roger23
02-23-2007, 06:53 AM
Lake Erie ice iffy
Gale-force winds yesterday on western Lake Erie ice began shoving ice, piling it up, and opening some cracks along shoreline areas and off South Bass Island, throwing into doubt the prospects for ice fishing for walleye today and this weekend.
"Open water can be seen in spots between South Bass and Green islands," said John Hageman, an ice guide at Put-in-Bay, yesterday afternoon. "So far things are OK between South Bass and Rattlesnake Island."
Even with the wind, walleye were abundant and cooperative for those fishermen who were out. But Hageman stressed that continuing heavy winds into today could change everything, and leading to cancellation of any guided fishing.
In short, call ahead to your guides if you are headed to the islands. Temperatures are not of immediate concern, Hageman said. "But if it rains heavily on Sunday we will be done sooner than if the rain is lighter," he added.
Yesterday the ice away from cracks or open water was plenty thick, 11 to 13 inches, but the weather remained the big quetion mark.
Hageman and fellow guides Pat Chrysler and Bud Gehring held council earlier yesterday and initially thought the ice, which appeared to extend back to West Sister Island to the west and beyond, would hold.
But by midday the situation had changed. Two unoccupied shanties were crushed in shove-ice as plates ran up over pressure ridges, and a truck parked across a crack ended up in the bottom of the lake, Hageman said. Some of the shove-ice was piled as high as the cliff-face on the west side of South Bass.
"I heard they were scrambling off Catawba, too," Hageman said. Up until this blow, "fishing has been fantastic. It's as good as it gets." Activity began in earnest with an arctic blast and a deep freeze two weeks ago.
Action also was excellent off the mainland off Crane Creek and Camp Perry, four miles out, and one to three miles off Catawba Island State Park. But the winds may have finished fishing off the mainland.
"It's breaking up," said Mikle Tetzlaf of the state's Lake Erie wildlife law enforcement unit at Sandusky. "I'm afraid it's pretty much going to be all over. I think they'll be looking at plenty of open water off Crane Creek Saturday morning."
Elsewhere it appeared that inland ponds and lakes, such as those at the state's Lake La Su An chain in Williams County, were more sheltered and had weathered the winds. The La Su An check-station was planning to fish Sunday by reservation and planned to take reservations for next Thursday and Sunday. Call 419-636-6189 Monday morning from 9 to noon.
In any case extreme caution is advised. No life is worth a walleye.
U.S. Coast Guard Rescues Ice Fishermen in Michigan
Feb 22, 2007 03:58 PM EST
The U.S. Coast Guard to the rescue on Thursday morning (photo courtesy bjorsail)
News 11 On Your Site
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MONROE COUNTY, MICH. -- The U.S. Coast Guard had to rescue some ice fishermen from the surface of an ice floe Thursday morning.
It happened at Toledo Beach in Monroe County, Michigan, near Otter Creek Road.
The Toledo station of the U.S. Coast Guard had actually been conducting a training exercise on how to rescue people stranded on the ice when they got a 911 call. Turns out that several fishermen were stranded on an ice floe that had broken off from the coast because of the wind.
"We didn't even know the ice broke loose until our lures started moving underneath us," said John Pillarelli, one of the rescued guys. "The current changed, and we knew something was up -- but we didn't know the ice broke off that fast and that far. It was a little frightening."
The Coast Guard wants to remind everyone that warmer temperatures cause the ice to melt, and it is becoming very dangerous. It's probably a good idea to stay off the ice.
For more ice fishing safety tips, visit http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice
•
Gale-force winds yesterday on western Lake Erie ice began shoving ice, piling it up, and opening some cracks along shoreline areas and off South Bass Island, throwing into doubt the prospects for ice fishing for walleye today and this weekend.
"Open water can be seen in spots between South Bass and Green islands," said John Hageman, an ice guide at Put-in-Bay, yesterday afternoon. "So far things are OK between South Bass and Rattlesnake Island."
Even with the wind, walleye were abundant and cooperative for those fishermen who were out. But Hageman stressed that continuing heavy winds into today could change everything, and leading to cancellation of any guided fishing.
In short, call ahead to your guides if you are headed to the islands. Temperatures are not of immediate concern, Hageman said. "But if it rains heavily on Sunday we will be done sooner than if the rain is lighter," he added.
Yesterday the ice away from cracks or open water was plenty thick, 11 to 13 inches, but the weather remained the big quetion mark.
Hageman and fellow guides Pat Chrysler and Bud Gehring held council earlier yesterday and initially thought the ice, which appeared to extend back to West Sister Island to the west and beyond, would hold.
But by midday the situation had changed. Two unoccupied shanties were crushed in shove-ice as plates ran up over pressure ridges, and a truck parked across a crack ended up in the bottom of the lake, Hageman said. Some of the shove-ice was piled as high as the cliff-face on the west side of South Bass.
"I heard they were scrambling off Catawba, too," Hageman said. Up until this blow, "fishing has been fantastic. It's as good as it gets." Activity began in earnest with an arctic blast and a deep freeze two weeks ago.
Action also was excellent off the mainland off Crane Creek and Camp Perry, four miles out, and one to three miles off Catawba Island State Park. But the winds may have finished fishing off the mainland.
"It's breaking up," said Mikle Tetzlaf of the state's Lake Erie wildlife law enforcement unit at Sandusky. "I'm afraid it's pretty much going to be all over. I think they'll be looking at plenty of open water off Crane Creek Saturday morning."
Elsewhere it appeared that inland ponds and lakes, such as those at the state's Lake La Su An chain in Williams County, were more sheltered and had weathered the winds. The La Su An check-station was planning to fish Sunday by reservation and planned to take reservations for next Thursday and Sunday. Call 419-636-6189 Monday morning from 9 to noon.
In any case extreme caution is advised. No life is worth a walleye.
U.S. Coast Guard Rescues Ice Fishermen in Michigan
Feb 22, 2007 03:58 PM EST
The U.S. Coast Guard to the rescue on Thursday morning (photo courtesy bjorsail)
News 11 On Your Site
US to Drop Passport Requirement for Kids
MONROE COUNTY, MICH. -- The U.S. Coast Guard had to rescue some ice fishermen from the surface of an ice floe Thursday morning.
It happened at Toledo Beach in Monroe County, Michigan, near Otter Creek Road.
The Toledo station of the U.S. Coast Guard had actually been conducting a training exercise on how to rescue people stranded on the ice when they got a 911 call. Turns out that several fishermen were stranded on an ice floe that had broken off from the coast because of the wind.
"We didn't even know the ice broke loose until our lures started moving underneath us," said John Pillarelli, one of the rescued guys. "The current changed, and we knew something was up -- but we didn't know the ice broke off that fast and that far. It was a little frightening."
The Coast Guard wants to remind everyone that warmer temperatures cause the ice to melt, and it is becoming very dangerous. It's probably a good idea to stay off the ice.
For more ice fishing safety tips, visit http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice
•