Lessons from Ice Fishing Today

k_estela

k_estela

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I went ice fishing today at Nipmuck State Forest in CT. I went with a few buddies and unfortunately we got skunked. It was a picture perfect day though and it was just great being outside. In the process of fishing, some valuable lessons were learned.

First, my buddy's S-10 2wd pickup could not get out of the parking lot. Triple AAA was called and they too had a hard time leaving the parking lot due to a very smooth layer of ice covered with powder. We all had to push that truck and finally we got him freed.

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If I had my SUV there, I have a fully stocked emergency kit. With a come along or even just my tow strap, I'm sure I could have pulled him out. But the question remains, what if you were by yourself?

Jimmy learned a Jet Sled can be a runaway mess if you don't keep a good handle on it downhill.

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Another lesson learned by my buddy Jimmy was how resilient spiderwire is. Just by going through my shoulder bag, we bs'ed about gear and I showed him a small spool. Going through other's kits will certainly show you what works for them and it might work for you.

Some pics from the day

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We didn't catch anything but we had plenty of great laughs and the company made the trip all worth it. Coffee spiked with Makers Mark or Peppermint Schnapps helped warm us up as did hand warmers.
 
Lastly, my buddy Kevin K. learned it is a lot easier to pee when your buddies aren't lobbing snowballs at you.

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hope you had a great time, I myself was suppose to go out and do some cross country skiing today, but I was so hung over from yesterday, I could hardly walk straight this morning and focus..


Nice pics, keep 'em coming!
 
What I would have done is had proper studded winter tires on the car, and have it front wheel drive or four wheel, rather than the worst of all for winter driving, rear wheel drive. ;)
 
LOL! Looked like fun!

I like to pee in the hole in the ice to keep it from refreezing. :D j/k
 
Elen said:
What I would have done is had proper studded winter tires on the car, and have it front wheel drive or four wheel, rather than the worst of all for winter driving, rear wheel drive. ;)
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Not sure about Connecticut, but not all US areas allow studded tires.

But I agree with the second half: rear wheel drive pickups on ice generally mean fishtailing with less traction. You can see in the photo that the truck was "nose down" on a decline, which took the weight off the rear tires. Rather than push the truck out, it would probably have been easier for everyone to climb into the bed of the truck to put more weight on the rear wheels, and then just back out to more level ground.
 
Watchful said:
Not sure about Connecticut, but not all US areas allow studded tires.

But I agree with the second half: rear wheel drive pickups on ice generally mean fishtailing with less traction. You can see in the photo that the truck was "nose down" on a decline, which took the weight off the rear tires. Rather than push the truck out, it would probably have been easier for everyone to climb into the bed of the truck to put more weight on the rear wheels, and then just back out to more level ground.
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Yeah, I forgot about the legislation thing. I find it quite scary that proper winter tires would be outlawed anywhere where there is snow and ice, but that's life I guess. :(

Sound advice about climbing in the bed, too! Some people here carry heavy tools, sandbags and fat relatives ( ;) ) for that kind of purposes, to put weight on the wheels that don't feel like gripping. Sandbags are double useful because you can always cut them open and spread some of the sand on the ice for better grip.
 
Never seen flags done like that before. Neat. Oh, I'd love a play in some snow right now. I'm officially doing jealousy.
 
Thing is, around here, they keep the roads pretty well plowed, and studded tires aren't really needed on the paved roads. Where you get into trouble is on the unpaved areas going back into the state parks/forests/wilderness areas, where the plows don't venture. Because the vast majority of CT residents don't know what a state park is, and can't figure why anyone would ever drive off of the road, especially in the winter, there is no reason for the average CT resident to have studded tires- therefore no one should have studded tires. Although studded tires really are terrible for road maintenance, thus the reason for their banishment in some areas.

To answer the question of what do you do if alone. I carry a flat shovel in the bed of my rear wheel drive, no snow tire having 3/4 pickup. Not a snow shovel, but a real metal shovel. Works well to bust through the ice that can build up under the snow and shush. I dig a path in front of and behind my drive wheels and use that to get going. Once up on the snow it is usually not a problem.

Oh, and it has been my brief experience that although Connecticut is in New England, snow and ice are the exception and not the rule. But I've only been here for the past two winters.
 
Elen said:
Yeah, I forgot about the legislation thing. I find it quite scary that proper winter tires would be outlawed anywhere where there is snow and ice, but that's life I guess. :(
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European roads are generally believed to be vastly better than most American roadways. The Europeans tend to build roads that last, saving money in the long run.

American roadways are generally given to the lowest bidder...saving money in the short run. But studded tires can rip American roadways to shreds...and as a result, they're allowed in some areas but not in many others.

I agree with your nearly-stated premise that most of these situations can be avoided by knowing the vehicle's limitations on snow and ice. Tire construction, drive train, and torque all play a big role in whether you climb out, get stuck, or even avoid the situation.
 
With all those pine's around, why not cut some pine boughs to put under the tires to give you some traction?

When you move forward several feet, take the boughs now in back of the truck and put them back in front of the tires and go some more. Cut a good armload or two of pine boughs and you can make a track in front of the tires that will get you several yards at a time. A folding saw like a Fiskars or Opinel will do this just fine. I've got a basic two wheel drive Tacoma and this has worked for me.
 
I have a 2-wheel drive truck. Thanks to it, I'm going to find the man who invented to concept of the 2WRD truck and force him to drive it through alaska mid-winter, and then to hell.
 
jackknife said:
With all those pine's around, why not cut some pine boughs to put under the tires to give you some traction?
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Based on how loose the snow or how slick the ice, the boughs can "shoot out" from the tires. It's not so much a lack of traction on the tires, but a lack of weight on them.
SpookyPistolero said:
I have a 2-wheel drive truck. Thanks to it, I'm going to find the man who invented to concept of the 2WRD truck and force him to drive it through alaska mid-winter, and then to hell.
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That's a lot of them. Fords, too, not just Chevys. Remember that the pickup is designed to haul loads: that puts weight on the rear wheels. The more you pile into the bed, the more traction you get. That's ideal for a pickup.

But a pickup is not by design an outdoors vehicle like a Jeep, as you note!

Actually, even with a car, I wonder about car designers. I love opening a car door and watching all the snow and ice on the roof just dump itself right onto the driver's seat. Does anyone think about this stuff when designing the vehicle?
 
Watchful said:
European roads are generally believed to be vastly better than most American roadways. The Europeans tend to build roads that last, saving money in the long run.
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Wow, I think you should sometimes come test the Finnish roads - that is, if you fancy a bumpy ride. :D

The discussions on studded tires damaging roads are annual things over here, too, but it's quite impossible to deny the road safety benefits of allowing studded winter tires. I can understand if people don't want to use or allow studded tires in areas where they get winter perhaps once or twice a decade, but if it actually comes every year, I don't get it. You can fix damaged roads. But you can't fix dead people.

But of course, it's like you said - knowledge is the key. If you know your car, you'll drive a lot safer. Pretty much the same thing in all "wilderness & survival skills", too - knowing (skills) is better than having (tools), if we must choose only one. :thumbup:
 
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