After two winters of unfavorable ice conditions, anglers are donning their gear and heading out onto lakes and ponds, and with recent warmer temperatures, preparation is even more important.  

“The first thing is to know where you’re going and know where you’re, you know, the trouble is because we’ve had such swings in temperatures and now it’s going to get cold, so it’ll be better again. But, you know, it got so warm that on river malls, areas where there might be springs, things like that, we want to be careful, right?” said Russ Francisco, owner of Marine General in Duluth.

There are a few staple items that should be in your gear kit, whether you are by yourself or are traveling with a group.

“Always wear a suit that floats or a floating life jacket or something like that,” said Francisco. “Always have a set of picks with you. They go around your neck.”

When with a group, make sure to have a good amount of rope with, in case of a fall-in, so the party members on the ice can help pull the submerged member free.

“Most of the time we’re going to find right now is that most of the ice is pretty good, but there’s going to be some spots that might be soft, and somebody might make a mistake and go through. You just got to pay attention to your surroundings and know where you’re going,” said Francisco.

And if you do go through the ice, make sure to remain calm and have a game plan to get out.

“If you go on the ice, you can use it to pull yourself out. Don’t stand up when you pull yourself out. Pull yourself away from the hole and then stand up,” said Francisco.

And when unsure if the ice is thick enough for you and your equipment, use your surroundings as a guide, or go to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) website for general ice thickness recommendations.

“It’s just a matter of logic, don’t rush, pay attention to your surroundings. If you see a lot of people out in a particular area and they seem to be in good shape, follow that track out to that area. It’s probably in good shape. If you see a lot of tracks in an area where there’s no tracks anymore or nobody’s fishing, maybe consider that might go slow on that one. It might be a bad spot. People will tell you ahead of time what happened,” said Francisco.

Click here to go to the Minnesota DNR’s website for more information on Ice Safety.