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.
