whats your strangest experience on the ice?

[weneric]

i dont know how to post a link. maybe someone can go to ice shanty maine,  and this topic is on today. there is a link for new york stories, that are pretty cool. maybe someone can post the link?

[eiderz]

Here ya go.

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=312363.msg3280298#msg3280298

Curious though, why not post a story of your own here?

[weneric]

ok, heres one. many years ago my friend and i were in maine. 10 degrees. nightime. i lost control of my truck and we plunged down a hill right onto the ice on mattagamon lake. we dug a trench in the snow and crawled onto our sleeping bags. for three days we tried to get off the ice by putting limbs under the tires. couldnt do it. a ranger on a snowmobile happened upon us and got a tow truck out there. the guy winched us up the hill, and didnt even charge us.

[eiderz]

Good story about the old days weneric, people helping people.

Everybody who's icefished for a few years has been caught in a thunderstorm, pretty scary watching the lightning all around. I try to run for it when possible, but sometimes there's nowhere to go. Last year I was a mile from the launch, in a machine, but it came up unexpectedly and I had to hunker down and hope.

The best was three years ago tomorrow, it was a Saturday and I was on Oneida Lake in upstate NY. I had walked out 1.5 miles, no machine that year because the ice was iffy. I had a popup and a jet sled and was set up to jig, with electronics in the shanty. Oneida is in the Lake Ontario snow band so most days you can expect to get at least a dusting. I think it was early-mid afternoon, I'm walking around BSing with the neighbors and I see a big dark cloud coming out of the NW, towards Ontario. Figured there's gonna be some snow, nothing to worry about. I'm fishing in a shanty town of maybe 30 other parties within  200 yards or so.

As the cloud gets closer, all of a sudden the wind changes direction and whips up to 30+mph...almost turns the shanty inside-out. Graupel starts to fall and I hear guys screaming. Before I can figure out what the yelling is about, I hear a strange crackling and buzzing. It's takes a second before I realize it's electricity so I dive into the shanty...not that it provides much protection, but any port in a storm. There's no lightning that I saw, but the shanty had a blue glow and electricity was crackling from my hat to the shanty and electronics. It lasted maybe 30 seconds but it got the old heart beating pretty good. The only other place I've seen something similar is offshore tuna fishing, the St. Elmos Fire in the outriggers and antennas.

There was discussion of it for a week afterward, several hundred people were on the lake and experienced it, a couple of guys swore they were done for the year. Claims were made that the local stores were sold out of bleach that night. Every year when I see friends up there we talk about it. Scary baby, scary.

[weneric]

wow, very scary.   oh, on another note, that was your dad with me, on mattagamon lake, abouch77

[weneric]

nobody in connecticut has any good stories? come on/. lets have some fun.

[Blowin Holes]

the other day my cousin and I were tending to a flag, we looked back at base camp and his jiggin pole was bobbing up and down. He ran to it and jumped to grab it but it was too late. It bobbed up one last time and then got sucked down the hole. I laughed my butt off. Just like the GREEN HORNET!   

[NewGuy123]

Nothing surprisingly strange
the ocational dead silence out of no where
no birds  no ice  talking  no wind   just dead silence and no car noise surprisingly

early ice this season was out walking after sunset along side a lake ( not fishing)   in pretty much pitch black
suddenly heard an enormous crash  and a bunch of cracking  and splashing, looked around   couldn't see much.
No cries  for help or anything   but  a few minutes of solid thrashing  and splashing
went back a few days later  and the ice was all  sorts of messed up on the far side of the lake in maybe 15 square feet, all smashed clear through (well it had been it was refrozen at this point )

nothing that strange  but then again  im still young
im sure  a few years from now i will have some more stories

[weneric]

not strange? sounds like a deer made a mistake.

[NewGuy123]

thats  what i assumed 
still gave me a jump  in the pitch dark

[saxmatt]

I've seen lots of strange things on the ice, but seeing PikemanEd jig up an otter takes the cake.

[weneric]

heres another one. one year,   1974, i went to winchester lake the day after christmas. i spent five days there hunting and ice fishing for food. no tent, no matches. built a lean to with pine bows, and started my fire with flint and steel. i woke up one morning with a red fox six inches from my face. even after opening my eyes, he kept looking at me and smelling me. he ran when i reached for my revolver. closest ive ever been to a fox.  what a cool trip.

[THE JIGGER]

I use to fish for smelts in Great Bay Greenfield NH.
 One night I got to my Bob house opened the door to a small seal sitting on the floor. .
He went down the hole jnto  the water immediately.

[tunaking]

If you could have killed that seal we would still have smelts now!! Do you remember the night on the Lamprey River when the guy stepped in an old hole from when someone had moved a house and went under? The current took him down tide and he popped up in the next bob house which was only about five or ten yards away. Good thing the guys were fishing it and had the hole open and the lantern going or it would have been the end for him. It sure did scare the crap out of them when his head came up through the hole. 

[THE JIGGER]

If you could have killed that seal we would still have smelts now!! Do you remember the night on the Lamprey River when the guy stepped in an old hole from when someone had moved a house and went under? The current took him down tide and he popped up in the next bob house which was only about five or ten yards away. Good thing the guys were fishing it and had the hole open and the lantern going or it would have been the end for him. It sure did scare the crap out of them when his head came up through the hole.

YA he was one lucky guy.
 Somebody got 16 crappie at my pond yesterday.

[livetoicefish90]

I had a strange ice fishing weekend 3 years ago I'll never forget! 4 different strange/weird things happened. First I was at Putnam pond and after fishing for about 2 hours I decided to take a walk around the pond, I saw these animal track and decided to follow them. After about 30 yards they got close to the shore and jumped onto land. I was wondering why they didn't keep walk but I found out the hard way because I kept walking and feel through about 2 ft away from shore. What was strange was there was no water it was just an ice pocket I guess but still gave me a scare. The next strange thing happened that same day same pond I was jig and went to clean my hole with my scoop and I dropped it!! I put a bigger jog on with a bigger hook trying to snag it and when I hooked something I thought I got it but what it ended up being was a different scoop someone else must have dropped. I was completely shocked but somewhat happy bc that scoop was better than mine! The next day things got even stranger, I went to lillinoah to do some jigging and was having a great day and decided to keep a few to bring home for dinner. I had them in a bucket inside my tent. I had to use the bathroom so I went into the woods and when I came back to my tent 3 fricken seagals or waters bird whatever they were ate the entire bucket of perch I had!!! This last one I thought was the strangest but I had a pole with a minnow on right ended the ice and left it there so if a fish was just under the ice he could grab it, well out of my window in my tent I see the pole bouncing but not bouncing down it was bouncing up. I get out the tent and look up and a bird has my Minnie and hook in its mouth!!!! I had to reel it in and get the bird to calm down so I can get the hook out!! Might be my best catch ever tho!

[pikemanEd]

I've had a few strange things happen a few years ago in goshen I was fishing with my friend for wallys in Tyler in January it was about 60 out that day and we had a great day with bass right after sunset a t-storm came in with cloud to ground lighting and being the highest thing in the pop up was really scary then it was about 10 buy the time sunrise came and blowing 50-60. The most strange thing is definitely the otter I got on the jig rod best fight I ever had on the stick I thought it was a state record size bass or something it was really crazy when the face of that otter came up  the hole we couldn't believe what we were seeing. Thanks go to saxmatt for posting the pic

[mattshoes]

Strangest thing i have seen happened last year.  Was fishing West Hill pond with my girlfriend.  Group next to us (father and 2 boys) went to check one of their flags that had gone up.  They pulled the trap from the hole, grabbed the line and set the hook.  Out came a lot of rope with an anchor attached.

[lowaccord66]

Weeks ago I watched a small plane almost hit the group across from me at Sacandaga...it went on to almost collide with some trees, eventually clearing them and flying out of sight.  Pilot must have had a few. 

I spoke to the group that almost got hit...regulars at the Sac...they had never seen anything like it and were pretty shook up.

[weneric]

this is great. you guys are too cool. these stories are much better than those from maine and new york. hopefully, more of our members will participate. thanks, everyone

[fishermantim]

Gee, my ice fishing is boring by comparison.

(Now my surf casting stories are another thing....)

1) 10'+ draught from cargo freighter that ran along a jetty instead of coming straight in from the ship's wake.
Thank GOD for floating waders!

2) 45"+ striper "porpoising" 10 feet in front of me...and came back at the end of my line!

3) This past fall seeing what I can only explain as an "apparition" walking along the same jetty, and suddenly disappearing in the blink of an eye.

[egriffin70]

Fishing on Muscoot resivoir over the line in Westchester, well known for rowdy Russian anglers from Queens.  Anyway it was like 15 deg out and these guys were smashed drinking vodka walking around in tshirts like they were in Siberia drilling holes and jigging, and drinking.  Well that went south,  big fight started in the group of 20 and guys brawling in the snow and ice., someone called NYC DEP police (watershed police) and they stayed on shore waiting for State police backup and town cop, ENCON ect to go out and arrest guys.  One guy was passed out with a jig pole in his hand, guys running away it was a Siberian prison break.   Vodka and jigging will do that, they have a different style of fishing in Mother Russia.. What sucks was the perch bite was on fire before they cleared the ice..     

[lowaccord66]

Gee, my ice fishing is boring by comparison.

(Now my surf casting stories are another thing....)

1) 10'+ draught from cargo freighter that ran along a jetty instead of coming straight in from the ship's wake.
Thank GOD for floating waders!

2) 45"+ striper "porpoising" 10 feet in front of me...and came back at the end of my line!

3) This past fall seeing what I can only explain as an "apparition" walking along the same jetty, and suddenly disappearing in the blink of an eye.

I was going to say the same until I recalled the plane thing.  My surfcasting stories are endless....giant deer chasing me, big bluefin tuna jumping in front of me at the canal...all sorts of odd stuff. 

[weneric]

bring it on/././.  great stories are great stories. this is so interesting, and you probably have more to add than the rest of us. im having a ball reading these.

[PerchFace]

Fishing on Muscoot resivoir over the line in Westchester, well known for rowdy Russian anglers from Queens.  Anyway it was like 15 deg out and these guys were smashed drinking vodka walking around in tshirts like they were in Siberia drilling holes and jigging, and drinking.  Well that went south,  big fight started in the group of 20 and guys brawling in the snow and ice., someone called NYC DEP police (watershed police) and they stayed on shore waiting for State police backup and town cop, ENCON ect to go out and arrest guys.  One guy was passed out with a jig pole in his hand, guys running away it was a Siberian prison break.   Vodka and jigging will do that, they have a different style of fishing in Mother Russia.. What sucks was the perch bite was on fire before they cleared the ice..   

wow that must have been a sight to see

[lowaccord66]

wow that must have been a sight to see

Dancing drunk russians can be see frequently at a spot I pike fish in mass.  Sometimes they fight but never heard of something like that.  Priceless.

[NorthEastFisherman]

I've really got no stories for the ice. As for open water fishing a strange story I remember was when I was wading in a river near home fishing for trout with two friends. theyre both on shore and I'm in the water casting when all of a sudden I look to my left and I see this massive beaver heading straight towards me. I freaked jumped out of the water and it changed directions to follow me a little until I got on shore and then he turned and swam upstream like nothing happened haha. I've had other things like hooking anchors and other fishing lines.

[NewGuy123]

massive beaver heading straight towards me.

one of my favorite fishing spots is   this stream run off of a lake .
a little ways  down the stream there is a deep pool  then it goes back into another stream
was standing and fishing right at the mouth of the exit stream  and i saw a beaver swimming around kept fishing
eventually noticed him heading streight for me.  would have  got out of the way  but you kind of have  to scramble  up the bank there   and  try to not end up in the thorns.  so i poked him with my rod  and he swam off .
didnt think anything of it  but a few minutes later  he was headed right twords me.
did the same thing again  but this time  he made a small circle   and  came right back at me
pushed it away with my foot  an GTFO

[52isntbigenough]

Two springs ago we still had ice on the lake for the Walleye/Northern opener, so I jigged and tip-up fished. As I was jigging in my chair the tip-up I had 25 yards in front of me came sky rocketing out of the hole with an Otter right behind it. Dude flopped around on the ice for a bit then jumped back down the hole.

[PerchFace]

I've really got no stories for the ice. As for open water fishing a strange story I remember was when I was wading in a river near home fishing for trout with two friends. theyre both on shore and I'm in the water casting when all of a sudden I look to my left and I see this massive beaver heading straight towards me. I freaked jumped out of the water and it changed directions to follow me a little until I got on shore and then he turned and swam upstream like nothing happened haha. I've had other things like hooking anchors and other fishing lines.

I had a beaver chase me once but this is a family site.....

on a side note I saw three guys on the ice today. came over and were really nice. one guy was dressed to the gills and the other two had sweatshirtS and sneakers on. don't know how they survived