Too close of a call!!!!!

[RangeFishing]

The old notion that no ice is safe ice rang true for us today while fishing Blue Lake in Nashwauk. Decided to venture to the back side of the lake to get away from the community holes and try to find some structure with deep enough water that the panfish would be gathering. I was driving slowly and looking at shore lines and thinking where to set up when my girlfriend screams "OPEN WATER!". I look up just in time to see it just ahead of me. I still have no idea how i reacted so darn fast but somewhere in that short blink of a split second my head processed the fact that there is little to no snow on the lake and hitting the brakes would only slide us into the hole, so I cranked the wheel to the left and punched the gas. We hit the other side rather hard and we both came up out of our seats mirror knocked off and everything got thrown around. Luckily though only the passenger side front tire went into the hole and I had enough momentum to slam up the other side. My initial thought was that someone has left a spearing hole open and i was flaming mad. After i got out and inspected the Jeep for damage i walked back to the hole to check it out and snapped the following picture. Turns out it was an underwater spring that popped a hole in the ice. There were constant air bubbles coming up and in the center of the hole the water almost seem to be bubbling it was coming up so fast. All in all we were extremely lucky today! (And even ended up going home with some fish to eat!)

[fishuhalik]

ya, i'd say you were lucky! good to hear everyone's ok, coulda ended alot worse for ya. just curious, how deep was it right there & do you mind sharing what lake if it's a bigger, well-known one so no one else goes through there?

[RangeFishing]

weird half my post is not showing up! This was on Blue Lake in Nashwauk,Mn. We ventured to the far back side looking at shore lines to find a good spot for crappies in all the old submerged tree beds. This was a spring that opened up. Hole was alot smaller only barely visible when i hit it, all the floating chunks were from when we slammed through it. And it was about 28 feet deep right there.

[Greg Clusiau]

Wow, that's as close a call as you can get. I don't recognize the background area but will be darn sure to be extra careful when going out there, if I even do. I remember, several years ago, finding an open hole, larger than that one, when it was minus 10-20 below. Couldn't believe my eyes.It was just steaming. This one was on the left, just before the big island. Yikes!

[Raider4ever]

Springs suck. A bunch of them on our lake in NW WI. Limit my hard water fishing to one section of the lake that has few, if any, that I know about. Stepped through one a number of years back (only one leg). Scary as where the Devil lives. Thank goodness everyone came out OK.

[RangeFishing]

Greg, ya know the last little straight ya drive through where everyone likes to set up, just past where the lake veers off to the left and there is open water by the old submerged road, well we kept going straight pretty close to the shore line and the trails heading out to the railroad grade. this is maybe 600 yards from the shore and out in the middle. Not typically where id expect to see a spring sprout up. Luckily not alot of people travel that far out. I broke a tree off and stuck it along side the hole to give people better visibility. If i had a sign post or anything id have put it in the ice to warn people. With the weather we have had I dont anticipate this one closing up!

[RangeFishing]

The land you see far off in the back is the very back shoreline of the lake, that clump of grass is a little island sticking out. Just to the right out of focus there is someones spearing shack also a bit out in the distance.

[Hibbingite]

Glad to here you made it out ok, that was close. We to were out on Saturday and for the lack of snow I thought the ice would be thicker. Guess it shows why we need at least 2 weeks of below zero weather and that is still no guarantee.

Anyhow unless this happens, I will not drive on that anymore period. Too many vehicles for the ice thickness and then we see some idoits doing at least 50 heading on out. Another clown was doing break locks going for a spin. What brains, not too mention the 2 idoits ponding down 1 case of beer only for one to take the 3 or 4 yr old they had with them to town for another and then you see a post like this and think of that poor kid. Lucky I didn't have my phone with or that would have been a tip called in. We did manage to make a few comments but what do we older people know hey? Those sure the heck are not the values I tought my kids when we went out............

This makes me sick but again glad to here this story had a happy ending. Always use caution, no matter how cold it has been ice is NEVER safe. And when you think you know a lake, it is different every year.

Good luck to all, and be safe.

Oh ya the fishing? Lots of northern but only 5 smaller crappies, wish I could hit the walleyes in there through the ice for once.

[Hibbingite]

I wasn't clear as to what lake, I was on Blue yesterday as well.

[RangeFishing]

Ya we were out there yesterday and then today again!

[wiggledastick]

On my way up there this weekend. My parents live north of nashwauk by Oleary. Mom is the manager at the little store. Blue lake here I come!