Worst injury on ice?

[kpd145]

it didn't happen to me but a guy in our group had a stroke and almost died on the ice.

This was over 20yrs ago. He was an old guy at the time but it did catch me off guard. I had fished with him for over a year at that point. Id drag both our sleds so he didn't have to do it.

He passed away peacefully a few years after that. Leo was a kind man with such a wonderful wife and he taught me a lot about ice fishing.

[Ramp 23]

Fell through in 5 FOW & landed on the side of a Boulder . Thought I broke my ankle & crawled out & off the ice . Turned out to be a severe sprain

[Pail Rider]

Had a good 1 yesterday.  Left thumb glove tip got caught in the chuck of my drill somehow.  Started to drill the hole and wound my thumb around the chuck clockwise.  Couldn't release trigger fast enough.  Heard/felt some popping and snapping.  Expected to see my thumb detached when I pulled glove off.  Too my surprise, it was still intact - thumb nail completely black, and I can't bend it for nothing.  Swollen up like a bratwurst.  Amazing how much stuff you need your off hand thumb for 

[FreshwaterPhil]

Think pike tooth in my finger likely the worst I ever had. Wiped out a couple times chasing flags on slick ice, thankfully nothing serious happened.

[Doeslayer]

My worst actual ice i jury was super weird...... I was on saginaw bay solo on foot out if linwood for perch.... Started cutting my first hole an as my broke though i found out why you always check and make sure your auger handle screw is tight.... Bottom comes loose auger spins down and away it goes..... So I grab a tipup with a swedish pimple to fish it out as im only in 7fow.... Finally i hook it by the blade... Took some time i might add... But it came up blade first thats all i had to grab.... Trying to be careful i tried getting the auger through but the hole wansnt cleaned by the auger so the chunks wouldn't let it through.... So i had to yank it.... And sliced my hand wide open.... Caught 13 nice ones that day though lol

[Neil McCauley]

Haven't seen it or had it happen but one of my biggest fears is slipping and landing on an exposed auger blade. I cover that up the second I'm done drilling.
 
My actual worst was on softwater and getting a big 2/0 Rapala XD crankbait hook deep in my thumb.....while still attached to a pissed off 14" SMB. Once I got him off I had to deal with my self and cut the hook out.

[FreshwaterPhil]

OK, yesterday's mishap seems to top my ice injury list. Trout spit the lure at the hole when I was about to land it, rod was loaded. Good thing I have pliers and bolt cutters in my kit.

[maddogg]

If you're in an area even the slightest amount of cell service, ice fishing without your phone is about the stupidest thing you can do.

I guess I should clarify that to--It is possible to fish with out being on your phone.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

Wow, those are definitely a wide variety of injury stories from you guys. I have never had an impact with the ice from slipping and falling bad enough to cause a concussion or broken bone, but I think we have all fallen on the ice.

If you guys will accept hypothermia as a type of injury, then that is the worst injury I have sustained on the ice. For the first 20 years of ice fishing, until my early forties, I fished all day without a shelter or any heaters, except the HOT HANDS. I fished all day, 10 hours or so, several times when it was - 20 F getting on the ice and never got above 10 F for the day. By the middle of the day my face was so numb that I could not speak intelligibly ( HAHA I was not drinking alcohol either ) and had genuinely frost-bitten fingertips. Proof of the frostbite damage ( and not just having cold hands ) was the skin getting hard and pure white and then a week later the skin on my fingertips started peeling off to shed the dead tissue.

[WARRIOR_ON_ICE]

The most serious blood-letting injury I sustained was while lifting a 33" pike through a hole. I do not own a gaff, rather I just slip 3 fingers under their gill plate and lift them out. Well, this pike was not close to done thrashing yet and whipped its head sideways and produced 5 or 6 evenly spaced slices into the tip of my middle finger from the interior of its razor-sharp gill plate. Bled like crazy and took a couple of weeks to heal. I love to tell that war story  and even started a joke that I invented a new style of fishing called " ICE NOODLING "   

[FreshwaterPhil]

The most serious blood-letting injury I sustained was while lifting a 33" pike through a hole. I do not own a gaff, rather I just slip 3 fingers under their gill plate and lift them out. Well, this pike was not close to done thrashing yet and whipped its head sideways and produced 5 or 6 evenly spaced slices into the tip of my middle finger from the interior of its razor-sharp gill plate. Bled like crazy and took a couple of weeks to heal. I love to tell that war story  and even started a joke that I invented a new style of fishing called " ICE NOODLING "   

Thrashing esox + quick strike rids can be disastrous. I use a cut proof glove when targeting them on ice

[Redneck Fishfinder]

When I was a kid I got a new Mora 8" hand auger. The first day I was out with it I was walking with it swinging by my side and it sliced through my foot- like my shoe wasn't even there. That was a lesson learned. I left a trail coming off the ice. I still have that thing.

[Raquettedacker]

Other than a hook in my cold fingers I have been lucky..

[theTUGistheDRUG]

Was up at LG with some buddies 2 years ago and we were out about 3 miles from PK in the middle of the lake one day 1 of 3 day trip.  My one buddy hooked the first laker of the trip and I started running towards him goofily with big exaggerated motions to help pull the 'ducer.  As soon as I was about to jump and slide on the ice to get to the hole, my foot slipped and my hammy popped, sending me sliding towards the ice auger blades.  Luckily I stopped in time, but i could not bend my left leg for next 3-5 days and I still have issues from that injury.

Also took a jigging rap treble to the inside of my finger knuckle losing a short walleye at the hole at Oneida, but luckily I pulled it back out as the shock was still ongoing so it was not as bad as it could have been.   

[skifisher]

Was following a buddy testing new ice with a spud bar. This sent ice chips flying everywhere making the surface slick as snot on the clear as glass ice. I was wearing my driving moccasins, and sure as heck, my feet went out from under me, hitting my head, and rendering me unconscious. I guess I was out for a minute or two, and when I came to, my partner was freaking out wanting to call 911 for emergency services. I told him I was OK, and after about 20 minutes, I felt fine and fished the rest of the day.
(Note to self…ALWAYS wear cleats, especially on new glare ice!)

[bart]

Hyperextended my knee, slipped on the ice. Thought a I made a great safe, not falling. But was off the ice for three weeks.
It looks like a lot of the injuries posted could have been prevented with cleats...
I bought a great pair of cleats, Kahtoola Microspikes, never go on the ice without them!