Behind the Badge - Attention Deficit
Attention Deficit
District Game Warden Noah Raitz
With the close of the rifle season and a cold front setting in, we are getting closer to putting the hunting gear away and taking out the ice fishing gear.
A few years ago, I was out patrolling a local lake near the end of the ice fishing season. It was the time of year when a few warm days would melt off big pockets of ice. It was right on the cusp of open water season.
As I approached a common crappie fishing spot just out from the shore, I could see a vehicle parked. Once I got to the vehicle, I could see one angler about 30 yards from the shoreline. The only problem was that I could also see open water between us.
Thankfully, it was only about 5 yards worth of open water, but I knew the ice had to be thin out to where he was fishing. The angler was sitting on a bucket with a sled beside him. He was facing away from me and had no idea I was there.
I made my presence known and informed him that I was a game warden. He turned around and started to talk with me about his fishing. He told me he had walked out that morning and had not moved much. It was early in the afternoon so about 4 or 5 hours had passed since he had arrived.
The fishing had been slow, but the weather was so nice that he decided to stay out and enjoy it. I then brought up the fact that the ice had melted where the typical walking path onto the ice is. He had a concerned look on his face and told me that he had not checked the edges since he had started.
He walked over as far as he could and realized that he would have to get his feet wet to get back to shore.
The sled made things easy for getting his gear out, as he was able to hand me the string and I pulled it onto shore. He then very carefully stepped from the edge of the ice into the water and on to shore.
The angler was never in any real danger, but he admitted that he was glad I showed up when I did mostly because he would have kept fishing until late that afternoon without thinking to check the ice conditions on the edge.
This happened at the end of ice fishing season as the ice was melting, but it is a good reminder as we transition into winter and ice is forming.
Ice conditions can change day to day due to inconsistent weather patterns. One warm day can make the ice dangerous to venture out on. There might be ice in the morning but as it warms up that ice could be gone in the afternoon.
I encourage you to be mindful of your surroundings and take the necessary precautions to ensure you do not put yourself in a dangerous situation.