The 18th annual ice slam is over. I mentioned it a week r so back as being an event that touring walleye professional Mark Sak hosts each February at his cabin near Imlay City.
"We're not going to embarrass ourselves," Waterford resident and longtime angler Glenn Uhl asked me?
I had invited Uhl along knowing he likes good company along with some ice fishing thrown in. And, according to Sak the fish would be there.
"Nobody fished last year because of the bad ice," he said. "Those gills should be decent size," he added.
That was another concern of Uhl's."Are we going to catch any fish," he asked? I assured him we would but that assurance is rather hollow because no one can accurately predict catching fish.
The day proved perfect. There was no wind, we had plenty of sunshine and the fish were biting. You had to sort through a few until you collected a keeper but that's the way fishing goes.
By mid-morning I decided to take a short walk to see how the others were doing. I had walked maybe 50 feet away when the ice gave way and I was up to my waist it ice cold water.
The good thing about it was just my left leg went in. I had stepped in an old hole that had been covered over with a little skin ice and snow. It was darn near invisible.
When I went through the first thought I had was that this was going to get cold and it could get really exciting in a hurry.
Finally, after flopping around for a minute or so, I was able to extricate myself. I was back in the cabin about a half hour later trying to dry and thaw out.
I have no words of wisdom. Paying attention to where you walk is obvious. Still, if it's going to happen, it probably will.
Just remember to throw in some extra socks, another pair of boots and some dry trousers. You never know when they'll come in handy!
You can't be too careful on the ice either.
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