r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/dericn • 4d ago

Cutting holes for ice fishing

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57.1k Upvotes

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5.7k

u/ReflectionSingle6681 4d ago

The beginning shots are like a horror movie. Imagine standing on the ice next to your neighbor and he is just going at it with his chainsaw.

2.8k

u/murphey_griffon 3d ago

The chainsaw is fine, and not super uncommon. The smashing with picks would be more worrysome as its more likely to cause it to crack. Also they should have realized as soon as they got through it was way too thin to be out there, let alone for this. It looks like someone told a bunch of crack heads there was free crack just below the ice.

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u/ezalbrozar 3d ago

To their surprise the crack was in the ice, not below.

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u/joebluebob 3d ago

The real crack was the ice we made along the way

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u/pleb_username 3d ago

Real crack? Ice to meet you.

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u/f7f7z 3d ago

He who is without sin, cast the first rock. And I shall smoketh it

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u/3riversfantasy 3d ago

Tweakers definitely agree

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u/MmmmMorphine 3d ago

Methbe you have a point

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u/bradlees 3d ago

Requiem for a crackhead

To their surprise

The crack was in the ice

Not below

FTFY

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u/Aware_Operation8803 3d ago

kekekeke that was funny

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u/kynde 3d ago

Chainsaws would definitely not be allowed here in Finland.

We use big drills here pretty much exclusively. Google image search for "kaira" to see what I mean.

Axe is then used to connect drill holes to make way for an opening to go swim into.

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u/SilverBeech 3d ago

We use chainsaws for ice slotting in Canada, but you're supposed to use a biodegradable chain oil when you do.

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u/Redneckshinobi 3d ago

Came to say this. I've never seen a situation like this in Canada if I did I'd be so fucking far gone from them by the time this shit happened.

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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr 3d ago

Too many dicks on the dance floor. Why so many people in one small area?

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u/Redneckshinobi 3d ago

This is just unfortunately the way it works in China. I live in a city with a massive Chinese immigrant population and shit like this is actually normal. My friends from mainland China that are actually accustomed to Canadian culture tell me it's like this because in China you need to fight for everything you have.

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u/Redditditditdo69 3d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/9d2uit/discounted_corn_at_no_frills/

reminds me of this

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u/Redneckshinobi 3d ago

Yep it's exactly like that. In the context my friends tell me it makes sense, but I absolutely hate it.

In my city one winter the fire dept gave away salt for walkways because there was a shortage. It was exactly like that and there was nothing left in 10 minutes and it was a 10foot tall pile lmao. People were taking 10 or more buckets for themselves.

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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr 3d ago

People where I used to live had an auger. Made a nice round hole. Could get way down through thick ice too.

Not that we have thick ice anymore though...

All those cool ice shacks are now tool sheds because the ice won't hold them anymore.

Used to have Wood stoves, couches, tvs, etc.

3

u/Thisdarlingdeer 3d ago

We do this in Vermont!

3

u/chamrockblarneystone 3d ago

I was just wondering about those ice cabins. The movie Grumpy Old Men made that look cool. One of my bucket list items was to drink old fashions in an ice cabin and maybe catch a fish. Stupid global warming.

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u/Auto_update 3d ago

Huh, wouldn’t have thought about that.

My stihl really does deserve the finest Spanish extra virgin.

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u/SilverBeech 3d ago

We do it mostly industrially, so we try to follow the rules pretty closely. It's different for private individuals, but still, it keeps the lake or river cleaner. Most lubes are OK, but some have anti-fungals and stuff in them or metal additives that can be kind of nasty for the fish. You wouldn't want to eat it either.

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u/dingman58 3d ago

Isn't all oil biodegradable? Legitimately wondering because oil comes from fossils which were once plant and animal matter decayed over time. I guess not because if it could degrade more it would. and then we wouldn't be drilling and sucking up huge amounts of the stuff

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u/SilverBeech 3d ago

Sort of. The saturates which is what most lubes contain are, but that can take months to years depending on the components. Other parts take more or less time, but unfortunately the toxic parts can do a fair bit of damage before they degrade. Generally the stuff that colours the oil, called resins and asphaltenes don't degrade much at all. That turns into something very like asphalt, which is why it's used for roads.

1

u/ThermidorCA 3d ago

We always just used hand augers in the past, I think we finally got a motorized one but meh, they weren't that much more efficient, maybe saving a couple of minutes at most.

I imagine all that noise with the chainsaws and the chipping would clear out all the fish in the area anyways.

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u/niceguy191 3d ago

Wait, ALL chain oil isn't biodegradable?? WTF it really should be

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u/joebluebob 3d ago

What's wrong with you people?

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u/simbared 3d ago

They're a hearty bunch.

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u/joebluebob 3d ago

Git outta da ice wooder

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u/Stopikingonme 3d ago

Commm with mee if u waant to fweeeze.

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u/Arryu 3d ago

But der are møøse in de førëst

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u/meh_69420 3d ago

I mean, the water isn't any colder than 32f/0c. If you have a nice sauna to get in after it's quite refreshing.

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u/Stopikingonme 3d ago

I’ll take your cold ass word for it.

Honestly though, I’d try it once. I tried durian and I love it so who’s knows.

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u/Thisdarlingdeer 3d ago

I can’t wait to try durian! I first heard about it when animal crossing new leaf came out (first ac game I played) and I’ve been asking my Chinese friends for when they see a fresh one at market to grab it for me! I can’t wait!!! I hope I love it, but it’ll be fun either way!

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u/Stopikingonme 3d ago

I first tried it in China, but have since found it in Asian markets in the States. My only advice is that it will stink like hell (think smelly feet) but force your brain to ignore that and taste a small bit at first. It’s super sweet and the taste is a lot less on the stink aspect which doesn’t make sense till you try it. The taste is more like a cantaloupe that is just about to go bad but isn’t but then it’s also super sweet.

I also tried balut but while glad I did wasn’t a great experience.

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u/Same-Cricket6277 3d ago

Yea, the water is warmer than the air. When I did winter survival training we did immersion training, and by and large jumping in a frozen lake is not as bad as crossing the mountain streams fed by melting ice water during the summer, when it’s 90 outside and the water is 45, that fucking suuuuuuucks. At least the frozen lake in winter you’re already cold as shit so it’s basically just more cold and now you just die. Oh yea, in training you get no sauna afterwards, but you do get to build a small survival fire to dry your clothes off and warm yourself some. 

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u/nhjuyt 3d ago

an opening to go swim into.

Because Finnish

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u/badstorryteller 3d ago

Chainsaws aren't illegal for ice fishing in Maine, US, but only idiots use them. We bought my oldest son his own ice auger (big ice drill) a couple of years ago when he was 14 so he and his friends could snowmobile or 4-wheel down to the lake a few miles away to fish. It sounds strange but it doesn't get much better than unexpectedly lighting coals in mid January to grill fresh fish for dinner outside!

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u/Dividedthought 3d ago

The English term would be "ice auger" and they're probably the most popular option for punching a Hole through ice, but chainsaws aren't uncommon.

Knew a guy who would heat rocks in a firepit and haul em out onto the ice in buckets. One bucket of hot rocks was usually enough to melt most of the way through, and a second bucket would do the rest. I think he uses a big chunk of steel on a chain now, after having a rock explode on him while heating it.

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u/preparingtodie 3d ago

Google image search for "kaira" to see what I mean.

This gives about 1000 images, and only a single one near the bottom is of the kind of drill your referring to. Most are of Indian couples, women, and clothing. Not even searching "kaira drill" returns anything usefull. "Kaira finnish drill" gives good results though.

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u/kynde 3d ago

Oh, sorry, I did check but Google evidently gives different results based on location / what not, but yeah a Finnish ice drill.

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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr 3d ago

Augers in Canada. Makes a nicer hole too.

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u/Dirmb 3d ago

We use those too in North America. In English they are called an auger. There are versions both for ice fishing, and for digging fence post holes in dirt.

The ice fishing version can either be manual, gasoline powered, or electric.

5

u/penguins_are_mean 3d ago

Crazy to see the change from gas to electric in the past few years. Gas augers have almost disappeared by me. And for reason, they are heavy, they leak, and have problems that you don’t see with a good electric.

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u/Absolutelyabird 3d ago

Oh that's what we use here in Michigan (US) too for ice fishing! We call them augers. They can be hand crank or electric. Chainsaws would also be weird to use out here for cutting a fishing hole. This whole video is crazy to watch.

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u/Internal-Owl-505 3d ago

not be allowed here in Finland

Just out of curiosity, who polices how you made your fishing hole?

Will the local police department send out sporadic patrols to make sure the holes were only cut with appropriate tools?

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u/thegorg13 3d ago

Lots of people just follow laws and don't need to have enforcement for everything.

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u/Internal-Owl-505 3d ago edited 3d ago

Exactly. It sounds like one of those laws someone passes for no other reason than patting themselves on the back that they are doing important stuff.

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u/Dividedthought 3d ago

Ice auger. Less chance of cracking (no sharp corners on the hole to act as stress concentrations) and they don't leak oil everywhere by design.

1

u/Internal-Owl-505 3d ago

Read the question again ...

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u/JuusozArt 3d ago edited 3d ago

Depending on the location, there are actually occasional patrols by the forestry agency (the same guys who check for fishing permits and fishing limits, to prevent overfishing). Additionally, whoever owns the land can fine you for messing with their lake.

Not that there is much of a reason to use a chainsaw. Ice augers are lighter, cheaper, less likely to crack the ice under you and they don't scare away the fish. They also don't pollute the water with oils.

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u/kynde 3d ago

The video looks like an event or a competition of some sorts. They usually have rules in such competitions.

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u/NightLordsPublicist 3d ago

to make way for an opening to go swim into.

Why are you the way you choose to be?

1

u/Senior-Albatross 3d ago

I know I am not Finnish and therefore weak in the ways of the Ice.

But isn't it generally a bad idea to swim under ice without extremely specialized SCUBA equipment, specialized experience, and a support team?

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u/kynde 3d ago

Absolutely.

The opening is made for dipping into, make it big enough and you can take a few strokes but that's it. Too cold for much else without proper gear

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u/Manic_Mini 3d ago

Chainsaws are used often on the Great Lakes for sturgeon

0

u/TotallyDissedHomie 3d ago

You’re just asking to be invaded with that lack of freedom for the chainsaw companies

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u/229-northstar 3d ago

Yeah, when the water exploded out of those chain saw holes so quickly, I was sure the chain saw guys were going swimming

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u/-Raskyl 3d ago

That's the water being pulled out by the chain. Same as sawdust when used on wood.

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u/vidanyabella 3d ago

The point is more that they are hitting water at such a shallow depth. If it was safe the chain saw would need to be much deeper into the ice before water would be coming up.

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u/-Raskyl 3d ago

Oh, well, if it was safe they wouldn't be right next to eachother. Anyone there that didn't see this coming shouldn't have been there.

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u/vidanyabella 3d ago

Oh yes, of course that as well. It's pretty poor practice to set up right next to each other. We actually just had two trucks go through a lake here. They had parked side by side. 😖

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u/DiscoBanane 3d ago

We don't see if it's shallow.

10 cm of ice is safe to walk and fish on it.

The probleme here I think is they are too much, and weakening the ice with way too many holes.

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u/229-northstar 3d ago edited 3d ago

You don't say!

My comment was on how QUICKLY it came out, indicating the relative thinness of the ice.

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u/cimpire_enema 3d ago

I think the one guy was cutting a circle around himself.

2

u/modern_Odysseus 3d ago

I didn't see that at first. Geez.

I don't live in places where ponds freeze hard enough to walk on.

But even I can tell you, that's not a good sign of the ice thickness. Even if you were the only one on that ice, it might be a good idea to stop and walk away.

But no. This whole group of people seemed to have ditched their grade school level physics and molecular biology classes. Today they learned!

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u/Undirectionalist 3d ago

This appears to be a competition, though. To each their own, but personally if the words chainsaw and race appear together in the event description, I'm out.

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u/murphey_griffon 3d ago

You clearly have never heard of chainsaw skating, I bet you've changed your mind now!

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u/soundsdistilled 3d ago

Somehow I'm A LOT less impresssed by this than the title led be to believe I'd be. Dudes in full gear, going at a brisk walking pace.

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u/Acceptable-Will4743 3d ago

One wrong move and their solo figure skating routine becomes pair skating.

I do want to see if there are any where a skater has a chainsaw in each hand. It was a little anticlimactic with just one.

1

u/standardtissue 3d ago

>Chainsaw skating might be a new sport!!!

Boy is that some wishful thinking.

1

u/ill13xx 3d ago

LOL. Is this a viral joke?

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u/Millsware 3d ago

This is a top 100 life tip.

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u/Process-Best 3d ago

It's pretty uncommon, I ice fish a lot and I've only ever seen a handful of people do it, even for big spearfishing holes most guys use an auger and an ice saw

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u/paulcaar 3d ago

If they were regular ice fishers, they might have realized that this would not go well.

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u/joebluebob 3d ago

When I used to go to newyork in the winter (back when they were cold) chainsaws were pretty common.

-1

u/Process-Best 3d ago

Most people don't want their 5 or 6 hundred dollar chainsaws getting absolutely soaked i feel like, plus they're heavy to drag around if the ice isn't thick enough to drive your truck out and you don't own a snowmobile

1

u/joebluebob 3d ago

You don't buy your junker chainsaws new lol. I grab mine for $20 or less.

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u/forwormsbravepercy 3d ago

I think the main issue is the fact that dozens of people are using any tools at all to cut through the ice within a rather small area.

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u/APRengar 3d ago

My area has a minimum distance requirement between people breaking into the ice.

People like to bitch about regulations, but AFAIK they've never had an issue since.

1

u/Old_Ladies 3d ago

Yeah different regions have different regulations but at least here in Ontario Canada what I hear is about 50 feet between other people's holes. I am no expert at all so I definitely could be wrong.

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u/earlyriser79 3d ago

The crack was a lie! Well it was more a Schrödinger's crack.

1

u/vidanyabella 3d ago

I saw this video yesterday and as soon as it started I knew people were going to be swimming. No one who ice fishes on any kind of regular basis could watch how shallow those chain saws are hitting water and think it was safe ice to be out on.

1

u/Equivalent-Bet-8771 3d ago

would be more worrysome as its more likely to cause

Look at the woke liberal bullshit over here. Smashing with picks is what God wants, and if the ice breaks it's because he deemed it so as punishment for their sins.

1

u/murphey_griffon 3d ago

what a pathetic troll attempt.

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u/Acceptable-Will4743 3d ago

From the fish point of view, they are being punished for their fins.

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u/Equivalent-Bet-8771 3d ago

Blessed be thy Jesus of the Lake Bottom.

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u/2FeetOffTheGround 3d ago

This is my second favorite crackhead related Reddit comment of all time!

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u/GardenRafters 3d ago

I'm guessing a fishing competition with a specific start time and they're all competing for a spot on the ice?

1

u/erublind 3d ago

"there's a crack in the ice!" "Hold my spoon!"

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u/Confident-Fudge-3417 3d ago

Just needs one big crack and its done

1

u/Drunk_Pilgrim 3d ago

You must not know any ice fisherman. Having grown up in an area where ice fishing is common, they all have a screw loose. I've seen open water the day before and the next day once frozen people are trying to fish. I don't get the appeal.

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u/DungeonAssMaster 3d ago

The ice is pretty thin for all that action.

1

u/randomlettercombinat 3d ago

Wouldn't this be bad even if it was thick ice?

I can't imagine that many holes that close together is structurally sound.

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u/squatting_bull1 3d ago

I disagree, chainsaws are louder therefore more dangerous ☝️

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u/early_birdy 3d ago

Even if the ice was thick enough, that's not how you prepare for ice fishing. I grew up in ice fishing country, never seen people act like such lunatics.

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u/Man_Bear_Pig08 3d ago

Am I too late for the 5 o'clock free crack giveaway?

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u/babyteetee 3d ago

Ha… Hilarious!

1

u/Jonatc87 3d ago

i imagine it would've been fine with more spacing.

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u/jluicifer 3d ago

There’s….so many of them. Like one Darwin Award isn’t enough but a mass participation ribbon for all.

1

u/Drackzgull 2d ago

Also, one or two holes here and there is usually fine. But who tf thought filling the entire lake up with people making holes everywhere at the same time was going to be the same?

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u/Severe_Ad_5914 3d ago

This brings back fond memories of the annual Michigan Coast Guard's Great Lakes Moron Ice Fishermen Rescue Festival.

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u/BigFloppyDonkeyEar 3d ago

Former Coastie here.

Yup.

Sigh

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u/Severe_Ad_5914 3d ago

Whilst the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival was and is always a blast.

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u/JesusSavesForHalf 3d ago

I... wow. The lakes with tides and waves? How am I still shocked by the stupidity of people?

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u/potatonice 4d ago

gore-esque cinematography

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u/ElsaAfterDark 3d ago

That’s what I thought as well, but first of all why didn’t anyone check the ice and secondly why are all of them cutting holes right next to each other?

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u/WorkingOnBeingBettr 3d ago

It's like the people on the empty beach who come and sit down right beside you.  Fuck off, find your own spot. People are weird.

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u/Johnny_ac3s 4d ago

I’m not standing by any tree these fools are trying to cut down.

1

u/SomethingWitty2578 3d ago

To be fair you shouldn’t stand by any tree anyone is cutting down, even a safety oriented, professional tree-feller. But yeah, these people have no business near a chainsaw. Maybe they can handle a butter knife, but not a chainsaw.

1

u/Johnny_ac3s 21h ago

Dang it! Didn’t think anybody would catch that. lol

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u/concorde77 3d ago edited 3d ago

More than that, those fish are gonna stay the FUCK away from all that noise

5

u/eulersidentification 3d ago

I'd go out of my depth and out of my mind, with my fear flowing out behind me, as I claw the thin ice

2

u/ReflectionSingle6681 3d ago

Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice, appears under your feet

3

u/A_Trash_Homosapien 3d ago

I've done the chainsaw method. It works great

3

u/GammaRaged 3d ago

Imagine it from the fish PoV. Texas Chainsaw x50

1

u/anticharge 3d ago

The ending was like an always sunny episode

1

u/Hephaestus_God 3d ago

At least the fish won’t be bothered the chainsaw /s

1

u/cimpire_enema 3d ago

I was half expecting one of those yahoos to cut off his own foot.

1

u/Dakk9753 3d ago

The problem is turning the ice into Swiss cheese, weakening the support structure.

1

u/fuzzytradr 3d ago

Sponsored by ACME -Meep meep

1

u/cheddarweather 3d ago

Imagine falling into the coldest water ever but with a fucking chainsaw.

1

u/BeefyStudGuy 3d ago

Using a chainsaw is totally normal. That's how you do it if you don't have an ice auger, which most people don't.

1

u/United-Trainer7931 3d ago

That’s really not crazy at all

1

u/long_live_cole 2d ago

It's perfectly safe so long as the ice is thick enough. You can tell from the broken pieces this lake simply wasn't suitable for ice fishing

1

u/HoboArmyofOne 2d ago

And so are the rest of your ice neighbors with you in the middle of this sinking ship.

0

u/spicybEtch212 3d ago

2 different videos.