Ice fishers must prepare for danger

This is the time of year that you'll see, at scores of the region's lakes, bundled-up figures sitting on 5-gallon buckets, periodically moving the tips of their fishing rods up and down.

They stare at fixed or sliding bobbers, hoping a perch, crappie or trout will take a baited hook.

From a distance, they're dark blobs on the snow-covered or clear ice.

Some in Idaho will set out as many as five tip-ups. They'll usually be fishing for northern pike. Often, an angler will rig up one outfit to catch spiny-rayed fish and others for pike.

A few will drag ice shelters out on a lake. Although ice shelters are becoming popular in the Inland Northwest, they're not nearly as popular as they are in the Midwest. The main reason is that the ice- fishing season in the Northwest usually is a short one, starting in late-December and ending in late-February.

The winters are long and cold in the Midwest. Consequently, serious ice fishers invest in ice shelters. Some build their own. Most buy commercially-made ice shelters. Sporting goods catalogs feature a variety of cleverly designed shelters with prices ranging from less than $100 up to $300.

Essential for a successful ice-fishing excursion is a good, sharp auger that can drill a hole through 10 inches of ice in a couple minutes. Anglers who intend to fish only for perch, bluegills and trout usually buy 6-inch augers; those who fish for northern pike go for the 8-inch models.

Incidentally, it's against the law in Idaho to fish through a hole in the ice larger than 10 inches in diameter. The regulation prevents people from falling through a huge hole that might have been opened, refrozen and then covered with snow, masking the danger.

It's usually important for an ice fisher to move around periodically to find schools of perch, bluegills and trout. Since the schools move, anglers must move with them. That's why a sharp auger is important. Drilling holes with a dull auger can be tiring after a couple of hours.

Other necessities include a small sled, 5-gallon bucket to sit on and to store the fish, an ice-fishing rod with a small reel, a strainer to remove ice chips from holes, a small-diameter 10- to 20- foot rope for safety and rescue purposes, ice cleats for walking safely on slick ice, several small bobbers, ice jigs and lots of maggots for spiny-rayed fish and salmon eggs for trout.

Some innovative anglers have built special covers for their 5- gallon buckets. The covers, topped with a padded seat, are 4 to 5 inches above the bucket's edges. Therefore, when an angler catches a fish, it can be slipped into the bucket without removing the cover.

In the past, most ice fishers used the same spinning rods they used during open-water fishing. However, ice fishing rods are cheap and many sporting goods stores carry them. They cost only $10 to $15, and enable an ice fisher to sit close to a hole and watch the bobber for the slightest movement. As a result, nearly all serious ice fishers have ice fishing rods.

The choice of clothing is important. Insulated boots are a necessity; few things are more discouraging than getting cold feet. Because temperatures often are below 32 degrees and the wind-chill into the teens or below zero, pants and coats must keep out the cold. Hats should be insulated; a lot of body heat escapes from an unprotected head.

Ice can be treacherous. For example, when I hunted waterfowl with a friend a few days ago, we had to cross a big bay of a river to get to the place we wanted to hunt. The ice on the bay was only 3 inches thick and it appeared rotten.

We gingerly threaded our way around obviously thin spots until we got to the other side. Suddenly, as my friend approached tules out from shore, the ice broke and he fell into the water up to his waist. The bottom was muddy and he began to sink in the mud. For a moment, he almost panicked, but was able to get himself back on the ice.

He was lucky. If the ice had cracked a little farther from the tules, he would have taken a bath and could have drowned because he was weighed down by 2 pounds of steel shells and his heavy coat. The bay is 10 feet deep.

Every winter, a few ice fishers crash through rotten ice or ice too thin to support people safely. Nearly all have survived the frigid water because there were others on the lakes who helped them get back on the ice. Once in a while, however, someone drowns. Hypothermia quickly saps their strength and leaves them helpless.

A few anglers even include in their equipment a life-saving cushion and tie it to a rope end.

Ice should be at least 3 inches thick and in good condition. The ice my friend and I walked across was 3 inches thick, but it was rotten. We took chances we never should have taken.

The bottom line is that ice fishing can be dangerous. An ice fisher's best course of action is to use good judgment.

You can contact Fenton Roskelley by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 3814.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.