Saw some guys out on pond near me yesterday fishing and I was worried about them. It was 50 degrees and raining.

Is there a general rule of thumb as to when it is safe or not safe?

Depends on the pond. If a pond has springs or areas where moving water below the ice makes for spots that are thinner , that's dangerous. If there is a lot of ice everywhere , its usually safe regardless of the warm rain on top.

I fished yesterday on 7" of black ice, edges were bad by noon. but it was tidal. anyways if it were a pond I'd likely have fished what you described today as well given good ice. despite the rain and warm temps, the overnight lows this week should help maintain current ice conds. lake to lake, pond, river etc conditions vary greatly
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No general rules....every pond/lake is different. You need to check ice thickness whenever you go out.

Here is some stuff to read on ice safety....http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/showthread.php?p=1024183#post1024183
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There are some basic guidelines that you SHOULD follow regarding ice fishing safety (as well as the rules and reg's that go with the sport).

Knowing that, there are still some that will "take a chance" and head out on risky ice conditions. (I know why they want to do it, but for the life of me I'll never understand why the do it?)

SO what it boils down to is this: In the ice fishing world, just as in the surcasting world, some consider you a wimp, wussy, weakling, etc... if you don't "push the envelope" and take that risk, even though it could cost you your life!
Remember all it takes is one split second to change everything you felt safe about into a disaster.

Me, I don't venture out on less than 4 inches of black/clear ice.
I did once before, I mean ONCE, and although I never fell through I knew the ice was getting weaker by the minute and it wasn't worth it to continue the risk. (I left that pond, drove a mile west on rte 40 and found my other fave pond in that region had 6-8" where I wanted to fish.)

back to the topic....the temps can have an impact on the ice, and rain WILL erode the top and shoreline as well, but if you have a thick solid base to begin with, it would take summer heat for a few days, or a few days of pouring rain to completely melt all the ice.

OH, I was up in the NH lakes region, on Winnpesaukee, and where I was (NW side) they had just over a foot of ice!

Thanks! Great info and videos on those past threads.

Ice is best surrounded by three fingers of single malt.
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Ice is best surrounded by three fingers of single malt.
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What, and turn it into Koolaid???
(Put the glass in the ice and then pour into the glass.) :grins:

If I wanted watered down drinks, I'd go to a sporting event, ANY sporting event and buy a $10-$15 glass of "beer"!

Seriously, now I have "scotch" on the brains....:smash:

Saw an execellent example of why you need to be careful yesterday. Drove by a big pond and the ice was pretty uniform , still even not thawed at the edges. Out in the middle where you would expect it to be good and uniform , there was a nice round circle maybe 15 feet across that was all but melted through. Obviously a spring in that area. My guess is you could have walked all around the edges of that pond but if you stepped on the area in the middle you were going in at one of the deepest parts.

A nice heavy spud driven into the ice every few steps is a good idea on questionable ice. If I can't get through in one good thump, the ice will hold me.

ice is funny stuff.... expands when it freezes.. that alone should make you think... it NEVER freezes uniformily... a small leaf or pile of bird droppings can make an unsafe area even in ice a foot thick...the older I get the more weary i become...never...ever take it for granted... I've been through 3 times... never while ice fishing.. but that's a story for another day... plenty of ice in the lakes region... I've been fishing there since before Christmas... prior to the thaw... one lake in particular .. had 16" of ice... 18" of snow and 4" of slush in between... the snow took the punishment of the rain.. that ice that did melt was crappy snow ice.. leaving 10-12" of nice black ice..way ahead of what we had at this time the last few years..

Barring an early spring thaw, there could be ice into April!
I was in Moultonborough, and the lake had well over a foot of solid ice.
Any snow in the mix came from what fell thios weekend!

Oh, and I do disagree...ice DOES freeze uniformly.
The water UNDER it causes it to melt more in some areas than others.
That's where springs, rivers, inlets and outlets come into play. Moving water erodes ice AFTER it has formed and can prevent it from freezing in the first place.

Nevertheless, I would NEVER advocate anything but safety when venturing out on the ice.
Fortunately the places I fish I know whether or not they are spring fed and where any inlets or outlets are beforehand.
This is another good reason to check out a pond or lake during open water season, so you have an idea of where to avoid.

And AGAIN... never presume ice is safe until you have checked it for yourself!!!

I love when it groans and cracks even if your just standing still.
Scares the sheet out of some who don't know. I'm like dude ! You could drive a train over this ice it ain't breaking !!!!!!

Remember ice floats. I believe if its 4" thick and you're of average weight, you could cut out a 4-5' circle around you (like the three stooges did) and it you will just float on it. Something like that.:)

I have yet to try that though :smash:

Hi Canadian guy here that loves the ditch, will be back for 2 weeks in Sept.

Getting out when you fall in is key. Could 1 of you guys you tube "Survival in the Ice" part 1 and 2 and post this link.

This guy cross country skis into open water and shows what your body goes thru and how to get out. Really good stuff.

Couple more pts. most commercial spuds are junk. Go down to the local spring repair guy and get end piece of car spring 1.5 inches X 6-7 long. Get a welding shop to cut a groove 3-4 inch up a pipe and weld your car spring piece. You can add some weight in the pipe but not necessary. Add a piece of pipe and a t bar.

2 hits with this spud will be safe for ordinary size guys.

One big danger on ice is white outs. I don't trust my phone or GPS.

Get a compass and pin it to your ice fishing coat.

And you will learn about ice spikes in the video. Life saver.

Hi Canadian guy here that loves the ditch, will be back for 2 weeks in Sept.

Getting out when you fall in is key. Could 1 of you guys you tube "Survival in the Ice" part 1 and 2 and post this link.

This guy cross country skis into open water and shows what your body goes thru and how to get out. Really good stuff.

Couple more pts. most commercial spuds are junk. Go down to the local spring repair guy and get end piece of car spring 1.5 inches X 6-7 long. Get a welding shop to cut a groove 3-4 inch up a pipe and weld your car spring piece. You can add some weight in the pipe but not necessary. Add a piece of pipe and a t bar.

2 hits with this spud will be safe for ordinary size guys.

One big danger on ice is white outs. I don't trust my phone or GPS.

Get a compass and pin it to your ice fishing coat.

And you will learn about ice spikes in the video. Life saver.

Speedwell? That you?

Hey Cape guys...just curious as to what the snow did to your ponds...did it pile up...make slush? Just checking.

Love those Dr. Giesbrecht aka Dr. Popsicle videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gOW8ZaYqHA&list=PL0B7B52ACA8F16032&index=1

.

I was on 6 to 8" of ice this season on a big lake when a pressure crack opened 10 feet wide and split to shore over 200 yards. One guy in our group was on the other side and had to walk to shore to get back. It could have easily swallowed a man or snow machine.

Be safe out there!

Barring an early spring thaw, there could be ice into April!
I was in Moultonborough, and the lake had well over a foot of solid ice.
Any snow in the mix came from what fell thios weekend!

Oh, and I do disagree...ice DOES freeze uniformly.
The water UNDER it causes it to melt more in some areas than others.
That's where springs, rivers, inlets and outlets come into play. Moving water erodes ice AFTER it has formed and can prevent it from freezing in the first place.

Nevertheless, I would NEVER advocate anything but safety when venturing out on the ice.
Fortunately the places I fish I know whether or not they are spring fed and where any inlets or outlets are beforehand.
This is another good reason to check out a pond or lake during open water season, so you have an idea of where to avoid.

And AGAIN... never presume ice is safe until you have checked it for yourself!!!

YOU ARE DEAD WRONG.... ice does not freeze uniformly becuse of the exact reason you just stated.. the water is too warm where the spings are to support freezing below the surface.. it also does not freeze evenly because some area are kept open by the wind and feeze much latter.. iif at all.. thus the thickness vary lately.. seems like some people just like to argue for the sake of arguing...

I was just going to say the same thing. :stir::btu:

let's see....water freezes at 32 degrees, which is uniformly taken as a standard measure. Now if we were talking of ice formation on lake "X" then we would have to consider that although the ice will form, there could be extenuating circumstances that could prevent the ice from freezing all at the same time.

In a pond with no springs, no inlets or outlets, and adequate shelter from the wind, the ice tends to freeze uniformly.

Maybe I should have been more specific in my claim.:huh:

Or better yet, maybe I just need a good day out on the ice to chase away the January blahs? :fishin:

Some things to think about too...in early season when Ice forms on a pond it usually starts to form from the shore out towards the center...or depending on tree line from south to north......because the north end will get more sunlight than the south end. This is why on early ice you can walk out a few feet on 2-3" of ice but go out a few more feet and in you go.

also in late season as the ice goes away it does it from shore first.

I saw a guy once fishing on a point of ice with tipups, while 30 yards away I was casting to open water.

Ice IS a funny thing. I honestly have never ice fished....one thing I want to do but my current winter hobby takes top priority and therefore it has not happened yet.

Either way the only way I comfortably take my snowmobile across ice is when I know temps have been low enough for long enough and if I see trucks and shanties on the ice. I have taken my chances in warmer temps with slush on top and freaked the whole time.....not worth it and lucky I lived to tell the tale. I have also seen trucks parked on 2 feet of ice with a patch of open water 40 yards away. Holy hell it makes you think....just saying. Live life, take "acceptable risk", but do it within reason. I don't believe in missing out on life but ending it for one day of fishing isn't worth loosing your life over either.

http://www.vtvast.org/VAST/Safety/Ice-Thicknes.html

Some things to think about too...in early season when Ice forms on a pond it usually starts to form from the shore out towards the center...or depending on tree line from south to north......because the north end will get more sunlight than the south end. This is why on early ice you can walk out a few feet on 2-3" of ice but go out a few more feet and in you go.

also in late season as the ice goes away it does it from shore first.

I saw a guy once fishing on a point of ice with tipups, while 30 yards away I was casting to open water.

Long sought for pond in Westford is like that.
In the years that I have fished there, I have fished later into the spring there more than anywhere else in Mass.
The shore that I use to access the pond is on the western side, and the shore is shaded by trees as far back as you can see, so the shore never receives a full day of sun during the winter.
I have fished there on the ice on the western half of the pond (6-8") where the other half was open water. As with the early season ice, safety becomes a priority when accessing the pond, any pond for that matter. I have also had the need to plank a few times, and fortunately the ponds I was fishing had shallow shores.

I will say once again...Be safe and don't take any unnecessary risks!