Get ready to ice fish
December 11th 2007 01:48
Ice fishing can be dangerous but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with a little common sense and safety, it’s no more dangerous than swimming in the ocean.
The very first consideration to contend with in ANY winter outdoor activity is staying warm. You may think you’re warm enough and you may even perspire as you walk from your vehicle to the ice but, once you’re there and the wind starts whipping across that ice, things can get pretty frosty!
The biggest thing you have to consider is ice thickness—especially late or early in the season or after freeze-thaw cycles. To be on the safe side, 4” (10 cm.) is suggested for fishing. Sometimes you can get by with less but, this gives you a margin of error. This means strong, solid, dark ice. Avoid ice that has bubbles in it or consider that to be thinner.
If you walk across the ice, it’s imperative that you make constant checks of ice thickness and be aware of the ice in front of you.
Walking on ice can be dangerous even if you don’t go through. For that reason, a pair of creepers or spikes for your boots are recommended. As you walk along, you’ll need to drill a hole every few feet to check the ice thickness. To check the ice in front of you, you’ll need to pound it with some type of ax or similar tool. If it goes through the ice with a single blow, you’re either very strong or the ice is getting WAY too thin!
All this checking my seem like a pain in the neck but ice thickness can vary within a few feet. Currents, schools of fish, underwater structures, vegetation, and wind all contribute to the thickness of ice.
My advice is to dress in several layers and employ any of the miracle insulation available today. If you dress in layers, you can always remove a jacket if you get too warm, I’ve seen guys who are really into hard water fishing employ an ice fishing hut to break the wind and then go so far as to put a small heater in their fishing abode.
Some people like several layers of wool clothing because it retains heat even when wet. I respect this theory but I’ll stick with modern fibers. Wearing wool because it retains heat even when wet recognizes the possibility of going through the ice more than I care to acknowledge.
If you do go through the ice, get out as quickly as possible! Limbs and joints can become too stiff to use in as little as 20 minutes. Rather than flailing at slick ice, it’s a good idea to have a couple of ice picks, screw drivers, or similar implements in easy-to-reach pockets to claw you way out of disaster. An idea that some people employ is to connect two implements with a long piece of string and run the string over their shoulders and then let them dangle from their coat sleeves.
If you see the ice give way under someone, get to them as quickly as possible while exercising caution yourself. The last thing you want is to become a victim also! Rather than standing at the edge of the broken ice, lie down to distribute your weight more evenly over the questionable surface.
Your best bet in this situation is to use a branch, rope, or anything that will allow you to aid the victim from a safe distance. Failing at this, extend your arms and pull them to safety.
Once you get the victim out of the icy water, you’re on the right path but, there is still one more hurdle. You have to be aware of a condition known as “AFTER-DROP.”
After drop is a continual decline of the core temperature as it loses heat to other areas. This drop can increase after rescues because the rescuer often massages the victim’s skin to increase warmth. This causes premature warming of extremities and may result on a sudden influx of cold blood back to the core which can cause a temperature drop that is fatal after a successful rescue.
Here are some items to make any trip on the ice safer—
Warm clothing
Extra blanket
Ice picks
Rope
Seat cushion
Cell phone (if possible)
Warm clothing
Extra blanket
Ice picks
Rope
Seat cushion
Cell phone (if possible)
Here are a couple more precautions the people always pooh-pooh:
Tell someone before you leave for the ice
Never go on the ice without a buddy
Never go on the ice without a buddy
Until next time--watch yourself and watch your line!
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