Its over guys, Ice is terrible

[wayne johnson]

We were one of the guys who got caught today, I been fishing the lake over 40 years and never have I seen get so bad so quick, we were fishing 7 miles
out limit for three men in 1 hour, at ten oclock ice open up roughly 50 ft.
wide from turtle island to port clition, it took us six hours to find one open 5
ft. wide place to cross close to port clition, water is six to eight inches deep on ice, all over the place, open water spots also all over, very scary,
ice in front on davis besee is terrible major spider crack, we was tought
coming in, my final mile and half, i had to get of sled and walk, and
was pick up by air boat, every one lost equipment all over the ice, plus one man fell in and was pulled out and had heart attack and die All i can say is
guys it over in a month we will be in boats. Hot lure today lindy new wing
jigs, and small buck shots, 18 walleyes kept, 18 inches to 26 inches
30 14 inchers thrown back, and one 7 lb. female also released, it was fun
but almost lost our lives today.

[jam]

I been ice fishing on lake erie for over 25 years and haved done some crazy things, but I knew today you don't go out. When it warms and the wind is honking out out the south, the ice is going to move, pretty simple. Sorry for the guys that got stuck there today.

[walleye junky]

my son and i also were one of the frst one rescued,what a scary situation,that is the the first and last time that will happen, i should of knew better,especially when we started heading out and people were coming back in,right then and there ishould of turned back,but i guess i wanted one last hura!!!!!!!!

[PearlHDFatboy]

Guys,

I was warned by a few people at 10:30 not to go out there. sure, I got there late, and as excited as I was to maybe land one or two, all I heard was that there was a tough current and 4 to 6 inches of standing water out there. It seemed like if you had decent transportation - ie snowmobile or ATV, you could find your way back easily. I walked out a quarter to a half mile and decided to hoof it back in - the snow on top had turned to slush as well as lots of spider cracks everywhere. For anyone crazy enough, this was the day to have that experience.

Any seasoned veteran of this lake would tell you that today was the last hoorah for the ice fishing season, and that's probably why people were out there regardless of the weather.

Steve

[jproffitt10]

Anyone who got caught today OR went to Magee/Crane and decided not to fish, call me. ANYONE who knows someone still on the ice with gear please have them call me, too, when possible. I'm a writer/photographer working on an article. Thanks! Also, fished friday from 11-7 3.5 west of Catawba Park, when we came in 7-730 it was bone dry and great conditions. When I went to Catawba Miller Ferry for a quick walk-out to fish today at 10:00, i came back in after a 1/4 mile--water and slush up to a foot deep, heavy heavy winds, etc....
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[BigTee]

I was one of the smart icefisherman who did not venture out onto Lake Erie yesterday. But watching all the different news cast on the TV sure fired me up. All the Sherriff department wanted to do was tell the world how stupid all these guys were, and how he would like to put them all in jail, and how much money it was costing him. How about what a great job everyone did to rescue these fisherman? Icefishing on Erie has been going on for generations and should keep going on for generations. Yes it's dangerous in certain conditions, and yes people didn't use their heads but to make the statements the Sherriff made and the way he made them in my mind was not very profesional. People get into trouble on Erie during the boating season an I don't recall seeing the Sherriff on the national news calling everbody stupid and how much all the money the boaters are causing his department. Bravo to the resquers who did the job perfectly and put it on the line. Shame on the sherriff department for not being more understanding. Big Tee

[TeamDB]

Its not over till the phat lady sings. If you have an air boat you have nothing to worry about.
Capt. John

[jiginitis69]

Fellas? C'mon. We have 18" of ice and little stint of warm weather. The foundation to build on is there. After Wed the cold comes back. The water on top freezes and the wind blows the floe back. We can still get off Catawba and Camp Perry once the water on top freezes and we get a NW wind for few days.

Don't put your stuff away yet. As a matter fact it's time I start contributing to the plywood and plank fund. But I'll watch the winds closer. LOL

Good Luck and Good Fishing