Geezle
03-04-2011, 07:12 AM
Well, yesterday I decided to do a little exploring out on Wab. I wanted to check out the South side since I never see anybody fishing over there, but there have to be fish over there!
I'm not 100% sure about where I can drive on to the lake on the South side so I just went on at the boat launch in town and cut across the lake. Started out in 2wd and all was well, though I was bogging down a little when I'd hit a snow drift, so I eventually put it into 4wd. By the time I got to the South side the snow was definitely deeper, and I had to get going a little faster to keep my momentum.
And then it happened.
I hit a big snow drift and felt myself slow down a little...then I felt the Jeep sink and that was it. I'd hit a patch of flood ice and broke through it.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_141900.jpg
I freaked out a little at first, but soon calmed down, resigned myself to my fate, and started digging. It's times like this that I appreciate having a good shovel and not one of those stupid little 'emergency' things. I also carry a big ice chipper kind of thing that got a lot of use in the clearing process.
After about an hour when I realized I was still going to be there for a while I figured to myself "might as well make the most of it" so I got the auger out and popped a hole just off to the side of where I was stuck and set my tip-up up. I managed to pull in two fish during the dig, which brightened my day a bit :)
The first one looked like it's eye was messed up by a hook coming from the inside at soem point in time. The pic doesn't show it well, but I could see the 'slice' where it went through, and the eye was kind of sunken in. It also had some blackish spots on its belly.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_140800.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_140801.jpg
After being out there for a total of about 3 hours (with a couple breaks to catch fish!) I finally managed to get myself out. I've gotta say I was quite relieved
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_131800.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_142700.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_142600.jpg
So I packed up my stuff and was going to try a spot I'd passed before I got stuck. Once I got there I hopped out of the Jeep and instantly the ice made a LOT of noise. On one hand I'm SURE that the ice is plenty thick out there, but after the experience I'd just had the cracking gave me the heebie-jeebies so I hopped back in the Jeep and booked it back to a spot that I'm more familiar with! :scared0018: I set up there and finished my day comfortably catching a few more pike in my nice warm tent.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_161900.jpg
So the moral of the story is be careful when you're out there alone. Make sure you're geared up so that if something does happen you're prepared to deal with it. The only things I really needed for this endeavor were the shovel, ice chipper, and I used the rubber mat I use for my tent floor to get a little extra traction. Had worse come to worse I probably could have spent a night or two on the ice and been fine. I had my tent and heater, Coleman lantern and extra fuel, blankets, flashlight, extra warm clothes, as well as some food and water and my cell phone and charger. I also always make sure I'm starting with a full tank of gas when I head out there.
Though this experience won't scare me away from my solo trips, it's definitely taught me a bit of a lesson and given me something to think about.
I'm not 100% sure about where I can drive on to the lake on the South side so I just went on at the boat launch in town and cut across the lake. Started out in 2wd and all was well, though I was bogging down a little when I'd hit a snow drift, so I eventually put it into 4wd. By the time I got to the South side the snow was definitely deeper, and I had to get going a little faster to keep my momentum.
And then it happened.
I hit a big snow drift and felt myself slow down a little...then I felt the Jeep sink and that was it. I'd hit a patch of flood ice and broke through it.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_141900.jpg
I freaked out a little at first, but soon calmed down, resigned myself to my fate, and started digging. It's times like this that I appreciate having a good shovel and not one of those stupid little 'emergency' things. I also carry a big ice chipper kind of thing that got a lot of use in the clearing process.
After about an hour when I realized I was still going to be there for a while I figured to myself "might as well make the most of it" so I got the auger out and popped a hole just off to the side of where I was stuck and set my tip-up up. I managed to pull in two fish during the dig, which brightened my day a bit :)
The first one looked like it's eye was messed up by a hook coming from the inside at soem point in time. The pic doesn't show it well, but I could see the 'slice' where it went through, and the eye was kind of sunken in. It also had some blackish spots on its belly.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_140800.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_140801.jpg
After being out there for a total of about 3 hours (with a couple breaks to catch fish!) I finally managed to get myself out. I've gotta say I was quite relieved
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_131800.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_142700.jpg
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_142600.jpg
So I packed up my stuff and was going to try a spot I'd passed before I got stuck. Once I got there I hopped out of the Jeep and instantly the ice made a LOT of noise. On one hand I'm SURE that the ice is plenty thick out there, but after the experience I'd just had the cracking gave me the heebie-jeebies so I hopped back in the Jeep and booked it back to a spot that I'm more familiar with! :scared0018: I set up there and finished my day comfortably catching a few more pike in my nice warm tent.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii181/GeezleHerps/030311_161900.jpg
So the moral of the story is be careful when you're out there alone. Make sure you're geared up so that if something does happen you're prepared to deal with it. The only things I really needed for this endeavor were the shovel, ice chipper, and I used the rubber mat I use for my tent floor to get a little extra traction. Had worse come to worse I probably could have spent a night or two on the ice and been fine. I had my tent and heater, Coleman lantern and extra fuel, blankets, flashlight, extra warm clothes, as well as some food and water and my cell phone and charger. I also always make sure I'm starting with a full tank of gas when I head out there.
Though this experience won't scare me away from my solo trips, it's definitely taught me a bit of a lesson and given me something to think about.