A pressure crack explodes right in front of us!

[LEN F]

Here is a short clip that I edited from some old VHS film. Three of us were ice fishing on the Bay of Quinte back in 1994. The ice was acting up louder than usual and then exploded right in front of us ...

[meandcuznalfy]

Wow, that was very cool to see.

[Doubles Shooter]

I was fishing one cold morning on Conesus Lake 25-26 years ago when I heard a loud explosion behind me. I turned around expecting to see a huge fireball and someone's cottage roof in the air from a gas explosion it was so loud. All I could see was a fog across the whole lake a quarter mile behind me.
A few minutes later it cleared showing a pressure ridge 3' plus tall all across the lake. The best part was watching people scramble packing up and running for shore. You could feel the ice rise and dip a few inches from the shock ripples. There was a solid 16" of ice at the time.

[fishermantim]

We don't get that kind of action here in the lower part of the North East, but what we do see and hear will always freak out the rookies and get them scrambling for land, regardless of how thick the ice was.

I've seen cracks race right thru the area I was fishing, sometimes right thru the hole.
Better yet, you'll be sitting in your chair, mind wandering and the rise and fall of the ridge will make your stomach jump even if it's only a 1 inch drop!

I laugh every time it happens because I know what it is.

Seeing that kind of pressure ridge action would be cool to see.

[meandcuznalfy]

Yep, was on a bay one night after ling and my cousin went out to check tipups, sounded like a cannon going off, felt like the ice rose a few feet( probably a couple inches), my cousin was screaming like a little girl.

Saw a crack come clear across a pond while watching snowmobile races right through where we were standing, was enough for my aunt, she watched from the pickup for the rest of the day.

[LEN F]

Fellow anglers ... Thank for commenting!
Glad we could share the experience.
Stay safe now as the season comes to a close.