Author Topic: Stay home stay safe  (Read 1857 times)

Offline toadhunter2

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 389
Stay home stay safe
« on: Jan 25, 2017, 12:46 PM »
Guy please take a word of caution and don't plan any trips out for at least a couple weeks or more the ice is junk everywhere. In the last couple weeks there have been cars and people going threw the ice all over the upper Midwest to the east coast and the property that has been lost can be replaced but the lives that have been lost can not just in the last couple days guys went threw on the fox chain and thankfully they are fine but a gentleman lost his life in northern wi when his vehicle went threw and I pray for his family and the families of the other soles we have lost across the country during this warm spell.  I know it's hard to not be out I'm as big of an ice junky as the rest of you but the risk of losing your or your family and friends life's is not worth missing out on many future ice outings in better conditions later this season or in future seasons! I hate to be the preacher on the pulpit but I'm getting tired of reading articles every day of people passing or nearly passing because of the crap weather and junk ice remember stay safe for your family well be back at it before you now it thanks for the rant....toad
early mornings,cold north winds,hard ice,good friends and cold high life..FLAG UP!.priceless

Offline Jtemp

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 43
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #1 on: Jan 25, 2017, 03:02 PM »
I have a feeling our season might be just about dead buddy... couldn't believe those two guys were even on the chain last weekend. This weather even in the 10 day forecast doesn't look like its doing us any good.

Offline UFCreel

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 1,557
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #2 on: Jan 25, 2017, 03:14 PM »
Nope no good at all. The sad thing is. I have heard people saying how it will lock things up. Do not buy into that bull.
Flags up! Bobbers down!

Offline toadhunter2

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 389
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #3 on: Jan 25, 2017, 04:48 PM »
Yes I have a bad feeling our season around Illinois and southern part of wi may be done the central and northern part of wi had a good ice base of over a foot so with there colder weather after a couple weeks should be good for foot traffic or atv but there's no way I'd be taking a truck out the rest of the year unless it's northern Minnesota or North Dakota but I'd still wait a couple weeks to take any trips
early mornings,cold north winds,hard ice,good friends and cold high life..FLAG UP!.priceless

Offline oldbuck

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 302
  • usmc 1972-1976
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #4 on: Jan 25, 2017, 04:55 PM »
Two men went through ice and died on Monday Sandy pond New York.

Offline Kevin23

  • Team IceShantyholic
  • ***
  • Posts: 7,241
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #5 on: Jan 25, 2017, 06:09 PM »
You definitely have to be smart about going out right now. I've been fishing the Miss backwaters every day for the past week and the ice is still okay. The upcoming cold will be much appreciated! We were down to 6" of hard and 2" of honeycomb, a couple more days and I would have called it. Give it 2-3 days to harden up and it will be just fine. Spudding a path and sticking to it is the only way to be safe about it. Spud, picks, rope, life jacket, and stay on the small bodies of water!
EYECONICFISHING

Offline toadhunter2

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 389
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #6 on: Jan 25, 2017, 08:37 PM »
Well spud bar,picks,throw rope,whistle and life jackets plus the buddy system are all good ideas with the weather we're having but staying home is the safest bet because if you do go threw your not only risking your life but the lives of the first responders who may have to come fish you out.  I personally in the 37 years I've been ice fishing have not found a fish yet worth risking my life for because worst case I wait a couple months pull my bass boat out and pick up we're I left off
early mornings,cold north winds,hard ice,good friends and cold high life..FLAG UP!.priceless

Offline Kevin23

  • Team IceShantyholic
  • ***
  • Posts: 7,241
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #7 on: Jan 25, 2017, 11:09 PM »
Well spud bar,picks,throw rope,whistle and life jackets plus the buddy system are all good ideas with the weather we're having but staying home is the safest bet because if you do go threw your not only risking your life but the lives of the first responders who may have to come fish you out.  I personally in the 37 years I've been ice fishing have not found a fish yet worth risking my life for because worst case I wait a couple months pull my bass boat out and pick up we're I left off

With that attitude, we should all wait until there is a foot of ice just to be sure...

Be smart, be safe, and don't take risks. Personally I don't feel fishing on enough ice to hold a 4 wheeler or SxS is risking my life to the point where I need to stay home and wait a few months for open water. Not all bodies of water are equal, and I can assure you they are not all unsafe because someone fell through in Wisconsin. Am I saying to run out and start drilling holes and treat it like there is 24"? No. But me and the other 20 guys that fished this week on the same body of water all survived just fine. Last tuesday (17th) I was on over a foot of hard clear ice and people in the parking lot were concerned for my safety because it rained.

There are quite a few bodies of water in my area that I would not go out on right now, but there are also a handful that are safe if you be smart about it. I carry picks, ropes, throwable, jackets, and a spud just about every time out when I think there might be a remote chance of someone going through. Never have had to use those safety items (except the spud of course) and never plan to. Learning to read ice, use a spud, and follow paths keeps me SAFELY on the ice when others are complaining and worrying or on here posting about throwing in the towel. Trust me, I do NOT take risks on the ice.. it is not worth it. You will also never see me on here telling everyone to stay off the ice either, because I know people are smart enough to make good decisions.. and the ones that aren't, well they aren't on Iceshanty reading about ice conditions right now. Not all bodies of water are created equal. Even two bodies of water a mile apart can be drastically different, one could be honeycomed through and unsafe while the other has 6-8" of hard ice under the honeycomb. Saying they are all unsafe because some (or most) are, is... well.. you know.

I may be the devil's advocate here, but I think it's pretty crazy to be telling everyone to stay off the ice or insinuating me fishing on "good" ice is risking other people's lives. if you want to fish you just have to do what everyone else does, seek out new bodies of water and find yourself a safe spot. Saying its unsafe and for everyone to stay home because you can't (or don't want to) fish your spot is jealousy hidden in concern.

Giving it two or three days of this cold to harden up the shorelines to make it easier to get on, then its right back to fishing. The honeycombed ice should be tightened up, and while that doesn't mean it's much stronger, there is still 6" of hard ice right below it and we will be making ice for the next 15 days! The extended monthly forecast says ice making through mid feb with no lows above freezing. Should be pushing 18-20" by mid feb if it holds true. You guys can come to NW IL and fish all you want.
EYECONICFISHING

Offline toadhunter2

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 389
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #8 on: Jan 26, 2017, 08:37 AM »
Kevin I never said you can't go out and fish you can go out all you want that's your choice and no you don't need to wait for a foot of ice to go out. 3" of new ice and I'm on the water it used to be 2" but as I've gotten wiser with age and kids to look out for that has gone up but with that said 3" of new ice is stronger than 6" of old junk ice and waiting for the temps to drop to firm things up there's nothing wrong with that but there's guys out there with out the experience a lot of us have plus there have been a lot of very experienced guys who have perished in the last couple of years on ice they felt was still safe and I guess I'm lucky because I do seasonal road construction so I have all winter to go where ever I want to play on the ice so all I'm saying is the vast majority of areas are unsafe and not worth the risk right now. Ok I'm off to run some errands so that way I can go to the sport show in Schaumburg tomorrow or Saturday
early mornings,cold north winds,hard ice,good friends and cold high life..FLAG UP!.priceless

Offline toadhunter2

  • Team IceShanty Regular
  • ***
  • Posts: 389
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #9 on: Jan 26, 2017, 09:00 AM »
O an I almost forgot there is no jealousy hidden in concern on my part because im lucky enough the god lord has blessed me with the position I'm in if I feel like traveling I can take off and go wherever I want and I have the money and time to do it plus I have access to friends cabins in central and northern wi I can use plus if I want I have a friend that owns a resort in Canada but lots of guys don't have that kind of time and resources available to them and are limited to the weekend or taking a day off work and traveling a couple hours or less to fish and those are the fellas I'm most concerned about pushing the limits for another day on the ice again it's not jealousy it's being tired of reading articles about guys getting killed falling threw a bad spot on the ice over a dam fish
early mornings,cold north winds,hard ice,good friends and cold high life..FLAG UP!.priceless

Offline PoleJerker

  • Team IceShanty Addict
  • *
  • Posts: 504
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #10 on: Jan 26, 2017, 10:49 AM »
In my area there is no safe ice left so there is no reason to try it.  Maybe it's a good thing in a way.

Offline Gills-only

  • Team IceShanty Maniac
  • **
  • Posts: 4,893
  • When hell freezes over, I'll ice fish there too!!
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #11 on: Jan 26, 2017, 03:02 PM »
Well spud bar,picks,throw rope,whistle and life jackets plus the buddy system are all good ideas with the weather we're having but staying home is the safest bet because if you do go threw your not only risking your life but the lives of the first responders who may have to come fish you out.  I personally in the 37 years I've been ice fishing have not found a fish yet worth risking my life for because worst case I wait a couple months pull my bass boat out and pick up we're I left off
.        The safest way is to sell your stuff and quit fishing, ask your wife!!  I think common sense is all anyone needs, and if u don't have any you better find another sport!!  I have fished earlier and later than most guys for over 50 years and never got wet, like I say "common sense"    It surprises me the amount of guys that don't know the proper way to use a spud or don't have one. I have watched guys walk on 2" ice with a auger and drill a hole, and shot their pants!!

Rkoomler

  • Guest
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #12 on: Jan 26, 2017, 10:06 PM »
I didn't know you guys in Illinois were allowed to go on the ive until the state government okayed it?  Are you allowed to fish when you want?

Offline crazy4crappie

  • IceShanty Rookie
  • **
  • Posts: 71
Re: Stay home stay safe
« Reply #13 on: Jan 27, 2017, 07:10 AM »
Yes, we can ice fish when we want on most bodies of water.
I'm what you would call an ice fishing freak.

 



Iceshanty | MyFishFinder | MyHuntingForum
Contact | Disclaimer | Privacypolicy | Sponsor
© 1996- Iceshanty.com
All Rights Reserved.