Ice Question for Kelly P

[InTheSchool]

What is happening with that ice sheet? Saturday night in that cold an 8" crack opened up along the east side and cut Westwind's and Red Lake Adventures roads. Out in the middle a pressure ridge came up tha was spectacular to see from a distance. And then yesterday a buddy of mine got flooded out after fishing by himself for three hours (8-10 inches of water surrounded his wheelhouse and truck). You boys are going to earn your money this winter!!

[kelly-p]

It's interesting out there isn't it? We have to remember that we may be in January but the ice sheet is like mid December. Until we get to about 18 inches of good ice everything will be moving around. That crack went all the way north into about 5 feet of water along the north shore and then turned west. I hope that I'm wrong but I have concerns that it could turn into a pressure ridge as it runs North/South and then swings around the lake to East/West. Hillman's long straight road bank usually worked as an expansion joint for north/south movement but we do not have that this year. Buddy has pushed his road out to about 2 3/4 miles now but I do not know if that will be enough to take the expansion pressure off the ice sheet when it warms up a little. All in all I'm playing it pretty carefull yet so we don't get caught on the wrong side of a new pressure ridge.

[InTheSchool]

There is plenty of safe ice closer to home and there are fish to be caught under it. It looks like if anyone wants to see the far reaches of the lake they had better bring a sled!

[shaky legs2]

A new Crappie Highway??

[kelly-p]

Out in the middle a pressure ridge came up that was spectacular to see from a distance.

I'm wondering if that could have been a mirage. Cracks open up when it is cold and the ice is contracting while pressure ridges form when the ice is warming up and expanding. I can not see any ridges out there on a clear day. I wish there was so we would know where it is going to be.

This ice sheet is a little strange to me. Tonight while I was scouting the water started sloshing up and down in the holes like someone was driving up. Nobody was driving close to me and looking around in the glass's the only vehicle I could see within 2 miles was parked by a fishhouse. The water sloshed for about 30 minutes. Must have been seals under the ice.

[Random guy]

Must have been seals under the ice.

Turbulence from a big pike going by.

[PikeBayCommanche]

Fresh water Narwhals?

[kelly-p]

Hippogators, yup it was most likely Hippogators under the ice. Back in the “70’s” and “80’s” when ever a wife was calling around looking for her husband sometime between suppertime and sunup his friends would always tell her that the Hippogators got him. The Hippogators got big. Hippopotamus head on one end and an Alligator head on the other end with no “rear end” so they got really big. If a person was drinking beer or whiskey and around either URL or the Tamarac River the Hippogators would come out of the water and grab him. At times it took guys days to escape from them and go back home.

[trebby01]

Hippogators??? hmmm.. might have to have my buddy tell my girlfriend that one

[kelly-p]

Hippogators??? hmmm.. might have to have my buddy tell my girlfriend that one

From experience let me tell you,,,,she'll still chew on you for a while.