Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Walking on water.....the basics.

So, the coldest winter in recent memory has caused your pond to freeze over, and you're itching to try that ice fishing thing that the guys up north are constantly going on about, eh? But you're not sure where to begin, or how to go about it?

In my opinion, ice fishing begins and ends with safety. Make no mistake, people die every year on the ice. And while tragic accidents can and do happen, sometimes misfortune is due to improper planning, or carelessness on the part of an excited and overeager fisherman.

Question number one is usually "How safe is the ice?" Notice I didn't ask how thick it is......thickness does not always equate to safe. Unfortunately, thickness is easily visualized by most people, and has become the standard by which ice safety is judged. Savvy ice anglers know better, however.

Nevertheless, I'll begin with thickness as our starting point. And the first rule in my book is to always check it for yourself. If the 10" Bluegills your BIL is constantly claiming to catch always seem to stop at 8" when you put the tape to them, do you want to take his word for it that there is indeed 5" of ice on the pond??

I wouldn't either. Measure it yourself.

There are published, rule-of-thumb guidelines to follow regarding ice thickness and safety. Generally, 4" of clear ice is regarded as the minimum for safe ice fishing:



Be aware however, that all ice is not created equal. What you want to see, is clear, non-milky ice. Sometimes called black ice, as the water underneath can make it appear dark as night. Four inches of milky ice might hold you up, then again it might not. Don't take the chance, wait for better ice.

I drilled this hole earlier this afternoon. How much ice is there?


This much:



Seven inches total, with 4.5" of good, black ice, and another 2.5" of junk, milky ice on top. This is quite adequate to fish on, provided it stays cold and doesn't melt and refreeze, which can lead to additional weak ice. Also, be aware that ice thickness is not a constant....springs, aeration, gas bubbles from the bottom caused by decay, and waterfowl are some things that can keep the water open, or worse yet, weaken the ice cover from underneath. You can see open water, you may not see a thin spot.

Which is why I recommend traveling with a spud bar, especially during early and late ice when conditions tend to be more unpredictable. A spud is nothing more than a heavy bar, with a sharpened point or chisel edge on the end. When venturing onto the BOW, an angler will strike the surface just in front of his/her intended path, to gauge the safety of the ice. Learning your spud bar, and how many blows it takes to penetrate the ice at varying thicknesses will tell you much about the integrity of where you intend to walk.

I may not use mine everytime I go, especially if the weather conditions have been favorable and I'm on an area where I've been fishing very recently, but I usually bring it along anyway. It doesn't add that much extra weight, or take up that much room in the sled. And it works great for re-opening existing holes that have frozen shut.

I will try to touch on clothing and accessories next time, but if anyone has additional input, advice, or criticism, I would certainly like to hear from them.

Thanks Sprkplug! That was very informative. I have some northern relatives (Canadians) that do the hard water thing, but I have never tried it. The pictures some of these guys are putting up make me want to though. Will be waiting for your next installment.

CMM

Good job Sprkplug! I too look forward to you next installment!

Good job Tony! Keep going.

I'd like to expound on one thing. What may be safe ice today may not be safe ice 2 days from now, or even tomorrow.

Case in point. My buddy has a pond that mysteriously has water coming into it from somewhere, yet it never really drops more than a couple of inches. Even in the drought 2 years ago, his pond dropped 6"-8" while most ponds dropped 3'-5' or more.

O.K. He just had rotator cuff surgery (This happened a few years ago). He was itching to go ice fishing, and cut a hole in the ice with his spud bar. 4"-5" of ice he says. Fishing was good, but cutting holes was hard for a one armed man. No problem I say, I'll be over tomorrow evening and drill a bunch of holes for you with my Laser hand auger. You can re-open them up easily then.

I get to his place after dark. His wife and kids are at the movies. We're not fishing, just going to cut a few holes. No ice gear at all, just him and me after dark with my auger. We walk out to the deep hole, about 12' of water, maybe 40' from shore. Maybe 2" of snow on the ice. I place the auger on the ice and start to turn the handle. After less than 3 turns the auger goes thru. We scatter like a covey of quail in different directions, but definately towards shore. What happened? We really don't know. Did he mis-measure? Did some ice melt due to currents in his pond? All I know is that we would have been screwed if we went thru. Him with one arm, both of us without any safety gear, at night, and nobody knew we were out there.....

Awesome post. I was too afraid to go on our ice.

Could you also talk about how to get out of the water should the unspeakable happen and you fall through, please?

Thanks for the thread Tony!!!

Being new to pond ownership and safety this thread means a lot...I have 2 little boys and we all know how boys can be.. We have been going over and over about safety around the pond, be it frozen or not... With the winters we have had the last several years I said we would never go on the ice.. Well, pretty hard not to this year, we might never see this kind of ice again..

I have been checking the ice religiously and learning every time... It still an eerie feeling to hear it sing!!!

Good ideas, clothing can wait....more info on safety, rescue, and self-extraction tomorrow.

Thanks Tony. Keep em' coming.

Good stuff Tony. We hear horror stories every year. Just last year, a local kid who I’ve fished with a few times was on a popular lake in the area. Every body of water had solid ice on it, he had no concerns. Except there was this one location on this one lake that had current from a very active spring. He went through and were it not for a fallen tree sticking off the bottom to catch him through the ice, he would have completely submerged. He wouldn’t have made it.

I recall another story, can’t remember who told me, about a small pond that had a creek feeding it and large steep hills. The person telling the story explained that the plan was to fish the warmer day after a cold one. Bitter cold day would solidify the ice and the warmer temps the next day would make the time on the ice more pleasant. There was a lot of snow on these steep banks. Temps rose to well above 40 degrees as he fished throughout the day. What happened underneath the ice while he fished was that snow on the banks of this pond was melting and basically eating at the underside of the ice. This angler fell through on his way back to shore. Actually a few times if I recall, managed to catch himself each time, but obviously very cold and wet by the time he made it to shore.

I fell through the ice when I was a kid. I was by myself on the other side of our property, possibly a mile from the house. I was only wet from the waist down, but it was enough to make the long walk a dangerous one. I was very scared and could barely use my legs by the time I got to the house.

Also, something many of you might be able to relate to, is dogs on the ice. They don’t know any better. If the ice is questionable, don’t risk it. Leave them home or in the truck.

Good advice Omaha. I had to rescue one of my dogs once when ice out was occuring, we were going for a walk and she wandered out on to the ice shelf and went through and couldn't get back up on the ice. Many years ago my folks also had one of their dogs drown in shallow water where the heat pump from the house discharged water into their pond, no one saw her go in the water. We think she walked out onto the the ice near the dock to get a drink, went in and then couldn't get back out.

There is a video link I posted here several years ago that was made in Canada by a professor that is outstanding regarding ice safety, what to do if you go in, how long you will last in ice water etc. Can anyone locate it? I don't have much luck with the search engine on this website but I'm sure it's just me.

Anyway, he purposely goes through a hole in the ice with an EMS vehicle standing by for the moment he gets too weak to hang on to the edge of the ice. If I remember right he shows the best way to get out of the water, which is to roll out on your back onto the ice vs. trying to lift your way out. I can tell you personally it really works!

If we can't find it I may be able to find the link by asking around on iceshanty.com.

Just one more point: even though Tony is stressing safety, you could get the impression that ice is something you want to totally avoid. If you feel that way I think you would be mssing out on a form of fishing that can be really rewarding. When you've got good solid ice on a body of water at least 4 inches thick, and you tested it with your spud the only thing I know of that is more solid is steel. And don't forget it's also floating like a floating pier.

Scott (Esshup) nearly lost at least one of his dogs on the ice of his ponds a few years back.

Cecil,

Is this the video?..

That's it!

Thanks!

I used this rare cold weather to walk out on my pond and place some structure to sink when the warm weather returns. It is very rare in my part of VA to have safe ice to walk on. Not this winter!

Any structure I put on the ice here today would blow away no matter how well you anchored it down!

Okay....... you've tested the ice and deemed it acceptable, and you're ready to head out for a day of wintertime fishing. But what if the unthinkable happens, and you, or someone you're with goes through? What do you need to know, and what should you take with you safety wise, whenever you hit the hardwater?

Before going any further, I should confess a thing or two. Number one, I've never gone through the ice. I have no experience at surviving the event personally, nor have I ever found myself in the situation of having to rescue someone in the water. What I relate here is only what I was taught some years ago. Things change....what was once considered acceptable may, for whatever reason, no longer be recommended. If anyone has information that contradicts what I relate here, PLEASE, please speak up. We'll all learn something, and be better off for having done so.

Number two...When it comes to ensuring that ice fishing is as safe as possible, the most often quoted rule is to never fish alone. Always take a buddy. I consider that to be excellent advice, and always advocate doing so. But, truth be told, I'm on the ice alone 95% of the time. It's not a good idea, and I don't do it because I think I'm somehow immune to trouble, nor do I consider myself overconfident. It's just a matter of logistics.....in my area, safe ice might only last a few days, or it may never materialize at all. When the ice is ready, the angler must be also. There's seldom time to plan, or try and find someone to fish with. Especially when you are the only person you know who icefishes.

So bear all of that in mind.

Alright, back to fishing. There are a few items that I would consider essential, from a safety standpoint. At the top of my list is a set of picks. These are simply two short handles, each with a sharpened point protruding about an inch or so, connected by a strong cord. They’re usually worn around the neck, where they can be accessed quickly and easily. The idea behind them says if you go in, you may find it difficult to get a good enough purchase on the slick ice to allow you to pull yourself out. By jabbing the picks into the ice, you can get some “bite”.

Many picks are homemade, and consist of nothing more than two short pieces of wooden broom handles, with nails pounded in, heads removed, and sharpened to a point. That works fine.

Here’s a shot of mine. The cord is a style that you might find connecting a telephone handset. It’s flexible, stretches out to a fair length, and retracts when worn around the neck. The points are offset in the handles, which allows them to “nest” together…no loose picks flopping around every time you move, and they stay put around your neck.



Staying afloat…..should you wear a PFD? Probably. I know they can be bulky, and I’ve been guilty of not wearing mine for that exact reason, more than once. But anything that helps you remain afloat, possibly after losing consciousness, can only work in your favor. Also, some of the dedicated clothing or extreme weather suits worn by today’s ice anglers have flotation abilities. And, these suits make getting out and back up onto the ice much easier by virtue of floating your entire body horizontally, rather than vertically like a PFD would. I’ve heard it said that you can literally swim your way back onto solid ice while wearing one of these. A worthwhile investment.

Carry some rope along with you, or consider making up a rescue pail. I take a five gallon bucket, and tie one end of some stout rope (50 ft), to the bail, or handle. (Actually I secure it with a spring clip for quicker removal). I coil the rope up inside the bucket as neatly as possible, and when I reach the other end of the rope I tie on a 16” length of wooden broomstick, or sturdy dowel.

If someone goes in, you slide or toss the bucket to them…..complex finger movements and cold water don’t work well together for very long, so it might be easier for them to just grab onto the bucket in a bear hug while you help pull them out. What’s the broomstick for? That’s your anchor…..many times there’s simply nothing to brace against for leverage on a slippery surface, so you shove the stick down an ice fishing hole, and turn it sideways under the ice. Now the guy in the water has something to pull against, if he or she is able. You can also use this while fishing solo…..just unhook the bucket, clip the rope onto your clothing, and drill a hole for the anchor. That way the rope goes where you go, and if you fall through you’ve got another avenue for escape.



So you went in solo with no rope….how do you get out? I was always taught never to press against the ice at the edge of the hole with my palms. It’s liable to continue breaking, and dunking you repeatedly. Better to try and swim your way out. Kick your legs, and support your upper body with as much arm length on the ice as you can. You want to try and come out horizontally, with a rolling motion. I’ve also heard some tell of coming out on their backs while kicking/swimming.

Once out, do not stand up, but slide on your stomach or even roll, IN THE DIRECTION FROM WHICH YOU CAME. This is not the time to blaze a new trail. Doing so may cause you to break through once again. Stick with the known, safe path. Once on safe ice, you should stand and continue on towards shore as quickly and safely as you can. Your next objective upon reaching the shore is to get out of the wet clothes as fast as possible. If you were fishing the pond in your backyard, then dry clothes are close at hand, but If you intend to fish a remote area you should bring a change of clothes with you every time you head out.

Carry a cell phone….. and, especially if you fish alone, use it! Let someone know when and where you intend to be, and most importantly, what time you will return. Then make sure you’re back at that time! Don’t cause anxiety back at home just because you got on a hot bite and lost track of time. I will usually call or text my wife at regular intervals, not because I have to, but because I don’t want her to worry. If I haven’t called, that’s an indicator that she might want to come check on me. And I appreciate that!

Cleats for your boots. A fall on the ice is no laughing matter, especially when handling a razor sharp ice auger. Make sure of your footing….get a good set and wear them. I will try and remember to touch more on this when I discuss clothing.

Anyway, that’s my take on ice safety. Please feel free to correct anything you may not agree with, and don’t hesitate to share your own thoughts, ideas, or procedures.

Worst case scenario, if alone and you can't get out of the hole, lay your arms out onto the ice. They will freeze and keep you on the surface if you do happen to pass out.

That is if it's cold enough. Might not happen on late ice.

Tony well done - this is a very thorough summary with great life saving information. I also only take real precautions when fishing new water or very early/late season ice. I too often am fishing solo, but will always have my picks on those occasions.

I've also read it's important to wait a bit after one falls in to compose themselves. Panic sets in and one doesn't think clearly and often exacerbates the situation. I don't if I could actually calm myself after falling thru - but thought it interesting bit to add to your notes.

Agree - if you have no tools at all you must get yourself as horizontal as possible and kick like crazy to get your torso on the ice so you can roll up and out.

Hope no one ever has to use these methods. Late ice season coming - lots of honeycomb and cloudy ice makes it difficult to determine thickness and quality. Please be careful!

With todays sharp augers, if you are walking on the ice, always place the cover back on the auger. No reason to fall, have the auger go flying up in the air only to come back down on you, cutting you like a razor would.

Re: Bucket. Make sure the bucket is newer, and the handle is strong. I've had older buckets that were brittle and crack when pressure is put to them.

Tony, I'm guilty as charged for doing all the wrong things at least once, and actually more times than I care to admit. I've been thru the ice 3x, but each time was while trapping. Twice up to the waist, once swimming.

Same picks as I have, except my cord is the same color as the pics and mine aren't quite as rusty.

Never had that problem myself TJ. I'm one of those guys that doesn't realize how bad a situation he is in until it's over. It's called being dumb I guess.

Been hit by cars twice as a pedestrian, flipped a vehicle over and climbed out the front windshield, have gone through the ice twice, had a rifle bullet wizz by my head, and fell 20 feet down a ladder on my head, and after each event I thought, "gee that could have ended badly!"

Cecil - by my count that's 7 down, 2 to go....use them wisely and sparingly!

I've been completely under 3 times and up to the waist or armpits a few more. Don't panic- put your arms out on the ice in the direction you came from, kick your legs and pull yourself with your arms- when your knees clear the hole ROLL back away. Every instance of going through could have been avoided by poking ahead with a spud (or even a piece of metal conduit- it doesn't take much) If you have springs or a lot of organic material on the bottom of your pond (that release gas bubbles that "drill" their way up through the ice weakening it) I wouldn't allow kids on it. I was in pretty good shape each time I got out- as I get older, I'm not sure I could do it as easily... but fortunately, I've smartened up & spud ahead so it's unlikely I'll find out!

Clothing....obviously, warm and dry. I fished for many years wearing insulated coveralls, and most of the time they worked fine. Where they came up short however, was when it rained. Which happens more frequently than you might think when you're on the ice. I fished in the rain while ice fishing today, matter-of-fact.

So, a few years ago I purchased an extreme weather suit, designed for just this kind of thing. It consists of an insulated set of bibs, along with heavy, insulated jacket with hood. I won't say that is essential for ice fishing, but having used it for some time now, I would hate to go back to the coveralls. I have never been wet, or even cold while wearing it. Plus, it has pockets and compartments galore, AND features padded knees.....you tend to spend a LOT of time kneeling over a hole.....I've had my knees freeze into the ice numerous times, but unlike those old coveralls, these keep me dry while doing it. Few things harder to explain than frostbitten kneecaps.

AND, as I mentioned previously, some of these suits offer flotation capability. Sounding better all the time, eh?

Gloves and boots. I don't care how warm the rest of you may be, if your fingers and toes are cold you will be flat out miserable. You will need an insulated, waterproof boot. Lots of really good choices, but keep in mind that warmth equates to bulk....many popular boots worn while ice fishing are heavy, and some make it durn near impossible to operate a vehicle while wearing them. Not to mention that you will need to fit a pair of cleats OVER them. Keep these things in mind while shopping.

Socks....I don't have much info here, other than to say I wear multiple pairs...cotton underneath, with wool over those.

As far as gloves go, I've almost given up. Ice fishermen need a glove that keeps them warm and dry, while still allowing maximum dexterity.....you try sticking a size 16 hook through a wriggling spike's butt while wearing mittens. It ain't easy.

I've finally settled on a few pairs of plain, wool gloves, in both half finger and full finger configurations. They do a tolerable job of keeping my fingers warm, even when wet, and they allow me the flexibility I need to get the job done.....in most cases.

Remember those cleats I mentioned? Get a good pair. After spending a few days fishing with Alex at the incredible Herman Bros. facilities a few weeks ago, I can say with absolute certainty that a pair of Kahtoola Microspikes will be on my feet next season. Unbelievable.

Headgear. Personally, I prefer to wear an insulated, hooded sweatshirt under my bibs, which provides protection for my ever-increasing bald spot. If it's really cold, or raining, I'll use the hood on the extreme weather jacket also. That does the trick for me, although there are many other choices out there.

If it's cold, say in the single digits, I will sometimes wear thermals under my clothing. That doesn't happen very often however, as it's easy to become too warm and begin sweating, especially when you're moving constantly and cutting lots of new holes. That's bad news.