Fishing trip turns into rescue!

[blue igloo]

This post might be long to read but if it saves one person then it was worthwhile reporting.

My planned 2 day trout fishing trip up near Riding Mountain started off ok. When I left Winnipeg Tuesday at 3:30am, it was cold but I packed the propane heater so I was ready regardless. When I got to Portage-la-Prairie, the steady 60 km/h sure made the truck thirsty! Got to Neepawa and refilled the gas tank. Fellow at the station asked me, "You going fishing in this"? "Sure", I said. "Can't always wait for the perfect weather conditions", I replied. Well folks, that was an omen that I missed! Got to Tokaryk Lake and was on the Bravo by 8am pulling a heavy, fully loaded Fish Trap, making my way to a recommended spot making sure to stay well clear of the large open water area near the aerator. Not a soul around. As I was nearing my fishing spot, I noticed that the Bravo felt funny. The snow I was driving on felt like I was driving on a big soft marshmallow (that's the best way I could describe it.....it just felt wrong). I slowed down and made a small loop around and at that same instant, I noticed water in my nearby track. I gunned the the Bravo but it was too late. She sank down in about 10 inches of water/slush. I quickly unhitched the sleigh and tried walking the Bravo out but now the front end was sinking. Every step I took was like walking in wet cement. The -44*C wind  made things freeze instantly. My Artic Armor and Cabelas Paks kept me dry but now I was wet to my knees and my pants felt like I was lugging an extra 50 lbs. Now laboring for breath, I left the Bravo running, pulled my Fish trap about 6 feet to get it out of the water, grabbed my electronics, thermos and lunch and made the decision to walk back to the truck and get help somewhere...somehow. As I plundered though the slush every step was a chore. Got my cell phone out and made one call to my friend in Winnipeg that knew where I was. Told him I had an emergency and needed help from somebody in the area. Having a cabin in the area for years, I knew he'd find somebody to come to my rescue. My pants were now stiff as boards. I was determined to keep walking no matter how long it took. I was only a mile from the truck but the biting wind and my condition made it look impossible. I would take as many steps as I could then sit with my back to the ground to catch my breath and bring my heart rate down. As I neared the corner of the lake, I could see a single person running towards me. That's when I noticed the yellow stripe on the pants and the cruiser parked next to my truck at the boat launch. The worse part was not knowing if help would come because my cell phone would ring but I could never hear anyone. Once the RCMP officer reached me, she told me my friend in Winnipeg had phoned them. She told me that I was very fortunate that my cell phone even worked out there as normally there is usually no reception. I guess, someone upstairs decided it was not my turn. The officer was joined by a local gentleman that my friend back home had called. When he arrived on scene and noticed the ambulance and the fire/rescue squad he thought he was too late. Luckily, I'm a fighter and I persevered. That was my very first time in an ambulance. They checked my vitals and they cranked up the heat so I could thaw out my pants. Thank God, I invested in quality clothing otherwise hypothermia would have probably done me in that morning.
Later that day, two of us returned with another snowmobile and tried to recover my belongings. Instead of taking the fully loaded Fish Trap back to my truck my newly found friend said we should try and get the Bravo out before she froze in. He was not outfitted with high enough boots and in no time he had two booters. Complaining that his feet were frozen, he insisted on towing the Bravo out and we had to hurry. I wasn't too keen on the idea because I felt he was still on top of a slushy area.As I pushed from behind, he gunned the Artic Cat and went right down into 10 inches of water. Now he was panicking as his sled was sputtering and not idling well. We both realized that this was a stupid idea made in haste. I ran behind the Artic Cat and heaved as hard as I could. At that instant, the side panels of my pants burst open and ice cold water filled my boots. The spray from the track finished me off with a cold shower as I fell face first into the water. We got the Artic Cat on solid snow and raced back to the truck. Things were going from bad to worse. Had we had 2 other people to help us none of this would have happened. By the time we reached the truck, I couldn't feel my legs anymore. This time my waterproof gear had failed me miserably. The other fellow stripped down and wrapped his feet inside his mitts and toque. After I thawed out a bit, I went out and loaded his Artic Cat onto my trailer and went back to his house.The next morning was a warmer -41*C (windchill). He suspected that all the digging we did would be frozen so it would be solid to stand and drive on. His Artic Cat did not want to go out again. It took forever to get it running. Again not a soul around and nobody home to help.
Well at least he was right about the water area being frozen. He was able to drive right up to my sled that was partially suspended by logs and a snowmobile lift but the track was still under the surface. Slowly chipping away at it we got most of the track out of the ice and even managed to dig out the snowmobile lift. We managed to lift the skis off the ice and put a branch across the front to keep them out of the water that started pooling as we were digging. Not to go a day without getting wet, I managed another booter and fell into the open hole one time soaking one mitt and sleeve. These were items I borrowed because mine were still trying to dry back at the cabin I was staying in. We lifted the Bravo into a large Koender sled and pulled the Bravo back to the truck where we had to winch it into my trailer since the track was still frozen and my drive belt is probably burnt out now from trying to get the track to spin.
It was now 6pm Wednesday!
Came home late today with mulitple minor injuries. My right arm has black/purple areas from straining, lower back pain on both sides, a pulled muscle on my left side, 3 finger tips that split open from being wet and frozen so many times and a bruised toe from wearing borrowed boots that were too small. Pretty fortunate I think for my age.
I learned MANY lessons on this trip and will now heed my wife's continuous advice that I should NEVER go icefishing alone. I was lucky this time and luck can only get you so far.
On a side note: I got all kinds of great information about fishing Patterson and Tokaryk, yet no one ever mentionned anything about how bad the slush was on these small lakes.
Now I know better!
Stay safe out there.
This is the only picture I took. The picture was taken before all the water could be seen. On the first try we managed to move the sled about 6 feet but it seemed the longer we were there, the deeper the water got.

Blue Igloo  

[HighlandGlen Guide]

not a good situation to be in blue...glad you made it out with only minor injuries!  Its always a little scary going to lakes you havent been on yet this year, hope my back lake adventure this weekend doesnt turn out this bad!!

[hoghammer]

WOW BLUE!!!  Nice to see the good man upstairs was looking over you. Glad to hear you are all right and indeed a lesson learned. Now you got all the hot spots. Hope you heal soon so you can go put a pounding on the eyes. Seems to be picking up by the reports.

Get Well
Hog

[big-brother]

Unfreekin real Ron.Very glad to read that there was a happy ending to all this:back home safe and somewhat sound but STILL WITH US

[kodiak120]

After a time like this you have to ask yourself , "is it really worth it". But we all know it Really is .. Glad yourok .sorry to hear about your bad luck.

[WALLYWHACKER]

Glad to here your home Bud! A Day older and alot smarter. Tightlines

[firefighter]

Holly smokes Blue...your supposed to be kind to yourself . Glad your all right minus a few minor injuries and a bit of tarnished pride. Slush seems to be a major issue in the eastern part of the province as well. Thanks for sharing your harrowing experience as it might keep others out of harms way.

FF

[40 Creek]

WOW!! That is CRAZY!! I am glad you are ok.

Take Care
40 Creek

[powderburns]

Really glad to have you still with us Ron. I know first hand about being stuck in slush. It happened twice to me, both times I was alone.

[gatorhunter]

The eye opener for all of us Ron!  The young folks who haven't seen what a slush hole can do and us old timers who have forgotten that we're not as bullet proof as we used to be!

Very glad to hear that things worked out (relative term) positively in the long run!

Working up north for 15 years I can say that slush occurs anywhere!  Some things that I learned and I hope others will heed are:

Always keep a pair of insulated rubber boots in a pack sac on the sled, not in the sleigh

Take off your outer clothing and change into those insulated rubber boots before trying to get out of the slush.  You'll be working hard, sweating so that extra layer of clothing will only make it worse.  Plus, as stated the slush will form huge balls around your lower pant legs.  No such ice build up around insulated rubber boots with tucked in pant legs.

Get to the nearest shore and cut coniferous branches (preferably) and make yourself a road/trail of branches on top of the snow back to the sled

Tilt your sled onto one side and lay branches/logs under the whole sled, tip it back the other way and stack up some more branches/logs.  Keep doing that until the sled is basically out of the water.

The trail of branches should be able to support the sled until you get up enough speed to get the h*ll out to better snow.

Go back to the sleigh and preferably empty it before pulling it up on the branches.

If leaving the sleigh on top of the branches for the night is an option then take that option.  Come back for it the next day!

Get in to your dry outerwear, dry boots, jump on that sled and get back to your vehicle or camp!

Calling the police is always a good option!  Another option is calling the TIP LINE!  The TIP operator will contact the nearest NRO and we'll do the rest!  Chances are that we know the rural and back country better than the police.  Police will often contact us under those types of situations anyway.

One more chapter for your memoirs!

[rainbow]

Survival , Instinct + common sense + luck ,were on your side Ron , I,m so glad that you are okay , And able to write this story . Take care .

[BradB]

wow... scary stuff... glad to hear you are OK Blue... was out there this past weekend and the slush was bad... got stuck a couple of times, but two of us were able to get it out.

had a bad experience many years ago with slush, and as a result have much more respect for it now... LOTW is bad right now too... last weekend we buried the sleds a few times and once was real bad.... it took three of us quite a while to get things back in order.

excellent advice Andre...

heed the advice on slush and venturing out solo... the rest of the winter looks to be nasty for slush... need sleds with power and not afraid to use it.

Thx for sharing your misfortune... always helps to have a reminder now and then of the perils of nature.

Get well soon...

[stiff rod]

That sucks....you drove right by Pybus lake on the way there and it has no slush and fish just as big or bigger than Tokaruk and Patterson.

[panfishboy]

Glad to see your ok, I learned a lesson from reading that, never go alone.

[Pembina]

Hey Blue, after taking a dip in a river a couple of years ago myself gives me a better respect for the frozen stuff.  Glad to hear you are okay.  Have heard about that lake having problems never been there myself.

[bigman from the north]

sorry to hear that blue , but on my 25 plus trips to both lakes never had slush problems

[5 X Master Angler]

First of all I just want to say I'm glad you made it back!

Second of all,  remeber this post! New ice!  Ya never know!

 
 Re: Falcon Lake Derby
« Reply #24 on: Mar 15, 2010, 07:36 AM »  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote from: Big Dog on Mar 15, 2010, 05:59 AM
Hey 5x - good thinking, while I may have still ventured out on my own or with others that would be able to help rescue myself, not going on "new" ice that you don't know with kids is a good idea. Fish are not worth the trauma that a kid may go through out there at this time of year.

I agree 100% with Big Dog.
To err on the side of caution is always the best advice.
Blue Igloo  

[Yukoner]

We call it overflow up here, and it can be found at all temps, even as low as -50 actual temp.

Have seen it bog down all but one machine out of eight on a trip two years ago.  Everyone was wet, and we spent four hours getting machines back on top!

Ted

[TGF]

Glad your OK bud. Thats what we were dealing with here in BC about a month ago except we only had about 4-6 inches of hard stuff under all that water and weight of heavy snow made for dangerous conditions. A couple of machines went under. Makes a guy appreciate life.

[carcus]

Slush is real bad this year, came close to getting stuck in is the other day in the whiteshell, big power saved us just barely.  Done exploring this year

[Thane]

Ron I had to say your post is a true eye opener. You're a bit worse for wear but happy to see you made it out safe in the end.  I'm only snowmobile owner for a 2nd winter and I certainly learned a thing from you and the great advise of Andre.  It appears lake conditions are going to be tough until the snow melts right down. Looks like it'll be trips on foot or better yet on snowshoes unless heading out to the big lakes.

[mcdee]

Glad your OK ! Had something like that happened to me on Lake Francis Woodlands Manitoba . Just reading your post brought me back to that day .  My snow machine broke through the ice in Feb 2004 temp was -25 .I managed to jump off the snowmachine while it was sinking and rolled on top of the 1'' ice, my whole lower half was soaking wet . Had a 1 mile jog to get back home , Pants and legs froze up quick, Heart rate was way up . Scary stuff . I made it home safe! . . Managed to salvage the sled a week later when ice was 6 '' thick . The same day out on Lake Manitoba the ice was 3' thick so I (ASSUMED) that Lake Francis would be safe ? Beavers 

[firefighter]

Glad your OK ! Had something like that happened to me on Lake Francis Woodlands Manitoba . Just reading your post brought me back to that day .  My snow machine broke through the ice in Feb 2004 temp was -25 .I managed to jump off the snowmachine while it was sinking and rolled on top of the 1'' ice, my whole lower half was soaking wet . Had a 1 mile jog to get back home , Pants and legs froze up quick, Heart rate was way up . Scary stuff . I made it home safe! . . Managed to salvage the sled a week later when ice was 6 '' thick . The same day out on Lake Manitoba the ice was 3' thick so I (ASSUMED) that Lake Francis would be safe ? Beavers 

Mcdee, L Francis is a very strange place with regard to ice conditions. Lots of cattail slough stuff which catch insulating snow and lots of decomposing organic materials on the bottom. Heat as a by-product of decomposition thus warming the water slightly.

Also the lake is very saline or "brackish". L. Manitoba is 1200ppm salt where I would estimate L. Francis to be double or even tripple this number. I have seen ducks on this lake stay late into the fall resting on open areas when all else around is frozen hard. Salt water never freezes the same as fresh so caution is the best route.

FF     

[useddirt4sale]

Wow, what a story.  Good to hear everything worked out.  Lesson for everyone there somewhere.  Good thing you told your friend where you were going.

[sled-in]

RON, you are one lucky bugger (but it is a good story too)

I have also had my run-in's with slush, nothing as dangerous as what you just went through, but not fun.

Great advice Andre, my buddy and I who had my last run-in with both wear insulated rubber boots when we go back country, I like to carry my Baffin's in my toboggan (I guess thats not recommended), I should probably be bagging them too. My axe is under my hood always, need to think more about my fire starters. I also like to bring my come-a-long and rope (probably better then two more guys)

When we got stuck, it was at least only my sled, and we had passed a cabin just the lake before where the people were in and let us stay there for the night.

I'm heading into my cabin this afternoon, need to rethink what I'm packing.......

Glad to hear your okay, time to start being more social Ron and going with someone.

[ran7ger]

 glad all worked out o.k.  we're dealing with the same situation on most of our lakes in the area and i ended up in the exact same situation as yourself a couple weeks back blue.  i got my 82 skandic stuck in slush up to my knees, -34c pulling a weighed down toboggan.  i was fortunate enough to get her going and onto a hardpack....after close to 2 hours of huffing and puffing.  i'm young and am very glad i learned this lesson at the age i'm at...not sure i'll be as hardy as you at your age blue!

 i still fish by myself most times but am now always sure to heed the conditions and to take my same track back home at the end of the night.

 amazing, the things we do to catch fish...

[fishin_guy]

You are for sure the talk of the area.  My buddy is involved with a lot of fishing in that area.  They are trying to figure out how to still have the fishing derby at the end of the month.  There is so much snow in the area many of the lakes are having problems.  With so much snow on the lakes many don't have a drain so the ice and snow push down in the water so much that it floods the ice.  The one lake I want to go fish in some areas has up to 18 inches of water on it.  I could probably stick my canoe on the lake.....hmmmmm.

[Water Wolf]

Holly Heck Blue what a scary ice fishing experience, glad to read that you are back home and despite being a bit bruised and sore are still with us.

Gatorhunter, Good advice on how to be safe out on the ice and what to do if you find yourself in a bind, also, don't be afraid to call 911 if your in trouble, that's what's it's for.

When on the ice I prefer to have at least 1 other person with me and I also prefer to fish on lakes that have some evidence of people being on them quite recently, especially this year with the slush pockets and thin ice areas on the lakes.

Trust that gut feeling you get when you enter an area. If you have a feeling that it's not safe, just don't go on.

Be safe everyone!

WW

[Master Angler]

Glad you're back safe now Ron.  We seem to always deal with slush up here in and around the Ducks on the small sheltered lakes, where the snow has no chance to blow off.  This year however way worse than most with all this snow.  My plans on fishing more Duck Mtn lakes this year were changed back in December.  This should be a good enough warning for anyone this year, and well for any year for that matter.

[bmann]

Glad you are ok Blue. Things can go south quickly!