An Acceptable Level of Risk at Pumphouse

April 04, 2010 at 7:37 am

Generally speaking, we have had a mild winter.  The ice was thick enough to keep us out there but not as thick as I have seen it in the past.  The spring melt is going fast taking with it a great deal of snow and ice.  It is with this in mind I spent a day last week on the ice at Pumphouse. 

Pumphouse requires even more caution with the open area on the south end of the lake and the area immediately around the white pumphouse itself.

The day I went fishing, the south end was aggressively open.  I knew that the ice would still be thick enough to support a truck, but with this open area staring at me, not to mention the large “Danger Thin Ice” sign from Yukon Electric; I was a little nervous.  With two families and a bunch of young kids we started out close to shore and drilled a hole with the auger.  We moved a little farther onto the lake and checked the ice again.  It was still over two feet deep in all places.

I knew that it would be safe but still had this feeling that I should be extra cautious. Unfortunately, we did not catch anything that day.

I have since gone online and found a handy guide for checking depth.  I realize that there are other variables, namely water flow, man-made structures, current temperature and lake make-up, however I think I was within an acceptable level of risk.

  Link: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html

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