Ice fishing, is it safe?

[1099gl]

Live in the stl area and im wanting to try my luck at ice fishing. Im 17 and weigh about 140 pounds. I know a few spots where I know I could put a hurtin on big green sunfish and probably some bass too. obviously im new to this and I want to give it a shot. I know little to nothing about it, baits to use, line size, rod/reel, ect. I also do not have an auger do i need one to ice fish in Missouri, is there anything i can use that I already have in my garage or workshop? I have read safe ice thickness should be about 6" at the bank and you are supposed to drill a hole every 10' or so to make sure the ice is still thick, but thick is a very broad term. Please help me out. Not new to fishing but I am very new to ice fishing. I know with the 60 degree weather we are having this week (wtf is going on with the weather) most of the lakes/ponds around the area will loose some if not all of their ice.

Thanks,

Gabriel

[QuaternarySloth]

1 hour ago, 1099gl said:

Live in the stl area and im wanting to try my luck at ice fishing. Im 17 and weigh about 140 pounds. I know a few spots where I know I could put a hurtin on big green sunfish and probably some bass too. obviously im new to this and I want to give it a shot. I know little to nothing about it, baits to use, line size, rod/reel, ect. I also do not have an auger do i need one to ice fish in Missouri, is there anything i can use that I already have in my garage or workshop? I have read safe ice thickness should be about 6" at the bank and you are supposed to drill a hole every 10' or so to make sure the ice is still thick, but thick is a very broad term. Please help me out. Not new to fishing but I am very new to ice fishing. I know with the 60 degree weather we are having this week (wtf is going on with the weather) most of the lakes/ponds around the area will loose some if not all of their ice.

Thanks,

Gabriel

I don't know man, just doesn't seem worth the risk around here. I've seen quite a few ponds lately and none looked safe enough to go out on.

[Ranger520vx]

I haven't been ice fishing for several years but I do enjoy it and have caught a lot of crappie doing it on small lakes. Rods about 18" long are best and can be made using the tips of old or broken ones make the handle and use old junk reels.as far as as the auger goes I had one but can't find new blades so last time out I just used a chain saw. I usually use little metal ice fishing jigs tipped with meal worms and have used minnows. Most of all be safe,I like to have at least 6" of ice to feel safe. It's a lot of fun when you get on the fish, good luck to you.

[Old plug]

Well stay off LOZ it has a pecular habit of allowing holes to delope even in very thick Ice situations. i is caused by  in the rock. you rain or it will sink down into the ground and enter the quaffers. Then it warms from the earth and rises again meltin the ice in spots from under the ice. So you cannot be 100 % sure what yor walking on. 

 

[Kayser]

When ice turns cloudy, instead of perfectly clear, that's called rotten ice. It is not strong, and is incredibly dangerous. This normally happens as the ice starts to melt. Stay off, even if there is 6".

And do not go alone, until you learn what ice should sound like. It makes different sounds based on strength, thickness, and rot. Good luck, and stay safe.

[fshndoug]

I would not ice fish anywhere in mo.go to minnesota

[dtrs5kprs]

Generally no. Haven't ice fished since I lived in Iowa, moved to KC metro in 96.

Looked at a few places, none of which were what I considered safe. Too many 30+ nights and days mixed in to get true thick black ice. A few 40+ days absolutely kills it.

And Plug is on to something about the rock. Whether it is a heat retention thing, or simply breaks up the shoreline ice, I don't know. But even rip rap areas back home could be sketchy.

We used to fish a few county and state lakes in southern Iowa. Those were always tricky unless it was deep winter. Just not worth the risk for a few filets.

[1099gl]

Mostly talking about fishing mud bottom farm ponds not sure if this changes anything just waiting for a week plus of below freezing weather 

[1099gl]

22 hours ago, QuaternarySloth said:

I don't know man, just doesn't seem worth the risk around here. I've seen quite a few ponds lately and none looked safe enough to go out on.

Idk man all I know is im itching to get out and all my normal spots are froze up. Can't hit coffeen until i get my boat engine fixed because ive been struggling for months trying to figure out whats wrong with it. Hard knock life having a 1969 evinrude 18hp. They want $75 just to look at it down at brannans in Fenton. I would love to buy a new 4 stroke engine even though this one used to run great. Its still clean as a whistle inside and it truly is a price of history now lol. I just don't like having a 2 cycle the emissions bother me.

[Haris122]

I did some ice fishing a few years ago, around here, but it was that one particular year that it remained really cold like in the 10's-20's F or something for 2 or 3 weeks at least. I just used a small camping axe, but I also tied a rope to a tree on shore and tied it to me in case I fell through, and I kept the holes in the ice small. Also you need a ladel or something to keep the hole from freezing over. I think with the recent warm-up, it's not worth it. It would have to be in the 20's or less for at least a week and a half solid for me to think about it. And even then it would have to be a smaller lake, that doesn't have much wave actions, so it freezes over thicker.