Ice fishing is one of our favorite pastimes, but getting impatient can and will cost you severely.
So you've got all of your ice fishing gear ready: ice shelter, jigs, ice auger, tip-ups, even your fish finder and minnows, but you cannot forget the one most important thing- safety.
Some of us wait for the hard water like we wait for deer season, counting the days and nights until the bite is on and the ice is safe enough to tread on.
The difference being that deer hunting season has specific days to look forward to, and ice fishing does not. It's all about the wait for safe ice, and for some it just seems like too much to bear.
Whether you are fishing for crappie, walleye, panfish, or northern pike, the fact remains that ice fishing can be inherently dangerous until the conditions dictate otherwise. Having your base layers and top-of-the-line outerwear is one thing, but your ice fishing life depends on your own dedication to safety when it comes to the cold water.
For many hard water anglers from Minnesota to New York, ice fishing can depend on a snowmobile, and for some—more importantly—their motor vehicle. You can find a quick review of the safety gear, such as cleats, to take on the ice right here, but the bottom line is generally this: six to eight inches of ice for an ATV or a snowmobile, and at least one-foot or more of thick ice to drive your truck or car on.
Apparently, these folks didn't take that into account when the ice fishing bug got ahold of them:
1. The Walk of Shame (Warning: Graphic language used in the video)
Not all of the ice on a lake is created equal. While it may have behooved the gents taking the video to scramble over there to see if he needed help instead of laughing, the man made it out in time safely, only to be thereby stuck with the walk of shame:
2. The Group Effect
Remember when mom and dad asked if your friend jumped off of a bridge, would you do it too? Well, they never knew that the weight of so many cars and trucks on the ice would multiply exponentially and then have this happen.
3. The Overnight Warm Up
It doesn't take long for ice that was once safe to reverse itself to an unsafe condition, even in winter. A walk out from the shore, especially in an area so close to it, might have averted this situation.
4. The Aftermath
According to the CarInsurance.com website, "The cost can range from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of the vehicle and the depth at which it is sunk."
First off, if you're going through the ice: get out and get away from the vehicle. Your own safety matters more than that new ice auger you just bought.
5. The Very Difficult To Watch (Warning: graphic language used in the video)
While there are two videos of trucks sinking involved here, the first one is the bigger part, and will get you thinking about how lucky this gentlemen is to be alive. Making one big mistake of driving on ice that isn't strong enough is one thing, but going back after something and almost going down with the ship is another.
Let it go!
A frozen lake is not to be messed with. Ice fishermen and women everywhere are much more important than a bucket full of fillets at anytime, and this proves it.
Getting your ice shanty out of mothballs for that long awaited fishing trip to your local lake is what the season is all about.
It's just that the most important thing is to come home safely after a great day of ice fishing!
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