Safety

[StrikeMojo]

No, I am not your mommy.  I do think we all need to think for a moment about ice fishing on sketchy ice.  Let's pretend you are fishing on Cascade, and you go through the ice 30 yards from shore.  How long do you think it would take for cold water rescue folks to get there, gear up, and get you out?  If the same scenario happened at Horsethief?  Magic? Palisades?

Is it worth risking your life to be the last guy this year to post "I fished XXXXX lake this weekend, the ice was iffy, but we got some good fish"?

A couple of really good guys lost their life to hypothermia last week in an incident at Winchester.  One was a very good friend of my buddy's.  They were very experienced ice fishermen, knew the game, and the risks.  It really hit home to me, that in the past I had done some stuff on the ice that was not very smart, and by Gods grace, I survived.  Please everyone, lets not have any more injuries or deaths.  If the ice isn't completely legitimate for ice fishing, do not go out on it...

[sdhuntandfish]

I agree with everything you just said.

I was one of those guys that thought it couldn't happen to me. Just last weekend, my best friend went through just 10 feet or less away from me. He was on foot, and we were fishing on 7-10" of ice. We were about a mile out in 13' of water.

The ice was very good in the morning. It was one of those freak February days in central SD when the weather was beautiful and the temp was pushing 65 degrees in the early afternoon. While it didn't really lose any thickness, it did lose strength, something that's very hard to judge standing on it.

I was able to pull him out, and luckily, it was warm enough out to where he wasn't frozen by the time we made it back to the truck. The good news is that we both made it off safely. 

It was a real eye opener for me, I've ice fished as a religion for 20+ years, and never have I seen ice conditions deteriorate that quickly. Be safe out there, fellas.

It was a fun day on the ice until then. Caught a pile of eater walleyes and saugers, and also iced a smaller Chinook salmon (about 20") that put up a nice fight. (yes we have them in SD too  )

[StrikeMojo]

Lake Oahe?  Look like good eats, and I am glad you got your bud rescued and home safe.

[bowhunter68]

All good info for sure ive been through twice back east and luckily still here. In December a co-worker Gene Andrews went through in Oregon and drowned again a guy that spent the last 40+ years ice fishing...i think a good point to be had here is guess what it can happen to anyone anytime anywhere. A few weeks ago the big pressure crack around the corner from the boat launch almost took my wheeler and trailer and could have gotten really ugly...ive crossed pressure cracks for 30 + years the same way and 2 weeks ago it was different. Good read and agree with all above be safe make sure you go home your family and friends are counting on it.

[Idahogator]

Stay safe.

A reminder from Wyoming.     

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