James RickardDoing the hard water thing
February 1st 2009 20:13
Safety is one of the most important aspects of a successful day on the ice.
One of the chief things you DON'T want to do if you're new to ice fishing is try it on a river. That was really driven home to me in the accompanying photograph.
This is a picture of the river I fish in the summer and it's a good example of how dangerous ice on rivers can be. Despite the fact that we had many days of below freezing temperatures and I took this picture fairly early in the day, you can see there's not a lot of ice to be had. In fact, there was more ice the previous day. This picture was taken right before a warm front entered the area but, although I got there before the warm air, I'd say we had already lost about 20 feet of ice on both sides of the river.
River ice is never desirable because it's very unpredictable. It may be thick in one area and dangerously thin just a few feet away. One reason for this is the fact there's a flowing stream right under the ice.
Ice anglers are further out of luck simply because river fishing isn't that great during winter. In lakes, reservoirs, or ponds, fish go deeper to escape the cold and anglers just add a bit of line to their lure in order to get deep enough to catch something. In rivers, fish have the luxury of moving to warmer areas such as dams and power station discharges. After temperatures cool down, fish may not be where you thought they could be found.
Remember--there is no such thing as "safe" ice! Always consider 4" or 10 cm. a minimum for ice fishing. By that I mean good ice! Good ice is solid without bubbles, cracks, or ice that has undergone freeze, thaw cycles. If you plan on using a vehicle or fish in large groups you'd better think of even thicker ice.
You should also avoid ice around piers or docks, bridges, trees or other structure that may hold heat.
Remember these suggestions and you may have a happy story to tell the gang at work.
Remember these suggestions and you may have a happy story to tell the gang at work.
Until next time--watch your line and watch yourself!
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