Ice Drinking

I gave-up ice fishing about six years ago.

Nonetheless, that last venture found a couple of buddies and I out on Sturgeon Bay having a few cold ones and soaking-up the winter sunshine. Fishing was just good enough to keep our attention.

Anyway, a guy on a snow machine approaches us. He was wearing a green parka and a fur cap and he looks for all the world like the warden. As it turns out he wasn't - he just looked like the warden. This guy hangs out for a spell and joins us us in the pleasurable experience of imbibing without having to bother with a cooler.

Before too long we are out of beer.

Scotty and the guy climb back on the machine and motor over to a tavern somewheres along the shoreline and return with another case of beer.

As we were starting on the second case (the guy with the snow machine is rapidly becoming a fast and dear friend) we take notice of a big lake freighter moving through the channel that the Coast Guard had busted-up for winter ship traffic. Mind you this is probably less than a quarter mile distant.

Do you have any idea how much water a big lake boat displaces?

Enough to cause the ice you are standing-upon to heave in a vast, undulating fashion. It's creepy to feel the ice beneath you move up and down and the water level in your fishing hole alternately gush from the mouth of the hole and disappear from sight.

Why do I tell you this?

It was shortly after that outing that some ice drinkers found themselves separated from the peninsula. Seems the ice they were on cracked and began to float away. It was a big chunk for sure - but there was no way back to shore. A hovercraft eventually fetched them to safety but they lost their stuff.

I remember thinking at the time - Yeah, that's another good reason to stay off the ice.

Wouldn't you know it - it's happened again.

Just recently a bunch of guys were out on the ice on Green Bay. There they were - a dozen guys with pick-ups, ATVs and all of their fishing gear when another of these gargantuan 800 foot freighters comes cruising along and causes the ice to crack. This time an ill wind rapidly widens the gap to about 500 feet.

Did I mention that the crack extended about five miles in length? That is one big ice floe.

Anyway, some of these fellas ended-up about a mile out on the water before they were rescued.

The good news is that they all got plucked-off the ice and nobody even got wet.

The last anybody's heard the trucks and ATVs are still out there.

Getting back to that last ice drinking expedition - the conditions were a tad slippery. We were out there on practically glaze ice without any snow for traction.

Towards the end of the day I slipped and conked my head pretty good. I was seeing these really cool flashes of light for a spell but the only lingering effect was a stiff neck that didn't go away for about a week.

Nowadays I restrict my fishing to perfectly safe piers and boats that I can count-upon to float.

Funny though- the Coast Guard is still in my speed dial.