“Why are you fishing in the minnow bucket? You need to put your line in the ice hole to catch a big one.” That was the response from my daughter’s father when I sent him a picture of the palm-sized perch I caught two weekends ago on Julia Lake near Clear Lake. It was the only fish I caught after two full days of ice-fishing. I should have kept it as a friend to my eight-inch goldfish at home.
I hadn’t been ice-fishing in years until my dad and brother asked if I’d like to go with them to a few local lakes. I love to fish, but I don’t get very many opportunities to go, so I jump at every chance I get. But, much as I love ice fishing, I am often haunted and deeply saddened by two tragedies, both related to ice fishing, that occurred in my past. I will revisit those tragedies toward the end of this column.
The recent warm weather has also been a factor as to how often we can go. At first, I thought how nice it was, that I wouldn’t have to freeze. But as soon as we got out to the lake and ready to drive out, we realized there was three inches of water on top of the ice. The temperature was about 37 degrees. I was a little skeptical, but once on the ice we were able to see there were many other trucks, trailers and houses that had already beaten us to the good spots. And we determined the ice was 16 inches thick.
After trudging through the water, setting up the fish house, auguring the holes and putting the lines down, we were finally settled and ready to catch the big one. All the hustle and bustle to sit and sit and sit. My line went down and I tried to set the line.
Just as soon as I could no longer see the bobber, the line came back up to the top. The big one got away. Or did it? I wanted to make sure it didn’t take the bait and up came my little perch buddy. We laughed and laughed. I had to get a picture of me holding my “enormous” catch. A short time later, my brother caught its close relative. What a great day of fishing. Although we didn’t catch the big one, I still had a great day out with my dad and brother. It’s times like these I cherish so much. Years from now, I’ll be able to look back and remember all the water on the ice and how difficult it was for us to catch our little friend.
We had planned on heading out again the following weekend, but the weather was in the 30s all week. I hoped for a few cold days so the ice would have a chance to refreeze. In recent weeks, there had been a truck that went through the ice on Horseshoe Lake in Richmond, a truck went through the ice with two St. Joseph residents just north of Grey Eagle, a snowmobile and an ATV went through the ice near Cold Spring, and on Feb. 12 a car went through the ice on Pearl Lake. Fortunately, nobody died in any of those incidents.
If you think you are invincible, that it can’t happen to you, think again. Thirty years ago this March, my grandfather and his friend were ice-fishing and both of them were walking to shore when they fell through the ice at a place where there was an unmarked spear-fishing hole. They were not able to make it to safety. They drowned. Twenty-three years ago, my daughter’s grandfather and uncle on her dad’s side had their truck go through the ice. Her uncle was able to make it to safety but unfortunately her grandfather did not make it.
Please, please understand that ice is never completely safe under any conditions. Here are the ice-thickness guidelines, according to the Minnesota DNR’s website.
2” or less – stay off
4” – ice fishing or other activities on foot
5” – snowmobile or ATV
8-12” – car or small pickup
12-15” – medium truck
Cars, pickups or SUVs should be parked at least 50 feet apart and moved every two hours to prevent sinking.
If you plan on driving out on ice with a car or truck, make sure to have your windows open, your seatbelt off and discuss an emergency plan with your passengers.
For more information about fishing guidelines, regulations or safety, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us.
