2017 Vermilion Ice fishing reoprts and ice conditions

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Thanks for the heads up!!

[portageguy]

Always a pleasure to hang out with Cliff. The 5th Grade class from Northwoods learned a lot about ice fishing. 

Thanks to Guides league, DNR and Bois forte wardens and local helpers. Special thanks to The landing for hosting.

 I was by Moccasin landing just before dark. Didn't see any sign of 

anything going through ice. 

 We stopped driving trucks on lake last week. With cold weather coming may venture out again. 

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Thanks for the update Lonnie!

Cliff

[redneckdan]

Just to clarify. Vehicle was located between pine and the small island south of sunset. EMS staging was out of moccasin point.

[brmurph]

Thanks for the info.  The vehicle going through the ice sucks, hope everyone got out ok.  Good to hear it should the lake should be better next week with the cold weather, now if it could just get a little snow.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

South of Sunset Island would put the vehicle in the S-Curve area which is a narrows and current area. One of the types of areas that you should be using caution in now!

Cliff

[redneckdan]

Snowmobile just went through in Oak Narrows area.

[brmurph]

3 hours ago, redneckdan said:

Snowmobile just went through in Oak Narrows area.

Wow.  Any details?  Like was he on the marked/stacked trail?

[redneckdan]

Information I have indicates the operator stopped his machine on the marked trail, in a section marked 'Thin Ice'. That is when the machine went through.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Good info. Dan!

At this point in the winter those types of areas should be avoided at all times. Very foolish to stop right on top of an area marked "thin ice"! Gotta wonder about that one!

Cliff

[SkunkedAgain]

My snowmobile is dead so I can't vouch for the rest of the lake (anyone want a '97 Polaris 600 for free?) but when I augered through the ice in my bay, the ice was over 2ft thick - came to the middle of my thigh. However, there were several layers that the auger broke through and definitely some slushy ice mixed in. I would definitely be wary of areas with current! Stay safe

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I just came back from checking ice conditions on Big Bay.

I found about 22 inches of good ice out there and very easy going! No real snow cover left, no slush, and smooth ice almost every where!

Cliff

[jkrash]

2 hours ago, SkunkedAgain said:

My snowmobile is dead so I can't vouch for the rest of the lake (anyone want a '97 Polaris 600 for free?) but when I augered through the ice in my bay, the ice was over 2ft thick - came to the middle of my thigh. However, there were several layers that the auger broke through and definitely some slushy ice mixed in. I would definitely be wary of areas with current! Stay safe

 

I'LL TAKE IT!

[AlwaysFishing23]

Thanks for the report Cliff! Sounds like things have healed up nicely with the cold snap.

[CigarGuy]

A 70-year-old Eveleth man whose snowmobile broke through the ice on Lake Vermilion on Saturday was rescued from the frigid waters by a witness who used a canoe and rescue rope to reach the scene.

 

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reported that authorities were called to the Oak Narrows area of Lake Vermilion, in Greenwood Township northeast of Cook, just before 3 p.m. on a report of a snowmobile that had broken through the ice.

Responding emergency personnel learned that a nearby resident had witnessed the incident and used his canoe and rope to rescue the snowmobile operator, identified as Ronald Hautala, while a family member called 911.

Hautala was brought to a nearby residence, and then transported to Cook Hospital for evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's office reported.

 

Authorities said that earlier in the week, a vehicle went through the ice in shallow waters of Lake Vermilion near Pine Island; no one was hurt in that incident.

 

"The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office urges outdoor enthusiasts to abide by 'thin ice' warning signs and to remember that ice conditions can always be unpredictable, especially since the recent early thaw conditions in the area," the sheriff's office reported in a news release.

 

Cook Ambulance, Greenwood first responders and the St. Louis County Rescue Squad also responded to Saturday's incident

[SkunkedAgain]

From the Pioneer Press:

 

ON LAKE VERMILION, Minn. — Quick thinking by a resident on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota helped save a snowmobiler who crashed through the ice Saturday.

Fred Reichel had just sat down in the living room of his Lake Vermilion home that afternoon to watch a little television when he noticed two snowmobiles buzzing across the ice at Oak Narrows.

Only one of the snowmobiles made it.

The other, driven by Ronald Hautala of Eveleth, crashed through the ice.

“I knew, when I didn’t see the second one, exactly what happened. I ran outside and from there I could see him in the water,” Reichel said Sunday. “So I ran back in and yelled for my wife to call 911 while I went for the canoe.”

Luckily for Hautala, 70, the canoe was easy to grab, under Reichel’s house. It had a rope and paddles already inside, and Reichel dragged it down to the water’s edge, then scooted it across glare ice toward Hautala.

“I had one foot in the canoe, one foot out pushing,” Reichel said.

Hautala tried to hang onto the ice but couldn’t pull himself out of the water.

The closer the canoe got to Hautala, the less he was floating out of the water, Reichow noted.

“He was pretty calm. But he said he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. I told him not to worry, I was almost there,’’ Reichel said.

As Reichel reached Hautala, he managed to pull the drenched snowmobiler across the canoe and then into it, although he’s still not sure how he managed that considering how much the soaked clothing weighed.

The added weight caused the canoe to break through the ice, but it didn’t tip.

“By then some other snowmobiles had stopped, and my neighbor came out. They got a rope, threw it to me. I tied it to the canoe so they could pull us in” by hand, Reichel said.

The group got Hautala out of the canoe, removed his helmet and jacket and immediately put him inside Reichel’s already warm hot tub.

By then, a St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputy showed up along with the Cook Ambulance and Greenwood Township EMTs.

According to the sheriff’s office, Hautala was taken to Cook Hospital to be checked out for hypothermia, but he was expected to recover quickly.

Oak Narrows is about halfway between Cook and Tower on the big, island-studded lake. The ice in the current-filled channel there is often thin, even in cold winters, Reichow said. But this winter’s mix of 40-plus-degree temperatures followed by cold snaps has made it even less predictable. The narrows had open water last week, then froze over a little a few days ago. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has thin-ice warning signs at the narrows and an on-land portage for snowmobilers around the danger zone that, by chance, goes across Reichel’s property.The temperature in Cook at the time was about 18, according to data from the National Weather Service in Duluth.

Hautala apparently didn’t see or didn’t heed the signs.

“The ice was maybe two inches (thick) where he went in,” Reichel said. The water is “about 12, maybe 13 feet deep there.”

About 30 inches of solid ice still covers much of Lake Vermilion, Reichel noted. But the St. Louis County sheriff’s office urges snowmobilers, ATVers and others to be aware of thin-ice areas and pay attention to warning signs, especially as spring approaches. Last week a vehicle broke through the ice in shallow waters near Pine Island on Lake Vermilion. Nobody was injured in that incident, the sheriff’s office said.

Hats off to Fred Reichel

[AlwaysFishing23]

29 minutes ago, SkunkedAgain said:

From the Pioneer Press:

 

ON LAKE VERMILION, Minn. — Quick thinking by a resident on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota helped save a snowmobiler who crashed through the ice Saturday.

Fred Reichel had just sat down in the living room of his Lake Vermilion home that afternoon to watch a little television when he noticed two snowmobiles buzzing across the ice at Oak Narrows.

Only one of the snowmobiles made it.

The other, driven by Ronald Hautala of Eveleth, crashed through the ice.

“I knew, when I didn’t see the second one, exactly what happened. I ran outside and from there I could see him in the water,” Reichel said Sunday. “So I ran back in and yelled for my wife to call 911 while I went for the canoe.”

Luckily for Hautala, 70, the canoe was easy to grab, under Reichel’s house. It had a rope and paddles already inside, and Reichel dragged it down to the water’s edge, then scooted it across glare ice toward Hautala.

“I had one foot in the canoe, one foot out pushing,” Reichel said.

Hautala tried to hang onto the ice but couldn’t pull himself out of the water.

The closer the canoe got to Hautala, the less he was floating out of the water, Reichow noted.

“He was pretty calm. But he said he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. I told him not to worry, I was almost there,’’ Reichel said.

As Reichel reached Hautala, he managed to pull the drenched snowmobiler across the canoe and then into it, although he’s still not sure how he managed that considering how much the soaked clothing weighed.

The added weight caused the canoe to break through the ice, but it didn’t tip.

“By then some other snowmobiles had stopped, and my neighbor came out. They got a rope, threw it to me. I tied it to the canoe so they could pull us in” by hand, Reichel said.

The group got Hautala out of the canoe, removed his helmet and jacket and immediately put him inside Reichel’s already warm hot tub.

By then, a St. Louis County Sheriff’s deputy showed up along with the Cook Ambulance and Greenwood Township EMTs.

According to the sheriff’s office, Hautala was taken to Cook Hospital to be checked out for hypothermia, but he was expected to recover quickly.

Oak Narrows is about halfway between Cook and Tower on the big, island-studded lake. The ice in the current-filled channel there is often thin, even in cold winters, Reichow said. But this winter’s mix of 40-plus-degree temperatures followed by cold snaps has made it even less predictable. The narrows had open water last week, then froze over a little a few days ago. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has thin-ice warning signs at the narrows and an on-land portage for snowmobilers around the danger zone that, by chance, goes across Reichel’s property.The temperature in Cook at the time was about 18, according to data from the National Weather Service in Duluth.

Hautala apparently didn’t see or didn’t heed the signs.

“The ice was maybe two inches (thick) where he went in,” Reichel said. The water is “about 12, maybe 13 feet deep there.”

About 30 inches of solid ice still covers much of Lake Vermilion, Reichel noted. But the St. Louis County sheriff’s office urges snowmobilers, ATVers and others to be aware of thin-ice areas and pay attention to warning signs, especially as spring approaches. Last week a vehicle broke through the ice in shallow waters near Pine Island on Lake Vermilion. Nobody was injured in that incident, the sheriff’s office said.

Hats off to Fred Reichel

 

Definetly a right place at the right time situation just happened to sit down and look up. Lucky guy.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

A very lucky guy!

 

[SkunkedAgain]

Usually when I sit down to relax, that's when I hear the toilet running or some other problem that I need to fix. This guy was johnny on the spot.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

bump

[BrianF]

Heading up this coming weekend.  Can someone give an up-dated report on ice conditions?  Down here in the Twin Cities, some of the lakes have already opened up!

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Brian,

There was still 22" to 24" of solid ice on Sat. Drove my F250 out that day!

Got rain last night but freezing weather by this morning and most of the water on top of the ice from that refroze.

Should be good going for at least 4 wheelers yet.

Cliff

[BrianF]

Thx Cliff, good info.  Wondering though...Is travel by sleds still viable with the current ice conditions?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

Not much snow on the ice for sled travel at this time. Got an inch or so last night though.

Cliff

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I took a 4-wheeler ride around Pine Island this morning to check out the ice conditions.

Very good travel conditions! No snow on the ice now except for patches of crusty stuff.

Some areas did appear to have signs of some shallow honey combing.

Saw no other vehicles out there, but did see a few wheeler and truck tracks by the Trout Lake Portage area.

Found one small, older pressure ridge in Big Bay between Comet Island and Jack Rabbit Island.

I did not drill any test holes but assume that there is still 22" to 24" of ice. Same as last week.

Cliff