Quote:
Originally Posted by HuyFishin
I went fishing just yesterday the ice was thinner then recommended standards but I did wear a PFD, brought my ice picks, extra change of clothes and thermal blanket in the car ect. Every time I caught a fishing I brought warm water up on the surface which would melt more. I was definitely prepared to fall in though. To be honest i'm surprised how strong 2.5 inches of ice is. When I arrived there was already a couple guys that were walking around fishing on the lake.
https://youtu.be/486pjEN2A2c
Plan was to not run on the ice but the excitement with a fish on just blows that rule out the window |
**I say this with caring
and am being critically with the best intentions. Not trying to lecture.
It was obvious that all rules were out the window yesterday Huy. You need a hoodie that says "Foolhardy for Fish." Very fortunate you didn't get wet. Count your blessings. We probably would have never known if you would have gotten wet because you wouldn't have made the video.
Nice looking fish by the way. Was a couple little tugs worth the risk?
You might think you are prepared with a life jacket and ice picks. Go out again wearing the same gear over 3 or 4 feet of water. Run and jump up and down until you break through. Bet it won't take much of a jump. You could run to a tip up and slip and fall breaking through from the fall. Video that and then post it. Sort of a 'test your gear' scenario. You could make a video of 'how to take apart your power auger to dry it out after if goes in the lake' too. I say this with sarcasm. I don't want you or your gear getting wet.
I say this because I do care about you HuyFishin. I'm not being an ice policeman. I say this from personal experience of breaking through thin ice myself and me being totally submerged. I never touched the bottom either. Luckily I managed to get out. Let's say it was very memorable to say the least. I didn't learn enough about the ice so it decided to teach me the hard way.
It won't take long to build ice. Wait a couple weeks for your own sake. I don't want to read that "HuyFishin foolishly died doing what he loved". I'd sooner see the fishing videos you will post in the future. Keep enjoying and sharing but safely. Consider you most likely are a role model for young anglers on the AO forums. Impressionable minds and the monkey see, monkey do theory does apply. You mention two other guys walking around fishing too... did they give you a sense of false confidence seeing them or was it just a monkey see monkey do moment?
I know we all love adventure. Just remember every year they talk about and even publish safe ice guidelines for a reason.
Hope I wasn't to harsh in saying this. They were nice fish. Carry on, pip pip and all the jazz.