who like to be that way because it didn't happen to them, yet. those negative posts should be removed so others can share and try to help by seeing how often it really does happen and how to safe a life is the most important aspect of sharing that information. any thing else means nothing if you don't have your life. take it very seriously, but have fun because life is too short as it is. these stories would help us better understand ice conditions and what to watch for better.

so here's my story.
i'd like to mention the one time i fell in, all of the way in, that i got out on my back and didn't bother trying to get out on my stomach. the suit wants to keep you on your back any way so why waste that free energy to save your life. just get an elbow on the edge of the ice and then the other. this means you upper torso will also be on ice. now all you have to do is kick like your life depends on it and walk on your elbows like you do working under things like crawl spaces or cars while kicking. next thing you know you'll be on ice and then you have to keep in mind to roll back the way you came before standing up again. once most of you is on ice you can bend your knees and use them to help walk the rest of you up and onto the ice. i rolled three times. it felt weird to do this in front of 30 or people who were all still enjoying their day of fishing, but it was my life and i had to save it. yes, one person tried to make a move to help me, but i was in and out so fast he could only think of what he could do. my getting out so fast probably saved it from getting out of control if he would have walked over to try to help. he was 85 years old at that time.
that ice was well over 5 inches and at least 30 others fishing it. it was on a cove on a river with swift currents under it. i fell in because a log must have pushed water up and under the plate and made a weak spot from the underside. you couldn't tell it from color looking at it. i walked up to the spot and i heard three ticks and i was in the water by the time i heard the third click sound.

i want to also say that the float suit kept my mouth from going into the water and maybe saved me from gasping water from the shock of dropping so fast. it also kept me high in the water so i was higher in the water and that's what makes self rescue easy. i don't own picks and don't want to try to get out that way. almost all videos show you to do this and i don't know why they haven't been updated for people who were float suits. it should be known.

when it happens to you, it is totally unexpected and super fast! you'll be shocked at how it feels, but alive! so you have to rethink whats going on and take a moment to collect your thoughts and then get out and roll away. i was in and out in less than 15 seconds. hopefully you don't get knocked out on the way down by hitting your head on the side of the ice. that is my worst fear.
i was warm and in no apparent danger of hypothermia and i would have kept fishing if it weren't for my boots filling up with water from my jeans.
so i went up to change my foot wear and some people were walking by and said did i hear any thing about the person who just fell into the ice and i said it was me and with the adrenaline rush still going on, it was almost fun, but not.

hopefully these words will save a life some day. watching more videos would help too on you tube. it's the initial shock that can get you and you have to use a reflex you've never practiced using to keep from gasping water. the suit helps with that in two ways. one from keeping your head above water in the first place and two you don't feel the cold water on you instantly. if your heavy enough or keep your arms and legs close together while falling in you may have your head go under for a second.
also i heard if you fall under a plate of ice and get stuck, to stand on the ice upside down and or kick your self to the bottom to try to find the hole you fell in. that would be a tough one for me for sure.

i would like to add to this by saying i watched a friend of mine fall in one time. i didn't know what to do as i was new to ice fishing. i knew not to go to where he just fell in tho. i was talking to him because he was just floating like a bobber and i couldn't see his hands and so i was asking him what can i do to help in fear he would soon sink. he said he was looking for the plate of ice he was once just standing on after he got out. while we were talking i was scrambling thoughts of what could i do. i came up with untying one end of the rope from my side to be able to give him one end of it, but by then he was topside. i never have heard of this before and it did work for him. so that's some thing to think about too if you can't walk your self out.
since then i keep a boat seat cushion and rope. if it were any one else, i would have had to figure out how to save his life and maybe endanger my own trying.

rip to all of the others who didn't make it out.
i feel blessed by being able to tell you my story.
stay safe and have fun!

 



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