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i carry a rope with a seat cushion tied to an end. it's extremely throwable as well. this also doubles as my flotation device on suspect ice. i tie one end of the rope to me and drag it and the cushion behind me.
Seen it a couple times in the thread but I use a waterski tow rope. big enough to grab the handle with mittens on. Also can jam your arm through up to the elbow if too weak to grab on.
Do you have a good method for keeping the rope from becoming tangled during the day? I have the same setup but am afraid if I ever need it to rescue someone I'll have to waste time unsnarling it.
I had to deal with someone that fell in on new ice a few years ago. I heard the call for help and located him about a quarter mile away. By the time we got to him he had been in the water close to 10 minutes and was just about ready to go down. He was hanging on to the edge and was real low in the water as his strength was gone from trying to get himself out and his clothes were weighing him down. Both of us had on AA floating ice suits and as always picks so the 2 of us crawled out with my sled and got close enough to him to get the sled to him. He was able to hook his arm and shoulder over the edge and we were able to tie a long rope to the sled and get to safe ice and pull him out. There was no way he could have pulled himself out. He now owns a floating ice suit and IMO having that and picks should help make that job easier. My advice to everyone that ice fishes...invest in a good quality flotation suit and wear the picks.
The first thing you do is sit down with your buddy and go over what you should do in case one of you fall in. Keep calm wait for the initial shock to go away and then try to get out and with help it will be easy. SO there is where you start. Before you get to the Lake.
Hey RuttNutt I would like to see a picture of that as well. Thanks
And......if you do get a throw bag practice with it! Make sure the rope will actually come out of the bag and practice putting the rope back in just in case you miss on the first throw.