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Saturday, November 29, 2008
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ICE FISHING Safe or not, some are angling for any ice on area lakes Outdoors Editor More than most anything, he said, he misses the lakes.
It explained why, with chisel in hand, Jeremy Maslowski checked ice depths on a handful of area lakes Wednesday morning.
Anything to be on the lakes.
Maslowski, of Little Falls, is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and was home for Thanksgiving.
"There are no lakes there," Maslowski said of UW-Stevens Point.
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A man checked ice depths Wednesday morning on Lake Sibley in Pequot Lakes.
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Brainerd Dispatch/Brian S. Peterson
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So, the day before Thanksgiving, he prodded the ice on area lakes. He found 4 to 5 inches on Crow Wing Lake, 3-5 on Perch, a maximum of 3 on Round, about 3 on North Long, 2-1/2 on Hubert, 3 on Sylvan and nothing but open water on Gull.
He won't be ice fishing any time soon, he said.
Others didn't let thin ice keep them from some early season ice fishing Wednesday morning. I came across anglers on West Twin and Nisswa, and a brave soul was doing much the same as Maslowski on Sibley.
"How much ice?" I asked.
"About 4 inches," he shouted back, poking at the ice and trudging further from shore near the north access.
This isn't unusual in these parts. The first sign of ice on area lakes is usually followed soon after by ice fishermen. Last year at this time, I lived on a bay just off Gull Lake. Even with open water across the inlet and less ice than we have now, anglers swarmed to the bay in search of early ice crappies.
But it could be worse. These anglers could be bringing children with them. While fishing on thin ice is foolish, involving children would be over the line.
On Wednesday, the DNR released an ice-safety warning, urging parents to caution their children to stay off ice on ponds and other bodies of water.
"Every season, people fall through ice they thought was safe," said Tim Smalley, DNR boat and water safety specialist. "It's especially tragic when these incidents involve children. A quarter of the people who die by falling through the ice are 9 years old or younger."
And come the holidays ...
"Many years around the holidays, we receive reports of children falling through ice and drowning. It's just so incredibly tragic," Smalley said. "Kids are attracted to ice like a magnet. They just don't know how much ice it takes to support a person, nor what is or isn't safe."
Smalley said children should not go out on the ice without adult supervision, even when conditions improve.
Regardless of findings by Maslowski and other novice ice checkers, as of Wednesday, no ice in Minnesota was consistently 4 inches thick, the minimum experts recommend for walking on ice, the DNR said. Ice safety guidelines also recommend a minimum of 5 inches of new, clear ice for snowmobiles and 8 to 12 inches for a small to medium-sized automobile, pickup or SUV.
The DNR recommends contacting a local bait shop or resort at the destination lake to check ice conditions for planned activities. For ice safety information, call (888) MINNDNR (646-6367) or go to the DNR's ice safety page at www.mndnr.gov/safety/ice.
BRIAN S. PETERSON, outdoors editor, may be reached at brian.peterson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5864.
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