ice fishin (and swimming)at kickapoo park 3/1/08

[gofish]

went out an hit kickapoo again, ice fishing stead of in my boat on the river due to "another"battery problem lol..decided to look around at a couple more pieces of structure while waiting on john.fishing was slower than normal but i expected that because i was fishing some "saddles" between humps instead of the humps but size was good.decided to lock up the truck and go hit some standing timber in 35 ft of water thats on another lake connected to the one i was on by a real narrow channel.normally thats the safest way to go because of the way the other lake freezes.at the boat ramp i met a guy id talked to while fishing with my boys and invited him along since he couldnt find any bait and was from out of town.....well we made the long walk with no problems and ended up fishing on 5 to 7 inches of ice,the fish were really hitting good when we first got there but quickly slowed when the clouds left.round dark they started picking up and the bite got better.hated ta do it cause we were catching some decent crappie and gills but i had to leave,ole "kayak joe" the guy i met at the ramp decided ta stay so after makin sure he thought he could find his way back safe i took off walkin.bout halfway back is the narrows where the 2 lakes join and as i was just startin thru(full dark by now) i saw a beaver hit OPEN water next to shore and it was too late! in i went up to my chest.those that know me know im purty much scairt ta death of the water well i jumped clean out an up on shore in a split second but the shores purty much vertical right there an right back in i went.least this time it was only up to mid thigh an i can deal with that lol.took me bout 20 minutes to be able to git back up onto safe ice.i was sure glad i had another 10 minutes of walkin ta git to the ramp.drove back around and hollered at kayakjoe and warned him of the open water so he wouldnt hit it in the dark an headed home.......no more ice fishin this year fer me lol

[Illinoisgiller]

Now that is an experiance I don't want to duplicate. Glad to hear you got out to tell about it .
Darn, that has to be a cold experiance for sure. Mike

[honda74]

Good to hear you made it out and were able to tell us. I always have the hand pegs for ice around my neck and strung through my coat. I think I paid 8.00 for them at Dicks Sporting Goods last year. Never have fallen in, but better safe than sorry. Remember no ice is safe ice.

[Catbird]

Glad everything ended up all right Joe. I had sort of a similar experience this weekend as well. I was wade fishing with my father-in-law on a new section of Little 3 Mile Creek (where the hot water outlet is). The water was cold but very swift. About 3 steps from the bank, the water level went from below my knee up to my armpits. The bad thing was, I was wearing chest waders. I got back out of the water very quick as well. Only ended up with about 4" of water in my boots but was soaked. We fished for about another 40 minutes then headed toward home and a nice hot lunch.

[jason454ci]

Glad to hear everyone made it through the weekend after taking nice chilly baths. Be careful out there guys we don't wanna read about ya in the paper.

[john h]

glad you made it out alright joe... **** my heavy ass would have had issues if i went out there lol.... im just waiting for the thaw now so i can do some real fishing

[zim-cat]

Joe Where Was Your Rope Man Ops Thats Me Wish I Could Of Helped You Glad You Made It See Ya Around Zim-cat

[capt.kirk]

Glad to hear your OK Joe,guess i dont have to repeat the sermon on
Be Safe do I ??????????????? Nuff Said :icon_eek: Kirk

[kayakjoe]

Hey Joe, Thanks Again For The Warning I Saw Where Ya Went Through And Was Able To Get Around That Spot !!!! Again Thks For All The Info On Icefishing Those Ponds!!! And For The Hand Tied Jigs Looks Like Ill Have To Put Ya On Some Kankakee River Fishing Or Some Lakefront Action When It Gets Alittle Warmer!!! Also Thks For Turning Me Onto This Website Im As You Already Know Kayakjoe !! Lookin Forward To Fishing With Ya Again !!!!!

[john h]

welcome kayak joe... yeahyou ran across one heck of guy there in gofish... he definately knows them lakes there and doesnt mind shaing the info

[gofish]

yep them ice picks always bein roun my neck helped out lol....didnt even git sick lol.....makes ya glad i always take the lead when were out dont it zim-cat?lol.........glad ya made it out allright an found the site kayakjoe,how many ya git after i left ta go swimmin?

[kayakjoe]

Joe,got 4 More Of Them Slabs But Iwasnt Preped For Night Action No Lantern Headlamp Or G P S To Get Back I Left Not Long After Ya Warned Me About The Thin Ice !!! Ill Be Back Down When The Ice Is Out Ill Let Ya Know When I Owe Ya Some Lunch At The Very Least !!!