It’s been below zero again this week and the ponds and lakes are mostly frozen. I’m hearing reports of 6 to 10 inches of ice in some places out there, so it’s time to dust off the jigging rods and tip-ups and get out there with the auger to punch a few holes and start fishing.

Ice fishing is a lot of fun. In the right spot, there is a lot of action. Many times I’ve been over a school of yellow perch and caught more than a fish a minute. More time was spent getting the fish off, baiting the hook with another grub and getting the line back in the water than was spent jigging before another bite. What good eating.

This week I’d like to take a minute to talk a little bit about safety while on the ice. I’ve only gone through the ice twice in my life (both times while skating on ponds – never while ice fishing). Thank heavens I was only waste deep in both cases.

Breaking through the ice is an amazingly unpleasant experience. I don’t ever want to do it again. I don’t want you to ever go through either. While running home or to the car after getting out, my pants froze making it hard to move. I wasn’t prepared either time.

The first thing to do regarding ice fishing safety is to tell people where you are going and when you will be back. Avoid going alone. If you take someone with you, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Maybe catch more fish? Maybe introduce a new person to the sport? Maybe have someone there to call 911 and try to help you if you break through the ice?

Make sure that the ice is at least 4 inches thick (6 inches is even better) before going out on it. Drill a test hole near shore to check. Drill a couple more holes as you get farther out and check again. 

Make sure that the ice is clear and solid – milky ice full of air bubbles is much weaker than clear ice. Watch out for thin ice where people put aerators out near their docks and also near streams feeding the ponds and lakes.

There are other things that you can do for safety. Make sure you take dry clothes and blankets. Take matches and lighters and fire starters along to build a fire to get warm in an emergency. Wear a personal floatation device (PFD) in case you end up in the water (the ones that self-inflate are very compact).

Carry a pair of ice picks with metal eye hooks in them that are tied together with a piece of heavy cord. My fellow Hunter Safety Instructor, Steve Rohaly, tells everyone to drape them over your shoulders and run them down inside your coat sleeves and let them dangle below your hands. What amazingly good advice. 

You won’t lose them and they will be right near your hands so you can spike the ice with them and pull yourself up and out. There is nothing more slippery than smooth wet ice when you are trying to get to safety.

Always pull yourself out in the direction that you went in (you know that the ice was able to support your weight on that path as far as you made it). Stay down on your belly and hands and knees when getting off the ice to keep your weight distributed so you don’t break through again.

Good luck to everyone that will be out ice fishing. Let’s all be safe and enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van etten is the current President of the Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.