IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Canada => Ice Fishing Saskatchewan => Topic started by: rumblefish_1 on Dec 17, 2011, 08:48 PM
-
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FISH THE AREA FROM NORTH OF THE STONE BARN TO WEE TOO BEACH !!!The ice was in good condition with thickness in the 8-10 inch range UNTIL TODAY. PRESSURE RIDGES, TEMPS,AND FLAWS HAVE MADE THS AREA EXTREMELY UNSTABLE !!!!
Aprox 12 fishermen went out on foot today on good ice but that all changes with one big bang. The ice opened up and left everyone stranded looking for a way off. Thanks to local residents who came out with extension ladders, planks , ropes and sleighs everyone was able to crawl the make shift bridge and get off the ice safely. THIS IS NOT JUST A CRACK OR OPEN WATER ON THE ICE SURFACE.....ITS IS OPEN WATER PEOPLE.
This open water will freeze and some poor fisherman is going to drill a hole and see 10 inches and start walking. PLEASE dont do it because a few steps further will mean trouble.
The main visible ridge runs from Wee Too point and goes south past Alice Beach and then cuts east by THE FLATS located about 1/2 way between the barn and Alice. It snakes in and out and ICE IS NOT SAFE even 20 ft from shore. I would not recommend fishing in this area to anyone as it is not safe on foot ...so dont even think you can creep the shore on a quad.
[b]PLEASE TAKE THIS WARNING SERIOUSLY. IT IS NOT SOME PLOY TO KEEP PEOPLE OFF THE HOT SPOT OR ANY OTHER HIDDEN AGENDA. LETS KEEP EVERYONE SAFE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON AND PLAY IT SAFE. I THINK WE CAN AGREE THAT ONE TRAGEDY IS MORE THAN ENOUGH ON LAST MOUNTAIN THIS YEAR. MY CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF THE UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT NEAR GRANDVIEW LAST WEEKEND. [/b] [/size]
-
The ice is getting worse at grandview too, I've never seen it as cracked as it is. The wind and warm weather has this ice all kinds of messed up. Sucks, we were driving earlier than this last year and we still have a long ways to go before its safe to do so.
Glad to hear everyoneI is safe.
-
Thanks for the well written and informative post. Let's hope people take care.
-
Thanks for the warning rumblefish_1
I think I will be fishing north of the Yellowhead until Last Mountain sets up good and solid'
-
Was out at Katepwa today, talked to a few people and they said the same thing happened there yesterday! The ice first started cracking and then sounded like a shotgun blast and then a huge section of ice sank below the water surface :o They had to walk around it to get off the lake!!! :woot:
Took the shack out there today, hopefully it floats! :unsure:
-
Thanks for the heads up.
-
Well put. This is very strange. Good to see the posts. Pass it on to the anglers in the area. The ice will be thin for some time. Even walking out can be Dangerous. Play safe guys. :icefish:
-
I know it isn't fun but I did it last weekend with a hand auger, so with a power auger it should be easy! Every 2 yards drill a hole and mesure ice thickness. Look at the cracks on the ice, you will see them going down or not. I did it on echo checking thickness. Just be careful out there! until it doesn't dip below -20 every night for 2 weeks we will keep having terrible ice conditions.
-
good post. this old girl is just showing us who is realy the boss out tthere...be safe...
-
Thanks for the info. WE NEED SOME COLD WEATHER!
-
Good heads up. Thanks for the info, stay safe out there fellow anglers.
-
Wow...pretty crazy. I was thinking of heading out there last week but didnt think it would be safe and went to Buffalo Pound.
-
Thanks, was planning on going out tomorrow.
-
Anyone have any pictures from that day, would like to see what the ice looked like.
-
Tobin also has a lot of ridges and heaves. I have never seen as many as this before. I know they are letting a lot of water go through E.B. Cambell right now and guys are driving out. First hole I drilled I had 3inches of ice and then about 15inches of water then more ice again under it. I am not risking driving out there right now. Same thing could happen on tobin as well.
-
Tobin even more so. Thats a crazy lake for heaves on the flats. especially in march with the water on the ice.
-
maybe someone in that area could make sure it is posted.....
-
I dont think posting would help,just like the no tresspassing and no hunting signs are ignored.comon sense is what is needed.
-
Sorry Jagger....once i got on to land the last thing i thought of was taking pics. There was one guy that took pics but i dont know who he was, as well as some locals that were taking pics of guys crawling across.
-
Rumblefish, how wide was the stretch of open water you had to crawl over? After the heave happened were you and the others on a completely detached piece or was it just too cracked up around you to walk around? I had it break on me at Pelican about 20 years ago while fishing the head of the point on 4" of good new ice and I had to walk about a mile east to find a spot I felt safe enough jumping across. I think it popped because it just turned into a nice warm sunny day and the change in temp was all it took. And that wasnlt dicky ice at all, it was nice dark new ice. I remember laying in bed out theremant times and listening to it boom all night as the temps dropped again from daytime highs. My friend went to Spring Bay yesterday and he said he had 10" out in front of the cottage and caught a few jacks but couldn't really see anything across the lake at Wee-Too/Alice. He's sceptical of the danger but wants to argue all the time. Too German for his own good. I've fished with him off and on for over 30 yeears but sometimes I'd just like to put a pillow over his face and press hard.
-
I myself would question there being 10 inches at spring bay,check yourself to be sure what you got before venturing out to far.just my opinion...
-
forgot to mention buzzbomb.that heave at alice was already there ,they crossed it and later got themselfs into trouble.this is where a little common sense should have been used.
-
I dont know how common sence would help there. You cross heaves almost everytime you go out, just a very abnormal day out there. Something different is going to happen sooner or later if you spend a lot of time on the ice.
-
Yes MOUNTAINGUY good point but the first thread that rumblefish posted said there was 8 to 10 inches of ice.not in this area as it was only froze for 3 days when this ridge started and was about 4 inches when they went out,.maybe some people say inches when they mean centimeters???
-
Is he the old feller that fishes pike out of a canoe with pontoons?
-
Fair enough protecter. If they had to crawl over a ladder to get back how did they get their gear over the water?
-
Hi Buzz....we were not out there floating aimlessly. The ice we were on appeared to be safe. The issue was getting from one piece of ice to the other closer to shore. Im not great at guessing distances but can say it was the width of an etdended extnesion ladder.We discussed trying to walk around but it was decided that really...where do you go? And how do you know if where your walking will be stronger or weaker than where you are? It was already 4pm so sun was going away soon and lots of people were there to help withs ropes ect. The smartest thing to do was to stay where we were, and cross closest to shore (which is where we got on) and know that help was there to get off in case something did happen to go wrong. Nobody was in any immediate danger and we werent in deep water so no sense walking into deeper water and possibly thinner ice to find out.
YA maybe a guy could have walked somewhere but none of us were willing to take the chance. After seeing the open water , I dont think too many guys were keen on trying to cross the ridge elsewhere even if it was frozen.
As for fishing on that side< I have stated my opinions that I wont recommend it. I have been ice fishing for over 35 yrs and im not scared to walk out at first ice (SAFELY) ,Im no coward but Im no fool either, and I WONT be back in that area until at least mid January and even 3 weeks may not be enough for me if we dont see some cold weather soon. Would rather be on top of the ice catching fish than under ice with them lol If you dont see a ton of shacks there when you look across from Spring Bay theres a reason for it. If people that live there wont go out that tells you its bad.
-
A sleigh similar to the bottom of a clam was used to get gear across. With a rope tied to each end it got pulled back and forth over the water with the gear.
-
did u guys at least catch any fish while you were there
-
got ! eye ! pike and 2 tulibee.....it wasnt worth the crawl to be honest. Hope the other guys did better than me.
-
Yey good comeback steadyrippin.we were all getting caught up in our own oppinions that we lost sight of what we are all into and that is the fishing.ASfor rumblefish Ihope this will be your last missfortune for a while,as over the years Imyself have been somewere I WOULD RATHER BE...Be safe,catch fish,and go home every night.......
-
Thanks Rumblefish that's exactly what I wanted to know and I think you did exactly the right thing. When I lived at Pelican we crossed a real variety of imperfections in the ice and it could take a lot of figuring out sometimes and I think almost everyone who lived there year round in the early 90s fell in at one time or another. With the ice quality like it is I can't see how you had any other option.
Layne, that isn't him but his cousin lives up at the north end of SB there and fishes all the time. I'll ask if he has an outfit like that.
Walleyeprotector if you want to dispute how thick Norbert said the ice was you're going to have to call him yourself, You know as well as anybody it's inconsistant.
-
With the holidays coming up people are going to want to get out and do some fishing,but with all this above 0 temps the ice conditions are getting worse in certain areas.one area is the wee too, alice beach.Please if taking young kids out,make sure of the conditions before going and keep them close....MERRYXMAS...
-
And to make things worse the forecast doesn't have anything like seasonal temps for the next week! The long range forecast was for the coldest winter in 20 years so does this mean we're going to catch it in the teeth in January and February? I've read that some people are driving on places in the fort/calling/fishing lakes on far less than I'd consider safe.
Has there been any advertising yet warning of unsafe ice? Last year the papers and tv carried quite a few because of the floodgates and their role. LML's are closed this year but if the ice is so flakey you can't even walk out why aren't they putting out warnings?
How many years has it been since you couldn't drive down Long Lake at Christmas? I'm waiting for someone to put a truck in just because there's always one stubborn one thinking "We've always done it.".
I smashed my leg and ankle last week and if I'm lucky I'll get out there in March so there should be enough ice by the time I need it.
-
SMASHED LEG? that sucks...hope it heals fast so you can get back out. Iwas just on the saskflood site,and it says they are leaving the gates at vailport open all winter to lower lml for next springs runoff. one way to look at it is if you dont get out till march,the fish will be that much bigger. merryxmas..
-
Yes sorry! I got that bass akwards and I'd even posted it a couple of times. Valeport and Craven were left open and they closed Katepwa. The intent last year was to draw the water down under the ice and this year because LML's still up (I think it looks like a foot and a half on the graph I saw) and we aren't slated for much snow maybe things will be normal again this spring.
-
I live on the east side of LML and this is my 4th winter here. The water levels at my beach are now at the lowest levels I have seen since I moved out here. I sure hope that the people who regulate the water levels know what they are doing. If we don't get a whole pile of snow this winter there may be hardly any runoff next spring. I noticed that the river going through Valeport and Craven is still flowing as of yesterday.
-
Just a few pictures of the ice that day..
(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/jagger_ca/P1000634.jpg)
(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/jagger_ca/P1000635.jpg)
(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/jagger_ca/P1000633.jpg)
-
good pics JAGGER it hasnt got any better,maybe worse.and with the upcoming temps.we will have to wait and see. stay clear be safe.....
-
is this at wee too?
-
There was finally a report on CTV news yesterday and noon news today. About time -- almost a week after the fact. Fishing has been HOT but is it worth risking your life !! ???
-
If someone was thinking about walking out around stone barn on Boxing day can it be done? Or should I add Safely Done? I am leaning towards going north, but my buddy is being rather insistent on going to LML. Saying he knows people who have been walking on. If anyone has been, please let me know! I always want to be safe and based on what I have heard and read its not what I wanna do. But I also don't wanna listen to him complain about not being at LAst Mountain!!!
Merry Christmas!!!
Walleyed
-
There was a report on Global News tonight @ 6. They led the news off with it. I am sure they will rerun the story at 10 and 11. Like was posted earlier they are way late on this one. That being said I am glad they ran it to warn others to be safe.
-
No steadyrippen.. this was by the ALICE BEACH boat launch, but this whole area is very unstable. Be carefull..MERRYXMAS...
-
is it any better at wee to gunna head that way tommorow
-
there has been a few fellows out on the bay north of two tree point ,but noeone south of two tree..
-
In answer to the question on the ice at the barn. Went there yesterday. Walked from the barn to the South point and fished there. A good 10" of ice (probably more). Purchased ice spikes for my boots from Mark's Work Wearhouse - huge difference (figured they would be cheaper than paying another $75 for chiropractic care). Caught 8.5, 6, 4, 3, 2 lb eyes. All went back as we weren't out for food. Bite has slowed down but still some quality fish to catch. Ice is definitely safe for walking on in that area.
-
I know this question has been asked before, but can you drive anywhere remotely close to the stone barn?
-
To get to stone barn drive like you are going to grandview beach but instead of turning right into grandview go straight another few hundred yards and you'll drive right to a fence gate followed by a second fence gate just a few feet apart. Go through them and you will come to another fence gate. Go throught that one and just continue on the well beat trail right down to the stone barn.
-
Thanks for the info WalleyeNut! Looks like we may be going south after all! StoneBarn isn't where we usually head at this time of year but it will have to suffice if we are headed that way! Maybe see ya out there! Picked up my ice cleats just in case!
Cheers and Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
-
Anyone know what the bite has been like at the barn recently ?
-
Hey buzzbomb the friend from spring bay wouldn't happen to be E. H. Would it?
Lol
-
is the ice safe north of the wee too beach point? (walking of course)
-
We fished Collingwood today and there was 14" of solid black ice. There were trucks driving all over without any trouble, just have to stay clear of the pressure cracks. Fishing was slow, but managed a few nice perch. I think that my wife and I might try Buffalo POund tomorrow.
Later Days :tipup:
-
Hey buzzbomb the friend from spring bay wouldn't happen to be E. H. Would it?
Lol
No, I do know some people there but when I checked I found out my friend's cousin had died. I know who EH is though! I think when I started going up there about 30 years ago he was already sitting there on the ice and I've met him several times. Hopefully we'll have sane water levels this year and I can do some carping there.