Quinte Fishing

Well the bay has and still is freezing up. The areas that I have not mentioned are coming along very good and I’m almost 100% sure they are going to be safe by the end of the week. I am still not going to mention them until they are safe. I’ll keep you all informed as usual. The protected areas not close to current are safe and the local gang today were banging fish in Big Bay, Potters, Herkimer and Petes point. . The bite was very good for all that went out. If you stay in these areas you’re on good ice, but I know that you still should be taking a spud and checking as you go. It really does not matter what thickness you are getting but with first ice up all of the areas will not be consistent. I sold a ton and half of minnow’s to-day so I got to talk to a lot of people besides my locals that I always check with and all were saying that they are happy with the conditions and agree with me on spudding your way to make sure. This weekend is looking better and better. Let’s hope that the bite is still on like it is right now.
Just remember one thing if you do decide to come out on the weekend STAY AWAY FROM CURRENT AREA’S. If you’re not sure where to go check in with me before you go out and I’ll show you where to go and where to not go. For those of you that need my phone no. its 613-969-1035. I’ll be out fishing on the weekend so I may see some of you out there and I will take pictures for you all.
Have fun, be safe and bring back everything you took with you. ………Ron

I have to agree with skevys about staying away from current areas, when approaching ice. Amongst a lot of seasoned locals most fatalities are usually involving people that simply do not know the area.

One trick is to follow the locals (do not stay too close). It might sound comical but I know of some that "spot the outsider" by bright or new clothes, gear, given that they do not get too fish the area that much. Staying along known or visible safe routes can save a lot of needless heartache for familys and friends alike.

Be safe and have fun....I wish I was joining everyone this weekend.

Donald Stokes

Ron,

What time do you open in the mornings?

WTG Ron keep up the good work. We in Markham will support your store. See you soon.

Tom

_________________
CATCH YOUR LIMIT, LIMIT YOUR CATCH

Hi all.
Ron, you say the ice is good. I thank you for your report.
I would like to know what good is. How many inches of blue ice is there. Blue ice is the only ice you should consider when measuring and use when determining what that ice will support. there is a chart available that determines what the ice will hold. This chart is based on the thickness of the ice is and what the temperature is. I do not have the chart but will do my best to get it and post it here. I used to fly in the bush and used aircraft that weighed as little as 3500 lbs to 116,000 pounds. To say the least we were very diligent in our efforts to establish good ice. As some poster's have said ice is not allways the same thickness, even ten feet away from your hole. We would drill holes the full length of the landing area and the area we would use for loading and unloading and then mark the safe area with little pine trees, or in the case of the Arctic green garbage bags full of snow. We would also check to make sure by random samplingas winter wore on and spring arrived.
In the North Ice Roads are also common and the same techniques are used. In my years in the North I have seen many Aircraft and Vehicles go through what was supposed to be good Ice. As an anecdote I will tell a little storey.
I was asked to take a 26,000 lb A/C to Sandy Lkae, Ontario and was told the ice was good. I asked if anybody had measurements and was told NO. I said I will take the 3500 lb A/C and drill holes to test it. The expense would have been about 300.00 bucks. The boss said no and then I said no. The new plan was to use a 12,000 lb A/C. The 12,000 lber went through the Ice on landing. Nobody was hurt and we recovered the half sunk A/C with a stroke of luck.
The morale of the storey is that good ice can only be determined with proper care. Blue Ice is the only ice that matters and temperature must be considered as well. Just because you see somebody out on the ice does mean it is good ice, nor does it mean the ice between you and them is good. Ice is dynamic, it changes all the time. When Ice goes in the spring it goes from the bottom not the top which means that even if it is cold outside the ice is deteriorating from underneath. It could be from the water turning over or from water running in from creeks and rivers. I could go on but I won't. Be safe the Ice season is early.
One more thought.
So I see 30 people out on the ice, they are close together, and think,Hey it must be good ice. What if the ice those 30 people are on can only support 30 people. I walk out and guess what? the Ice really can only hold 30 people, not 31.
There really is alot more to Ice than most of know, Me included.
Clark

Walleye is this the chart your referring to.

http://www.nwosta.ca/icethicknesschart.php[/url]

Try this one instead.

http://www.nwosta.ca/icethicknesschart.php

Hi all.
Anything. The chart we used was very specific and had weight and temperature VS thickness. It was very accurate and did not require interpolation. In other words we could tell if the ice was safe for my 110 lb wife, ( had to say that), and yet not for my robust 190 lbs. I can't find the chart, been looking through all my old bush stuff.
Here is a very general chart though that is, I believe less than conservative.
The big ticket is not to be a headline on the news and conservative is the best way to go.
I hope this helps, Clark.

Required Minimum Ice
Thickness in inches Description of
Safe Moving Load
1-3/4 One person on skies
2 One person on foot or skates
3 One snowmobile
3 A group of people walking single file
7 A single passenger automobile
8 A 2-1/2 ton truck
9 A 3-1/2 ton truck
10 A 7 to 8 ton truck

For CM multiply by 2.2. I also forgot that there is a differance between moving load and stationary.

So your saying that my 14 year old son will be safe skating on 2 inches of ice? Im not contradicting what your saying but i think that for someone to really be safe you have to have atleast 4-5 good inches of ice because anything can happen.(pressure point, weak spot)

Ps. Good luck on the Hardwater!

Hi.
I try to catch fish, I am not saying that. The chart says that but does not give a temperature to qualify it. I would not venture out on the ice unless it was 4 inches, but that is my built in survival mode, and I would make sure it was blue ice to boot.
I want to point out that Ron from Skevy's is providing a great service to all of us and I was not trying to undermine what he was saying. I was just pointing out that the word " good " can be ambiguous.
I flew off the ice from first freeze to last ice and saw some pretty ridiculous stuff, including the death of more than one person who didn't respect the Ice. I also should point out that I was in the north where Ice does not have the same type of dynamics that they have here where we go from cold to warm and back again.
The point being, be carefull.
Clark

Ok i get that, i really should then apologise because i thought that this was your thoughts and not part of a chart. I agree with not going on less than 4 inches knowingly because i've seen more than my fair share of accidents on the ice.

Ps. Good luck on the hardwater