safety issues we don' think about

[pig puncher]

i was gonna post this in the ice safety board, but i thought it would get more views in g.d. board. i brought this up a couple years ago but we've got a lot of new members. first is some kind of traction aid, (ice cleats). the most common injury to ice fishermen is head injuries from falling on the ice.
 also, and this scares me more than anything, and i see it all the time is when folks get set up, and finished drilling holes, they lay their auger down without putting the cover on. they set their auger right beside their bucket and sit down. take their kids, their dogs with them. ice is slippery, kids get rowdy, dogs aren't smart, and i've fallen off my bucket more times than i can count. if you're not drilling holes, cover your auger and set it far enough away you, your kids or your pets can't get cut.

[slabslayer]

Amen!  I cover the auger ever since I lost a pair of boots 5 years ago with a slip of the foot. And the cleats are vital, after today's incident, I'll never leave them in the truck again!  So much body pain from that fall!

[Ntoiceman36]

Wow slab your having a bad run this season with the flue,the fall on ice,hopefully soon you can get back to some plain ol fishing with no more setbacks

[snowcone]

I agree I never leave my drill uncovered after drilling holes , I have a holder on my sled for my auger and I put it away . and I wear my cleats even on snow , I cant think of how many times I was drilling and zing got spun around drilling because I lost my footing ...hahahah

[snag]

Pig Puncher....wow...amazing you bring all of this up.  Last week on Nimi there was plenty of snow so I didn't use my cleats....I drilled 2 holes and as I was pulling my shanty over them, the water under the snow made the ice very slippery.  My feet went out from under me, and I fell butt first right on top of my auger.  Luckily I didn't hit the blades!!!  I have a really nice bruise.  I learned something that day.............the hard way  

[wballard77]

Good topic!

[Erie Tom]

I   do not leave it uncover anymore  also. Touched  the blade one time a nd it tok forever  for it  to stop bleeding. Not a serious cut but like a deep paper cut. Also saw a guy cut his boot from kicking  the  auger. 
Also it seems to keep  the ice  off of it.

[wetline1]

Does anyone know where you can get replacement auger covers? Mine is cracked, and I have a hard time keeping it from falling of.

[fishintechnician]

Wet line not sure where you are located but the pro bass at Indian lake has replacement covers.

I will admit I sometimes forget to recover my auger but I am trying to remind myself to replace it evertime. I always have cleats on

[OhioSwampRat]

Last week I was on ledge, had some ice packed between the blades, could have walked off the lake and found a nice stick to push the ice off, but of course I didn't, fully knowing my fingers have no business anywhere near the blades, I proceeded to try and pick the little chunk of ice, needless to say, my gloves were no match, nor was my finger beneath, not serious, like mentioned before, a deep paper cut, spanned the pad of my finger, bled like crazy, there was blood all over the ice, cut a rag from the leg of my long johns and wrapped the wound then a band of electrical tape to keep pressure,

[OhioSwampRat]

I do always keep the cover on the blades though, this was just a dumb accident that I could have avoided if I would have been more patient

[slabslayer]

Lack of patience and taking shortcuts is usually what leads to the avoidable accidents some of us have had here recently. Let's all learn from this since, thankfully, there were no serious injuries. Safety on the ice is crucial, this can be a dangerous sport. Let's avoid complacency and be careful and accident free the remainder of the ice season !

[OhioSwampRat]

Couldn't have said it better Slab!