I hate bubblers!

[jflood]

I went up to Huddle Bay on the King today. The bubbler's that protect the docks did nothing but deteriorate the shoreline all day. As I was walking off the ice with my visiting wife and two little kids the ice literally broke up and was submerged immediately. I swear if I walked another foot I, along with my kids, would have been in 4 or 5 fow.
Here I am walking off the ice and crack! boom! bam! The previously safe path was no longer. Needless to say it scared the heck out of all of us! I thank my brother for helping me out as my daughter, along with everyone else, was startled and frighten. I could never live with myself if anything ever happen to my kids

[jigbounce]

Do the bubbler's keep the ice away from the docks so it doesn't shift and break them?  Seems like a weird setup.

[jflood]

You got it jigbounce. The bubbler  protects the dock from damage by not allowing the water to freeze.

[Tip-UpTommer]

bubblers keep the ice from freezing around the docks but they do nothing once the ice has broken up down the lake and the wind blows hard. those big chunks of ice(half a football field size and bigger) sure do have a good time with those bubblers(and docks) if they get a good head start from the wind.

[fishingking]

Yep the ones at Huddle bay suck even last year there was open water there. UGH

[JerryofWNY]

Since the cottage/home owners do not own the water, I wonder about their liability in case someone should suffer a tragedy because of a bubbler. Anyone in insurance out there who might have an opinion on this? Slipbob?

[big big rdg]

Sounds like a lot of places are losing the edges. Be careful out there!!!

[Big Burk]

dont be lazy pull your damn docks out i havent seen a bubbler on the lake i fish on this year so its all good for me

[michpike789]

we got a lot of bubbler on lake st clair here in michigan, lot of folks use them to keep there yachts from freezing in, the boats are to big to be hoisted out

[nepa old man]

One of our best private lakes we fish we could not get on this winter because of those darn bubblers.

[Roncarr]

Since the cottage/home owners do not own the water, I wonder about their liability in case someone should suffer a tragedy because of a bubbler. Anyone in insurance out there who might have an opinion on this? Slipbob?

If something bad happened (god forbid) you would definitly be able to sue if the bublers were a direct cause of an accident I would think it would be like someone drilling holes in your boat to cause you harm .just my 2 cents

[Hood]

Since the cottage/home owners do not own the water, I wonder about their liability in case someone should suffer a tragedy because of a bubbler. Anyone in insurance out there who might have an opinion on this? Slipbob?

Im not in insurance and dont know much about it but have a feeling the response would be "well you shouldnt have been walking that close to open water" or "did you not heed the thin ice warning around the bubblers?".....I dont think it would be an easy battle to win....slip?

[hali-man]

Since the cottage/home owners do not own the water, I wonder about their liability in case someone should suffer a tragedy because of a bubbler.

They don't own the water, but they do own the dock and are protecting their property.
I am certainly no legal expert, but I think it could go either way.
It is pretty obvious where bubblers are actively in use and if an angler goes through there it would be their own damn fault IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I hate the things too. Most of the lakes I fish have the docks removed annually, so I don't have to worry about them much.

[crappieslayer22]

carefull

[billybono]

dont property owners on lakes have a right of way that extends into the water? im pretty sure they do, as there docks are touching the lake bottom. only thing you can do about it is to buy some property. are you accsessing from a state right of way or some other right of way?


              billybono

[jflood]

I'm not a legal expert on the right of way of docks or anything like that. My main reason for the post was to create awareness and safety. Let me also say that rising temps  yesterday didn't help matters either. I went up on Sat and I was able to walk on what appeared to be a well  established path on to the ice. That path had to have been 5-7 feet wide. On Sunday morning, when it was in the teens,  that path was under water and the ice was in large unstable pieces. In other words it was destroyed. By noon on Sunday when my wife stopped  by with the kids the water ripples started to trickle over the top of the new path. As I quickly walked my family out on the ice I told my wife "we may have a problem with getting off the ice at the end of the day" She recommend not waiting until the end of the day and suggested lunch . I agreed and we were off the ice in less then a 1/2 hour. When we came back off the ice  the ice literally fell apart underneath and in front of me. I'm still a little shaken by the whole experience. Mostly because I feel responsable for putting my kids in harms way.
Be safe guys

[rabidsponge]

this is the first i"ve ever heard of these "bubblers". i understand what their purpose is but how exactly do they work?

[MikeThePike]

Similar to a stone on an aerator only on a much much bigger scale. With the bubbles constantly being pumped into the water and rising to the surface the water doesn't get a chance to freeze very well, if at all.

I can see legitement reasons for them (docks that can't be removed, owners trying to keep people from trespassing, ect) but personally do not like them.

One of the places I used to use to access Lake Hopatcong in NJ last year put heaters in to keep people from using their docks to access the ice. They said too much damage was done by people using them constantly and they felt in the long run it'd be cheaper to buy the heaters than keep repairing the damages from ice fishermen year after year.

[Skipper]

Here in MN. they use bubblers to prevent winter kills due to oxygen depletion in smaller lakes. Ive never seen them used to keep boats and docks from freezing in though. Not even in Duluth harbor. Sounds Kinda weird to me.