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How to tell ice thickness



 
 
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  #11  
Old January 10th, 2004, 01:57 AM
PB
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to tell ice thickness

Well wear a pfd anyways!
"Steve Ward" wrote in message
newsJHLb.38809$ts4.35865@pd7tw3no...
NEVER EVER use chest waders for ice fishing. If the ice broke you would
drown
Steve
"Dre" wrote in message
...
Chest waders?? Isn't that the worst thing you can do? If the ice breaks

and
your chest waders fill up with water then you'll sink right to the

bottom.

Dre

"Marc" wrote in message
.. .
Well be careful & wear your chest waders & PFD!
Glub! Glub!
LOL
"SC" wrote in message
...
Well, I never realised there was so much to it. Thank you both for

your
interesting and detailed replies :-)

It will be my first time ice fishing at my cottage and I intend to

go
on
16th February in Nova Scotia. I will post the group to let you know

how
I
get on.

Thanks again

ARB

"smiles" wrote in message
...
The only effective method of measuring ice thickness is by cutting

a
hole.
4 inches of solid ice is ample for someone to walk on. It will

take
a
couple of good whacks with an axe to cut through. If I can sink

the
blade
of my axe through the ice with one whack, it's a bit too thin for

my
liking.
If you plan to do the occasional fishing, you can make a cutter

out
of
a
long pole of metal and you can weld a square piece of metal to the

end.
You
sharpen the square piece and hack a hole through the ice. It will

cost
you
about 20 to 25 bucks to have one made at a welding shop. The

width
of
the
cutter should be about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. If you are going

to
go
ice
fishing more often and if the ice gets over 1 foot thick, an ice

auger
is
the way to go. A manual ice auger to make 8 inch diameter holes

will
cost
about 60 bucks. The cutters are very fragile. Any sand, or

getting
knocked
about will prevent any further cutting until the cutters are

sharpened.
They should be as sharp as razors. When very sharp, the auger

will
go
through the ice very quickly and easily. Occasionally, the

cutters
must
be
carefully honed otherwise you will have to buy new ones for about

20
bucks.
I carefully hone mine (keep the original angle of cut perfect) and

they
get
sharp enough to shave the hair on my forearm. There are 6 inch

diameter
augers and they are a tad less expensive. They are also fine if

you
fish
in
an area that is not really cold and the fish are not big. A

rather
large
fish can go through a 6 inch hole but when it gets really cold,

the
holes
have a tendency to freeze up and get smaller. In -15 to -25

weather,
a
6
inch hole really freezes up fast. But....cutting a hole through

ice
is
a
bit easier with a 6 inch auger. Some people who do a lot of ice
fishing,
most guides, all outfitters, use gas operated augers. They cost

about
350
dollars. When using one where there are many fishermen, you can

offer
to
cut holes for a small fee. By the end of 2 years, your machine

could
have
paid for itself. But, you will have to haul smelly gas, the extra
weight
and if the auger is not maintained, it could give you problems.

Manual
augers always start.



"SC" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone.

On the subject of ice fishing, can anyone tell me a cheap way to
measure
the
ice thickness without buying one of those ice drill things? I

have
bought
a
house by quite a shallow lake, so could I carefully step out and

hack
a
hole
with an axe and does the ice get thicker the further out you go?

Thanks a lot in advance.

ARB
















  #12  
Old January 10th, 2004, 06:24 PM
smiles
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to tell ice thickness

Actually....chest waders full of water and chest waders not full of water
weigh the same in the water. You will not sink to the bottom any faster if
the waders are full of water. What will help is the amount of air trapped
inside the waders so it stands to reason that if the waders are full of
water there will be no trapped air inside the waders. A good solid belt to
hold the air inside the waders will help to float a fisherman. Too much air
and I would guess that the fisherman could float "head down" in the water
but a personal floatation device would help to keep the fisherman's head out
of the water. With trapped air in the waders and a PFD, a floating
fisherman could even become a good device to sit on and fish from.
"Dre" wrote in message
...
Chest waders?? Isn't that the worst thing you can do? If the ice breaks

and
your chest waders fill up with water then you'll sink right to the

bottom.

Dre



  #13  
Old January 10th, 2004, 09:05 PM
Dark Knight
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to tell ice thickness

That's cold Smiles...real cold...

DK

"smiles" wrote in message
. ..
Actually....chest waders full of water and chest waders not full of water
weigh the same in the water. You will not sink to the bottom any faster

if
the waders are full of water. What will help is the amount of air trapped
inside the waders so it stands to reason that if the waders are full of
water there will be no trapped air inside the waders. A good solid belt

to
hold the air inside the waders will help to float a fisherman. Too much

air
and I would guess that the fisherman could float "head down" in the water
but a personal floatation device would help to keep the fisherman's head

out
of the water. With trapped air in the waders and a PFD, a floating
fisherman could even become a good device to sit on and fish from.
"Dre" wrote in message
...
Chest waders?? Isn't that the worst thing you can do? If the ice

breaks
and
your chest waders fill up with water then you'll sink right to the

bottom.

Dre





  #14  
Old January 16th, 2004, 10:23 AM
Mike Schmidt
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to tell ice thickness

They may not weigh more IN the water but try to get OUT of the water with
waders full of water!! It's not drowning that you need to worry about, as
much as hypothermia. You need to get out of the water as fast as possible,
then get warm and dry ASAP. Every bit of saftey advice I've seen, says
never wear waders or hip boots when ice fishing. You want clothes as light
as possible (while still heavy enough to stay warm).

--
Schmidty
"Dark Knight" wrote in message
...
That's cold Smiles...real cold...

DK

"smiles" wrote in message
. ..
Actually....chest waders full of water and chest waders not full of

water
weigh the same in the water. You will not sink to the bottom any faster

if
the waders are full of water. What will help is the amount of air

trapped
inside the waders so it stands to reason that if the waders are full of
water there will be no trapped air inside the waders. A good solid belt

to
hold the air inside the waders will help to float a fisherman. Too much

air
and I would guess that the fisherman could float "head down" in the

water
but a personal floatation device would help to keep the fisherman's head

out
of the water. With trapped air in the waders and a PFD, a floating
fisherman could even become a good device to sit on and fish from.
"Dre" wrote in message
...
Chest waders?? Isn't that the worst thing you can do? If the ice

breaks
and
your chest waders fill up with water then you'll sink right to the

bottom.

Dre







 




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