My ice fishing adventure (963 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.82 on 17 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Peckerhead <-> (View user info) at 2005-02-22 02:22:58 EST
I remember it as if it were yesterday. God, how could I forget. It was a crisp winter day in early February. The group consisted of my older brother, Gary, my dad, his co-worker and good friend, Neil McTavish and Neil's two sons: Bruce and Stuart.
We had gone to bed early the night before so we could get up early, have breakfast, pack our gear and hit the road. Our destination was Longbow Lake in Northern Ontario. Ice thickness surely was not going to be a problem. December and January had been brutally cold and not once did the temperature get above freezing.
Longbow Lake was very still with little or no currents. It generally froze over in mid November and did not start to thaw until mid March; This was typical of a hundred other small lakes dotted throughout North-Western Ontario. This area was an ice fishermen's paradise. If there was going to be an ice thickness problem then it would be that it was TOO THICK as opposed to not thick enough.
We arrived at the lake just before noon and not surprisingly there were a few other groups of fishermen dotted across the lake. We unpacked the cars and started walking along the shoreline. Neil yelled, "Any luck?" to the nearest group and they just smiled and waved. Look up "patience" in the dictionary and you will see a picture of an ice-fisherman sitting on a stool watching a fishing line protruding through the ice surface. Ice fishing is something that you really have to want to do!
I was only 12 years old at the time, my brother was fourteen, while the McTavish boys were a few years older. My dad and Neil were examining the shoreline and looking for a good spot. This turned out to be around the first bend and just out of sight of the other groups. I was still at the age where I had blind trust in my parents and men like Neil. It's too bad that I was not as obedient as I was trusting.
We approached the spot that my dad and Neil had seen and agreed upon. Some of our gear was left on shore and only what was needed came out onto the snow-covered ice surface.
"How about here?" Stuart asked his dad.
"Looks fine to me" replied Neil and Stuart started drilling with the special auger. Stuart was very athletic and he easily drilled the first 12 inches. Bruce then took a turn but only made it through another 6 inches or so. Gary next, not to be outdone, started drilling what should be the last few inches of ice.
Neil and my dad were busy creating a small camp around the ice hole and I was trying to help out in any way I could. Unfortunately, attention spans are not real long at the age of twelve and I soon felt the urge to wander and explore.
"Dad, is it okay if I walk just down the shoreline?" I was getting a little cold and knew that if I walked and moved around then I would warm up - at least a little. My dad had a look in the direction I wanted to go and then said the words which I have repeated to myself many times over the years since that day:
"Okay, John, but don't go too close to the beaver dam."
So off I went on my own little adventure. We had all spotted a well made beaver dam -- a name synonymous with beaver "home". In fact, I had never heard anyone call it a beaver home... always a beaver dam. I had heard my dad very clearly and had no intention of going anywhere close to where the ice could be thin. Yet as I walked and explored, my eyes kept finding that amazing domed structure. It seemed to draw me towards it like a magnet.
I looked back on occasion and everyone seemed content; the hole now completely drilled and the baited line nicely set. Neil's son, Bruce was closest to me -- likely keeping an eye on me. After all, does anyone fully trust a 12 year old boy to do exactly as told?
Bruce: John, you're getting a little close to that beaver dam. Remember what your dad said.
Me: It's okay, Bruce. I'm sure the ice is still really thick here.
Bruce: Fine, John, just be careful.
What happened next is kind of blurry except for a few seconds which I will remember forever. I had done it. I had done the exact thing I was told not to do. I had gone too close. The ice started cracking below my feet. There was nothing I could do. CRRAAACK ... SPLASH...
I remember looking up through that freezing water. I had one chance and one chance only; I had to find the hole where I fell through. Luckily it was a sunny day and the sun was on a good angle. "There it is!" A few feet above and to the right was the hole in the ice. (The clarity in which I remember that moment is frightening.) I swam upwards and my head bobbed above the water.
"Bruce! Help!"
Bruce looked over in disbelief and our eyes met.
"Holy shit! Okay... Okay, John, I see you. Try to stay calm. I'll get help."
Everything after that was pure adrenalin. Within 30 seconds Neil, Stuart, my dad and Gary had arrived on the scene. Neil took command:
"Form a chain." "Everybody down on the ice and we'll form a human chain."
Neil, then my dad, then Stuart, then Gary - and then Bruce... edging ever so carefully towards me. I had remained fairly calm but damn, it was cold. So... COLD.
"Break as much ice as you can, John! Try to make your way towards me", were the words I heard from Bruce. " It's okay, John. You're okay. A few minutes and we'll have you out", called Gary.
I broke as much ice as I could. The chain was working! Bruce was reaching for me and also trying to break some ice.
"Take my hand, John." "Reach for my hand!" came the words. "I've got you."
Another ten or fifteen seconds and Bruce had somehow managed to pull me out and onto the ice. The Cold... so... Cold.
The human chain now pulled back -- with one more link. Me! They had actually done it; I was out of the freezing lake and back on land, um, ice, er, I was out of the fucking water and on top of some surface; didn't care what.
Another couple minutes and I had been rushed to shore. Another five minutes and my wet clothes were off, I was wrapped in a blanket with strong arms around me... patting... drying... hugging. Another ten minutes and a fire was going... water was heating for tea... a can of beans had been opened and was cooking. Although attentive and watching me every second, everyone had started to calm down. My dad, the strongest man I ever knew...had tears in his eyes; Damn. What had I done. How many emotions can you feel at the same time? Guilt, relief, anger, relief, happiness, relief!
"Sorry." "I'm so sorry." It didn't matter. No one cared. It was okay. There was an emergency; Everyone did what they had to do. It was over. They saved my life. Heroes. That's what they were. Fucking heroes. How was I ever going to repay them... ever
User Reviews
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2005-04-29 00:50:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
nicely done.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-29 00:05:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I too, tempted fate by walking on thin ice as a child despite my parents warnings. Like you, I plunged straight through. UNlike you, I did it with one foot on shore, so I only got wet up to my knee.
My dad was still pretty mad, though. Good story.
Submitted by Jocko_Johnson (user info) at 2005-03-03 00:02:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Cool name.
Submitted by Rawrg (user info) at 2005-03-02 23:47:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Good stuff.
Submitted by peckerhead (user info) at 2005-02-22 11:26:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks Manda and Banga 3386. I could pretend that the words of encouragement don't mean anything to me -- but they do. Thanks myredmirage and DonovanMD and everyone else. I had been holding this one in. It's a true story except for a couple of name changes. Also, giving away an exact fishing location in this part of the country is punishable by death :-) Stay tuned. There's more to come
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-02-22 08:43:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-02-22 07:18:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
desmaris?
Submitted by MisterOCD (user info) at 2005-02-22 04:47:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by DonovanMD (user info) at 2005-02-22 04:29:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent story.
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2005-02-22 04:20:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Damnit I knew you were a good writer. Damned fascinating story as well.
Banga
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:32:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
She kicks me out cause she is insane. We leave and go out. I come back and she is like I called Tom's house cause I found my pills messed up. Now I left the pills on the counter.
Submitted by boneface (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:27:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
"Chris, of Hastings, East Sussex, suffers from an incurable condition called Prader-Willi Syndrome. It means he can't tell when his stomach is full and could eat so much that it will kill him."
Wait, are you this guy? Damn, stay off the ice...
Submitted by boneface (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:25:34 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
good
Submitted by MandaPanda (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:19:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
You're awesome, honey.
Submitted by Val (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:18:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I went insane. She was like give me my toaster. So I give it to her. The I get in the tub anyway with my clothes on.
Submitted by Beer_bong (user info) at 2005-02-22 03:07:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Ice fishing is the dumbest thing man can do. Catching fishing you shouldn't eat cause any fish thats down there is fucking stupid!
Lewis Black
Submitted by myredmirage95 (user info) at 2005-02-22 02:37:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 because you just HAD to go for that beaver dam! (I'd have done the same)
oh, and because it was well written