General Category > Ice Fishing

Playing it Safe

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bobbyb:
Open Discussion so please share your stories. Have you had a scary moment on the ice in past years?
 
Soon we'll be out on Hard Water and I thought I'd start a discussion on Safety and what we have learned from past years expierences.
 
Here are some of my "Must have Items"
 
a) 15 feet of floater rope (I sit on it sledding)
 
b) Home made  (I call them hand ice claws) hand glove grips. I took an old pair of ice cleats and studded them into a pair of work gloves I wear around my waist.
 
c) extra pair of socks/gloves and a few packs of hand and foot warmers.
 
d) handheld walkie talkie - dlip it inside my shirt. Used it once when I was really lost and in a bad way - CB radios can pic up the signal and there are people who leave them on day/nite - really worth the $$
 
e) A little back up dried packaged food - toss it at the end of the season.
 
Seems like a lot of stuff but not really.
 
Here are some of my ice to do rules:
 
Everyday I check my sled over, battery/oil etc much like a trucker checks his rig.
 
a) If I'm checking out a new area and there are no huts, no tracks, no nothing - 90% of the time I'll pass. When I do go I spud my way every 10 feet, especially in an area known for current.
b) If there's slush covering  the ice I do not sled out. I may think about walking out but always aware that there might be open holes left by other fisherpeople.
c) Weather and Winds report for the day
 
If I should break thru; Lot of old timers say "get on your back" and kick yourself over to the edge of the ice - then BACK yourself up onto the ice.
It's been said you create less direct stress by backing out than by using your arms (downward stress on the ice surface with a soaking body weight). Homemade hand cleats to grip a wet ice surface as you can see, just might save your life.
 
Okay I've given you mine. Let's hear more advice and comment,
 
bobby
 
 

Mike S:
excellent post Bobby! never heard of the cleats attached to the glove trick.. any chance of a picture?

trapperdirk:
I have plenty of stories over the years to tell of swimming in loon and moose shit while trapping beaver . Beaver houses if active have thin ice around them and my family jewels have gone into hiding till June their share . LOL
 
I won't venture out on any ice at anytime of the season without a chisel and I only trust myself to let me know it's safe .Tracks and reports can be a very general guideline and nothing I put faith into .
 
I also go on any adventure with the thought in my mind that it will only be by my own resources that will get me home safe . Nothing wrong with some of the new gadgetry such as cell phones etc . but outside help is not anything I stake my life on .
 
In this day an age everyone should have some kind of float gear on . It's cheap and warm in the long run .
 
I'll have to look into my pack but think it has much of what has already been listed along with my picks .
 
TD

bobbyb:
 
Quoting Trapper - "outside help is not anything I stake my life on" - Well said Trapper, and probably one of the most important thought's that should go thru anybody's mind!
 
As far as Floatation Gear - I have a full floatation suit.
 
**Picked up a trick somewhere in my travels - apply a "light" silcone spray to your suit - helps to shed water real fast. I do at the start of fishing, then whenever I feel the dampness coming thru. If we are talking a real expensive suit - test a small area first.
 
bobby

bobbyb:
 
I will post some Pic's of my gloves - as soon as I buy new batteries for my camera.....lol - tonite or tomorrow am.
 
bobby

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