Ice fishing safety

This week's story, Jan. 28, has to do with ice fishing and a close call that a couple seasoned anglers had recently.
Many of us who fish through the ice have stories or experienced falling through. Usually it's through ice that is suspicious to begin with like first or last ice.
But the principles in this story were on solid, 8-inch ice. They even spudded holes and saw the ice was thick enough not only to support the weight of a man but probably snow machines too.
And right near, in fact withink 15-feet of the think ice, for some reason, the ice thinned to just a little more of an inch.
This is the ice Gary Mobley fell through. As he tried to climb out, the ice around him kept breaking up.
Only with the help of his partner Pat Larsen and another angler was Mobley eventually able to gain solid enough ice to be dragged out and eventually off the ice.
The watchword is be careful on the ice. Take those precautions we all nervously laugh at. Consider wearing a PFD or a float suit if you can afford it. Throw in a sturdy rope to be used to toss if you need it, and think about buying or making a set of picks to wear around your neck.
They just might come in handy in the event you need to drive one into ice for a hand-hold.