Stay off the ice! 3 Trucks and TT go through ice into lake.

Deb and Ed M wrote:
We live on a large lake in Michigan - if people could see the stuff we've seen, they would never drive a vehicle on the ice. Our lake has several depths - one side freezes a lot faster than the other, so 4" of ice can taper off to 1/2" and you can't tell. Or springs can cause thin ice. Or bubblers. Or waterfowl - I watched a flock of geese keep a large hole open for almost a week, before they left. And of course it's always shifting/cracking/groaning - making for weak spots. We lose a few cars and snowmobiles each year - in addition to ruining the vehicle, the daily fine imposed for polluting our lake with petroleum is hefty, and getting the vehicle out (if it can be done at all) is difficult.

I always loved it when there is a sudden, deep, and prolonged cold spell. Ice is clear, and at night the cracking of the ice was eerie and fascinating to hear.

Springtime is just as bad. There are always guys who just have to get that last fishing trip in, and end up stranded on an iceberg floating in Lake Huron.

Just happened in NH this week.

We live on a large lake in Michigan - if people could see the stuff we've seen, they would never drive a vehicle on the ice. Our lake has several depths - one side freezes a lot faster than the other, so 4" of ice can taper off to 1/2" and you can't tell. Or springs can cause thin ice. Or bubblers. Or waterfowl - I watched a flock of geese keep a large hole open for almost a week, before they left. And of course it's always shifting/cracking/groaning - making for weak spots. We lose a few cars and snowmobiles each year - in addition to ruining the vehicle, the daily fine imposed for polluting our lake with petroleum is hefty, and getting the vehicle out (if it can be done at all) is difficult.

My father use to ice fish.
One winter he had to get an extension for the ice auger. The ice was four ft thick.

No way would I ever drive on ice. Of course we don't have any ice as of yet so that is skewing my thoughts a bit but with this cold snap coming maybe it will start. It seems about half the winters we don't even have thick enough ice to even Ice fish let alone drive on it.

Dan

I'm ice fishing for fun and exercise. I walk out only even in Jan. and Feb. with my sled of gear. They keep making fish houses bigger and heavier while many winters run warm. If you need all the amenities...just stay home.
Brian

I wouldn't even consider going on the ice this early in the year. Even if the ice was thick enough. There could be thin spots in certain areas.

Bad decision, but this also happens in my resident state of Maine several times each season.

Lakeside