Banker here. As a ProStaff member, I want to encourage all of you to be safe this year. Many of you are avid ice fisherman like myself and realize that we had an unusually cold winter last year, which meant that we were on the ice as early as December 16th and as late as the first weekend of March.
Last year was great and new people were introduced to the sport. It's easy for anyone to assume that the ice is good because last year it was.
This summer and fall was warmer than average which means the water is warmer than it was last year at this time. Unless it gets really really cold for a while, we will most likely not have safe ice by Dec 16th this year.
When we do get safe ice, there is no garauntee that it will stay safe. Actually, we typically get 3-5 First Ice periods as the ice comes and goes in December/early January.
Follow others when venturing out** following old tracks are not as reliable as testing the ice as you walk as they could be old and on bad ice.
And Have a Plan for when you do go through..rope, floatation device, whistle, cell phone in a zip lock baggy, etc.
Notice I said "when", If you do this often enough, you will go through. Probably as you are getting on or off the ice in 2-3 feet of water. Bring an extra pair of cloths in the case that you do get wet as hypothermia is a serious problem that all ice anglers need to read up on before ever traveling out on the ice. There is a great video posted in this forum that you should watch.
Ice Fishing Safely is Ice Fishing Fun
