Sk8man

I'm with Firechief for Lake O but for the Finger Lakes 4 five leader Seth Greens (two on floats and two side rigs) 2 small dipseys run short from boards or outriggers

In the first incident I had been standing in the exact spot the day before talking with a guy that was catching perch. There were quite a few people around us some kids ice skating and others throwing frisbies to their dog and walking all over the place etc. I wasn't able to fish that day and was just getting info from the guy. Next morning just before 7 AM I followed his tracks to the exact spot hoping to get some of those perch. Nobody else was around or within sight but I didn't think anything about it as there were many inches of ice the previous day and the temperature that morning was in the low twenties so I assumed nothing had changed overnight as far as ice conditions despite it having some snow on it. I didn't have my Clam shelter only a sled with my auger, depth finder, and bucket with rods. I was wearing a conventional snowmobile suit, several laayers of clothing with heavily insulated "moon boots". As per usual I had a pair of ice picks dangling from my neck. I made my way to the spot from the previous day and exactly when I arrived there ....swoosh the ice instantly dropped right out from under me and I found myself in water up to my chin and getting heavier by the moment from the freezing water soaking into my clothing....but....luckily I am 6 ft tall and my feet were on bottom AND I was not fishing in my usual depth of 15 ft or so or I wouldn't be writing this. It took me several minutes to get myself out by leaning heavily on my side and pressing on the edge of the ice as hard as I could rolling up onto it ( I had a large bruise on my side for over a month afterward) Luckily, some of the ice around the hole wasn't as weak as the spot I had gone through.The ice picks were of little use as there was quite a bit of hardened snow on the ice preventing them from digging in. Finally, I got myself out after exhausting my whole supply of swear words. I was freezing beyond belief and shaking and shivering very badly and again nobody was around except me. The one bright spot was that I had bought a large coffee and a cranberry muffin before going on the ice and had put it in my covered bucket in the sled all of which went in as well but I was able to retrieve it all and I sat there dripping water soaking wet shivering and drinking my coffee and eating my muffin and glad to be alive. By the time I reached my truck I was becoming hypothermic and even with the heater running full blast I couldn't fully warm up until hours later at home. Later that day I figured that water had been released about 500 yards from where I was down the outlet and it had probably eroded the ice overnight from underneath it and there was no way to tell from any visual appearance and with snow covering the ice as well. The first thing I did when I got home was to call the newspaper and police to let them know about the unsafe condition (right in front of the public beach). I did however refuse to give my name to the newspaper for obvious reasons Moral of the story: expect the unexpected and don't go out there alone.

Many guys out there may be experienced fishermen but they don't have a clue about what it feels like to go through and that you don't even have a chance to react to going through. The ice just lets loose beneath your feet in an instant. It isn't a matter of hearing it crack and being athletic you figure you can avoid going in. Like during military combat situations where 19 year olds think they are invinceable and that bullets will only find OTHER people, careless ice fishermen often too eager to get out there are a lot more vulnerable than they realize. Another thing is that hypothermia can do you in even if you partially escape the initial disaster and it doesn't take as long as you might think. When you are wet with the wind whipping your body temperature becomes your worst enemy and the distance to shore can mean life or death. Your legs become numb and you either have a hard time walking or can't walk at all. This isn't some crap I read in a book somewhere....I've ice fished for most of my life and I have been through on two occasions and neither time was it because I went out on visually "questionable" ice. A lot of stuff can happen out there that you can't predict no matter how experienced you may be. Don't take unnecessary chances.

Another great example of the helpful folks on this website

Magnificent both the deer and the fact that your wife shares your love of the sport

Gator is right... a few days for it to be right. Monday and Tuesday supposed to be 40ish then more cold. Going through can take a lot of the fun out of it. Just a side note but hope it is TOTALLY frozen up because otherwise high wind can undue things pretty quickly otherwise.

If the wind doesn't let up probably January 2018 Seriously we need some still nights with this cold to start things up. On the good side the wind with ths current cold snap should mix the water so that itwill be more uniformly cold.snd hopefully freeze up better.

In and around points, bays, and stream mouths in less than 50 ft of water with sticks or small to medium spoons trolled way behind the boat and/or on planer boards

We enjoyed chatting with you and spending time with us this afternoon at Field and Stream Tim. It was really nice "eyeballing" firsthand the prizes for the tournaments and it is really very high quality merchandise and a lot of it to be won and distributed. Looks like a very well organized operation and we can't wait for some ice at this point.... Hope to see you again....out on the ice Les

or was it "6 horse long shaft"?

And Bob also truly believes that every fish symbol that appears on the screen is a real trophy fish so there may be psychological benefits as well

Eastern Banded Killifish There is also a western version of it(thought to have been originally introduced from someones aquarium) .